Many Italian immigrants to the New York came from the Dolomites, a region wich includes Val di Non, and settled in the neighborhood of Ridgewood, where they established the Club Trentino, and nearby areas in southwestern Queens. However, most speakers raised their children in either standard Italian or English, or both of those languages, although many older speakers remain, primarily from the immigrant generation, and some semi-speakers. ELA’s Languages of Italy Project was launched with a session of Nones speaker Giovanna Flaim, long resident in New York, recalling stories and events from her childhood in Val di Non.

Many Nonesi men in New York worked in construction, including on the Verrazzano Bridge, with some women working in the knitting mills. As described by speaker Giovanna Flaim, many Nonesi families lived initially in what is today Chelsea before forming communities of perhaps a few dozen families each in South Brooklyn, Williamsburg (near North 6th Street and Union Avenue), and later Ridgewood (where Club Trentino continues to this day) and nearby areas in southwestern Queens. However, most speakers raised their children in either standard Italian or English or both of those languages, although older speakers remain, primarily from the immigrant generation, and some semi-speakers.