Staying Local

While Maria Gonzalez feels that she can go without speaking English, others feel it's a must.

Marian Morla, who runs Heights Vision Center, an eyeglass store, says knowing how to speak English should be essential for all New Yorkers. Morla feels people should learn English because "this is the United States of America."

Born in a Dominican immigrant family, Morla speaks both English and Spanish, although she finds herself speaking Spanish more often while doing business in Washington Heights.

Hispanic Manhattan

Red areas show the highest concentrations of Hispanics. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, New York City Department of City Planning

"Ninety five percent of my customers are Hispanics. Half of them do not speak English," Morla says.

Morla says non-English speakers can get along well going about their daily lives in the neighborhood, but thinks it's kind of inconvenient to speak only Spanish.

"People who do not speak English stay locally, they stay in a Spanish speaking environment. They do not even go downtown," says Morla.

In terms of finding a job, it's probably harder when you don't speak English, but it's not impossible, as long as you stay in the Washington Heights area, according to Gonzalez. At New York Cleaners, most customers are Spanish-speakers, so she has no problem fulfilling her duties.

Across the street at Angel Shoes, a sign on the window reads: "Salesperson Wanted, Must Speak English."

Daniel Kang, an Asian-American who works as a cashier at Angel Shoes (his father's business), says that although most of their customers speak Spanish, it's still better to have a bilingual salesperson.

"We need to be able to communicate with our staff," says Kang, who knows only a few words in Spanish. "And some of our customers are English-speakers."

Even the police have had to adapt to a Spanish-speaking community. Of the 180 cops who work at the 33rd Precinct on 165th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, approximately 60 — or one-third — speak Spanish, according to Emily Lopez, one of the two community affairs officers at this precinct.

Alexandra Paez, who has been with the police in Washington Heights for more than 10 years, says that for her job as community affairs officer, it's very important to speak Spanish.

"People feel more comfortable when they know we can speak Spanish," says Lopez. "Even if they can speak some English, of course they prefer to speak in Spanish."

As community affairs officers, Lopez and Paez provide guidance in Spanish, but non-English speakers might face difficulties when it comes to dealing with outside agencies. "For example, they might need to go someplace to get a permit and people there might not speak Spanish," says Paez.

Next: English as a Second Language

At Home in Nueva York

Staying Local

English as a Second Language

Spanish-speaking Newsstands

PHOTO: FANG CUI Omar Shaik, a South Asian who owns a newsstand on 181st Street and St. Nicholas Avenue, says he sells more than twice as many Spanish-language publications than he does English-language publications. Shaik sells approximately 300 New York-based Spanish newspapers a day, and approximately 200 newspapers imported from Latin America — mostly from Santo Domingo, Ecuador and Puerto Rico. In his display we found publications such as: Hoy, El Diario La Prensa, Noticias del Mundo, El Especial, El Impacto, Continental, Diario Las Americas, El Listin Diario, El Nacional, El Caribe and Vanguardia. Hoy, for example, is a New York-based daily newspaper with a circulation of more than 50,000. It is available in more than 7,500 locations throughout the city.