Reviews
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Schoenhof’s Foreign Books
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Polish, Neighborhoods
For a slew of Polish stores and restaurants and people, go to Greenpoint! The sheer volume of Polish is stunning. I have been there multiple times, but on one of my favorite visits, I enjoyed a lovely walk down…
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…
Café Riviera
Polish, Food and Drink
Café Riviera in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, has Polish employees and Polish desserts and Polish customers. I traveled here in search of people to speak Polish to, and it was a highly effective strategy. I took my grammar book with me, studied…
Jackson Heights, Queens, for Many Languages
General, Hindi, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Neighborhoods
This is a fantastically polyglottal community in northwestern Queens. Take the subway to Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street and you will find yourself in possibly the most diverse community in the world. You can hear massive amounts of Spanish along…
Polam Bookstore
Polish, Bookstores/Libraries
This Greenpoint store definitely has books in Polish, but if you are looking for books about Polish, it’s probably not the best destination. At least when I was there (this was in mid-2011), they had…
Central Park
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Parks, Kids
Central Park draws international visitors year round, but if you really want to hear other languages, walk around here during the three non-freezing seasons: spring, summer, and fall. Summer especially is crazy with tourists. You can hear dozens of languages.…
Brooklyn Public Library, Greenpoint Branch
Polish, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids
Greenpoint’s public library is full of Polish books. When I visited in 2011, I met librarian Izabela Barry, who is originally from Poland and who had at that time been at the library for nine years. During her tenure she…
Älskling
Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Shopping, Kids
Älskling, which means “darling” in Swedish, sells baby clothes online in dozens of languages. When I first encountered this product in an Upper West Side shop some years ago, I was fortunate enough to be given a tour by…