Before Chinatown, it was called "Lapskaus Boulevard"
Today, Chinese businesses line Eighth Avenue in Sunset Park. And if you look closely you’ll see proud remnants of the Norwegian community that was once so large this area was called Little Norway, or Lapskaus Boulevard. Lapskaus is a stew created by Norwegian Sailors hundreds of years earlier that became a local staple.
Originally Sunset Park was a Carnesee hunting ground, until Dutch colonists turned the area into farmland. By 1900 the descendants of the Norwegians who worked Dutch ships had moved up from around the docks in Red Hook helping to transform the area into the neighborhood we know today.
At our first stop, Soccer Tavern, an Irishman is preserving this Norwegian history at a pub that has been in continuous operation since Prohibition. Norwegian flags. American supporters. Chinese neighbors stopped in to watch the match. Young fans discovering the place for the first time, settling in next to regulars who've been coming for decades.
Around the corner is Sporting Club GJØA. Founded in 1911 by Norwegian immigrants, New York City's oldest community soccer club is still doing what it has always done: teaching children the game, bringing families together, and passing something from one generation to the next.
Former US Men’s National Team player and club president Gregg Bergholm welcomed us into a club that has outlived waves of migration and changing languages without ever losing sight of why it exists.
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Featuring: Gjøa Youth Soccer, Sporting Club Gjøa, The Soccer Tavern, Christopher Mathias
Produced & Directed by Jean-Michel Dissard, Michael Premo, Rachel Falcone
Hosted & Produced by Christopher Mathias
Cinematography by Bruno Papic
Editing by Edgar Andrade
Sound by The Sound Co-op, Phillip Shipman
A Storyline series.
We are Public Artists in Residence for New York City’s celebration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The residency is coordinated through the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs in partnership with NYC Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani.