I just saw a fig tree on Bergen street in Brooklyn NY. Had some figs on its branches, and it is a narrow and very shaded street, most of the time.
Anyway I am from Italy, when I was a kid I always are fresh figs and I have to say they used to taste a lot better than what I had in the USA. I used to like the smaller ones with the dark skin, but the large, softer, green skinned ones are more common.