Res. No. 526
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.3537/A.9157, to require the New York State Education Department to include the history of Italian immigrants and their descendants as well as their impact on the development of the United States in elementary and secondary curricula
By Council Member Ariola
Whereas, The New York State Education Department (NYSED) provides learning standards and frameworks that set out subject matter content, including in social studies, that is required to be taught in each grade K-12 in public schools statewide; and
Whereas, That prescribed social studies content, which includes New York State, United States (U.S.), and world history as well as geography, economics, civics, and cultures, is further detailed by public school districts throughout the State, including by the New York City (NYC) Department of Education (DOE) for the public schools in NYC; and
Whereas, Italian immigrants and their descendants have played an important role in the story of NYC since the arrival of the earliest Italian immigrants in colonial days when Italian sculptors, woodworkers, stonemasons, and glassblowers brought their talents and skills to building structures in the New World; and
Whereas, Italian immigration increased dramatically in the 1880s, when about 300,000 Italian immigrants arrived at Ellis Island, and again in the 1890s, when about 600,000 arrived; and
Whereas, By 1920, more than 4 million Italian immigrants had come to U.S. shores, making up more than 10 percent of the foreign-born population of the U.S.; and
Whereas, For most Italian Americans, Ellis Island was their family’s first stop in the U.S., and about one-third of Italian immigrants who arrived there stayed in NYC and made it their home, including thousands who established the neighborhood still known as Little Italy in lower Manhattan; and
Whereas, In the 1930s and 1940s, more and more Italian Americans prospered as union members, business owners, cultural figures, and military servicemembers, and they began to gain political power, as exemplified by three-term Mayor Fiorello La Guardia; and
Whereas, Italian Americans in NYC have long been prominent in many career fields, including politics, science, business, sports, and entertainment, with some becoming household names, including New York Yankees icon Joe DiMaggio; and
Whereas, S.3537, introduced by New York State Senator George Borrello on January 28, 2025, and companion bill A.9157, introduced on October 17, 2025, by New York State Assembly Member Angelo Morinello, would require curriculum and instruction in New York State’s public schools to include the history of Italian immigration to the U.S., the movements and policies that impacted the Italian community in the U.S., the structures and historical events that have limited or harmed the Italian community, and the contributions made by the Italian community in government, the arts, the humanities, and science and in the economic, cultural, social, and political development of the U.S.; and
Whereas, S.3537and A.9157 would also require that every school district provide appropriate training and curriculum materials for teachers who provide this instruction; and
Whereas, NYC public school students learn about the contributions that Italian immigrants and Italian Americans have made to NYC history and to its multicultural landscape; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, S.3537/A.9157, to require the New York State Education Department to include the history of Italian immigrants and their descendants as well as their impact on the development of the United States in elementary and secondary curricula.
LS #23078
6/22/26
RHP