Reviews
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Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
Russian, Neighborhoods
Take the B or Q train to the Brighton Beach stop, and you will find yourself in a vibrant waterfront Brooklyn community with many Russian immigrants. If you want to practice your language skills, walk along the boardwalk in the…
Holyland Market
Hebrew, Food and Drink
This East Village store is filled with Israeli products and is apparently very popular with Israelis seeking familiar foods from home. I always like taking pictures of food with foreign languages on it, so I went there to see…
Goethe-Institut New York
German, Tests, Bookstores/Libraries, Museums/Cultural, Classes/Conversation
The mission of the Goethe-Institut is to “promote the study of German abroad and encourage international cultural exchange,” as well as “foster knowledge about Germany by providing information on its culture, society and politics.” There are events, exchange programs, classes,…
Italian American Museum
Italian, Museums/Cultural
The Italian American Museum building, located in Little Italy in Manhattan, used to house Banca Stabile, a bank for Italian immigrants in New York City. When I visited the museum back in 2009, it had an exhibition on the bank that…
Arab American Association of New York
Arabic, Organizations
This mission of this wonderful community resource, notes its website, “is to support and empower the Arab Immigrant and Arab American community by providing services to help them adjust to their new home and become active members of society. Our…
Alwan for the Arts
Arabic, Museums/Cultural
In downtown Manhattan, you can visit Alwan for the Arts for cultural events in the realms of music, dance, film, books, and more. An event I went to there in 2009 was enticingly called “Leyya Tawil’s Dance Elixir,” with clarinetist…
Polonia Bookstore
Polish, Bookstores/Libraries
This Greenpoint bookstore has many books for native and fluent Polish speakers, as well as materials for Polish language learners. I went there looking for language books for beginners, and the employees were very helpful. There were indeed a…
Schaller & Weber
German, Food and Drink
You can find hard-core German food products at this longstanding family-owned Yorkville store, resident on 86th and Second Avenue since 1937. Schaller & Weber’s website says they are “masters of charcuterie.” I had to go look up “charcuterie.”…
Sefer Israel
Hebrew, Bookstores/Libraries
Sefer Israel is a publishing house and a supplier of Hebrew educational materials to schools. Their offerings include books, periodicals, Israeli music, films, and more. This is a wholesaler, not a street-level retail store, but the owner, Orly Farhi-Haley, …