Reviews

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Russian Is Everywhere in Brighton Beach

5 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

4 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…

Home of the Goethe-Institut

5 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,…

A Cheerful Little Museum

3-5 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…

The Sign Out Front

5 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…

Block Where Alwan for the Arts Resides

4 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…

Inside Polonia Bookstore

4 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 Storefront

5 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.”…

Beautiful Books in Hebrew

5 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, …