Yes, there are or were a lot of Italians in that section of Williamsburg.
In the mid 80's I ran a business out of a 2,500sqft loft on Berry & S.5th st. next to the Williamsburg Bridge over looking Manfred's Raceco and the Domino Sugar factory. It was substantially different then, mostly chop shops, prostitutes, junkies and quite a few artists in those relatively cheap commercial loft buildings. Of course all of them, including the artists have been priced out and the neighborhood feels sterile compared to the past years.
