FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 14, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
Book Culture bookstore opens a location in Long Island City
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
Long Island City’s book lovers now
have a new shop to peruse new and old
titles with the opening of Book Culture.
Th e two-story shop offi cially opened
its doors to the public on Dec. 8 at 26-09
Jackson Ave. Th is is the business’s fourth
location.
Chris Doeblin, a co-owner of the bookstores,
said that Rockrose Development
approached him to open the space in Long
Island City earlier this year. When several
Barnes & Noble locations throughout
Queens closed, the borough was left with
a dearth of bookstores.
Book Culture was co-founded by
Doeblin and his partner at the time, Cliff
Simms, in 1997. Th e Long Island City
location is 2,300 square feet and the basement
is dedicated to children’s books and
toys, with a reading room for young adult
and middle readers. Brightly colored
shelves are stacked with books, stuff ed
animals and comfortable cushions.
“We have extravagant plans for kids
stuff there in terms of setting up readings
and Sunday book readings,” he said.
Th e fi rst and second fl oors feature new
releases and a wide array of genres including
literature, fi ction, mystery, history,
sociology, science, nature, poetry, cook
books, picture books and more. Books
dedicated to New York and its history are
also available and Doeblin believes they
will be interesting to the tourists who
visit cultural institutions like MoMA PS1,
which are located nearby.
Staff will also see what genres the neighborhood
is seeking to make decisions
about stocking the shelves.
Book Culture offers subscription
options that provide a gift -wrapped book,
handwritten letter and a bookmark every
three months, every two months or every
month. Th e subscription is curated by
one of the store’s indie booksellers and
readers can choose between six genres
like new and noteworthy fi ction or nonfi
ction, picture books and poetry.
Th ough the bookstore has been open for
less than a week, Doeblin said the reception
from the community has been great.
“Within a couple of hours there was a
lineup of strollers and moms that came
in,” he said. “We’re so happy to be in
Long Island City, particularly in Queens
more generally, because everyone is so
committed to making this a great neighborhood.”
Doeblin said he has met a large
swath of community leaders, including
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, major
landlords like Tishman Speyer, groups
like the Gantry Parent Association and
Long Island City Partnership and local
business owners — all of whom seem to
be excited to see a new bookshop moving
in.
“We really hope that were going to contribute
to the community there in a profound
way,” he said. “We’re really glad
that we came to Long Island City.”
Book Culture is open Mondays through
Fridays from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays
from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from
10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Queens pols push for expansion of Korean Dual Language program
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Two Queens lawmakers and various
community leaders want to see a city
education program branch out into more
schools.
On Dec. 5, Assemblymen Ron Kim
and Edward Braunstein met with NYC
Department of Education (DOE) offi -
cials to make their case for expanding
the Korean Dual Language program.
Th e Dual Language program strengthens
students’ native language development
and content knowledge while they build
their social and academic English skills,
according to the DOE.
Kim, who is the fi rst and only Korean-
American elected offi cial in New York
state, said studies have shown the value of
a bilingual education.
“Limited choice can prevent otherwise
interested parents from enrolling their
kids in enormously benefi cial dual language
programs,” the lawmaker said. “As
a Korean-American whose two daughters
will likely grow up speaking English,
Korean and Chinese, the importance of
this kind of education is clear to me.”
Currently, the only Korean Dual
Language Program available in all of the
city is at Flushing’s P.S. 32, according to
Kim. Th e program there ends aft er fi ft h
grade.
“By the time its participants graduate
from high school, many may already forget
what they learned,” Kim said. “Th ey
should be off ered a chance to continue
their bilingual education, and their
peers who live in other similar school districts
should have an equal opportunity to
enroll in these valuable programs.”
Kim and Braunstein said the growing
Korean-American community in
the city, particularly in areas of Bayside,
Whitestone and Flushing, has led to an
increased demand in such programs.
“We understand the importance of children
having opportunities to learn other
languages in an increasingly interconnected
world,” Braunstein said. “Many
Korean-American families in my district
are oft en surprised to fi nd that Korean
is not off ered among the list of available
programs, and disheartened by the limited
opportunities for their children to
learn it.”
Leaders from the Korean-American
Association of Greater New York, Korean-
Americans for Political Advancement
and the Korean Language Foundation
also spoke at the meeting in favor of
expanding the program.
“For the Korean-American community,
with its strong presence in New
York, students from kindergarten all the
way through secondary school should be
given the opportunity to participate in a
dual language program,” said Yung Duk
Kim, a language education specialist. “I
thank Assemblyman Ron Kim for spearheading
this meeting and working on
expanding the program to more schools.”
In February, Schools Chancellor
Carmen Fariña announced 68 new Dual
Language and Transitional Bilingual
Education programs, which opened at the
start of the 2017-18 school session. A total
of 24 new programs began in Queens
schools in languages including Spanish,
Chinese and Bengali.
Braunstein said the December meeting
left the local leaders feeling hopeful
that the city will expand the Korean Dual
Language Program to more schools.
“A bilingual education can foster greater
intercultural exchange and understanding,
helping to bridge gaps between
communities while ensuring New York
students of all backgrounds can stay
connected to their roots and heritage,”
Braunstein said.
Photo via Pixnio
Photo via Instagram/Bookculturelic
Book Culture opened its doors in Long Island City on Dec. 8.
