of Greek descent make up 1.0% of New York City's population. Irish The Irish community is one of New York's major ethnic groups and has been a significant proportion of the city's population since the waves of immigration in the mid-nineteenth century. New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade dates to 1762. During the Great Irish Famine (1845–1851), Irish families were forced to emigrate from Ireland; by 1854, between 1,500,000 and 2,000,000 people were forced to leave the country - about a quarter of the pre-famine population. In the United States, most of the recently arrived Irish became city dwellers as that was where work was. In addition, arriving with little money, many settled in the cities at which their ships made port. By 1850, the Irish made up a quarter of the population in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Their arrival in the United States before other waves of Catholic immigrants meant that ethnic Irish long dominated the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. They created a strong network of churches and parochial schools to support their communities. The Irish have long played a significant role in city politics, the Roman Catholic Church, and the New York City Fire Department and Police Department. As of the 2000 census, 520,810 New Yorkers reported Irish ancestry. According to a 2006 genetic survey by Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, about one in fifty New Yorkers of European origin carry a distinctive genetic signature on their Y chromosomes inherited from Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the 5th century A.D. Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Woodlawn, Bronx Woodside, Queens Maspeth, Queens Sunnyside, Queens North Riverdale, Bronx Riverdale, Bronx Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Marine Park, Brooklyn Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn Broad Channel, Queens Belle Harbor, Queens Breezy Point, Queens Rockaway Beach, Queens Roxbury, Queens St. George, Staten Island West Brighton, Staten Island Middle Village, Queens Astoria, Queens Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn Italian New York City has the largest population of Italian Americans in the United States of America as well as North America, many of whom inhabit ethnic enclaves in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. New York City is home to the second largest Italian population outside of Italy, behind Buenos Aires, Argentina. The largest wave of Italian immigration to the United States took place in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Between 1870