Category: NYC neighborhoods

Deutschland in the US, Part II: Coming to New York

Written by Sabrina Axster This is the second installment of our History of German Immigrants series. Read the first installment. Germans contributed to the creation of New Amsterdam in the early 1620s. But immigrants from Germany first began to settle in Manhattan in high numbers in the 1830s. By 1855, the city had the third largest population of Germans in the world after Berlin and Vienna (roughly 30 percent of NYC’s inhabitants were first- or second-generation German immigrants) and by...

Deutschland in the US, Part I: tracking German migration

Written by Sabrina Axster This is the first installment of our History of German Immigrants series. Recently, I convinced a Spanish friend of mine to try German food with me. Together we ventured to Zum Schneider in Alphabet City, one of the many German restaurants and beer gardens dotted across the city. While trying to explain to my friend that Zum Schneider really serves Bavarian food and that the dishes from my own region, the Rhineland, are very different (Germany...

Astoria, Queens: everybody’s neighborhood

Written by Abbey Kurtz Astoria reminds me of my third grade class geography project — 20 students studying 20 different countries and putting together a visual presentation to share with the other kids and their families for world culture day. We had rows of desks filled with food, artifacts, clothing, posters, and dictionaries lining our small, cozy classroom. Making your way around the room, you accumulated delicious food, colorful jewelry, new ways to say “hello,” and the excitement of feeling...

Rosedale, Queens: an unsung neighborhood

Written by Jahaida Hernandez Jesurum       Within just two square miles in the southeastern portion of Queens, lies Rosedale, home to a population of a little more than 30,000 residents. I first drove to Rosedale on a sunny Saturday afternoon in August. The first thing I saw was Brookville Park, with its welcoming and overwhelming greenery scattered with family picnics, basketball players, and bicycle riders.  Driving south on Brookville Boulevard I glanced at beautiful homes of pristine white painted...