We Are New York

Ask any immigrant New Yorker what is his or her priority once arriving on America's shores, and they will tell you, gaining proficiency in English.

It is true. Learning to speak English an important factor in determining accessibility to health, social, educational and employment services.

For this reason, the New York City's Mayor's Office is re-introducing, "We Are New York," an Emmy Award-winning television show created to help immigrant New Yorkers practice English while informing them of the city’s resources.

WANY was created by the Mayor’s Office of Adult Education and the City University of New York, Office of Academic Affairs. It is now a featured part of the mayor's office of Immigrant Affairs.

Each story highlights important and realistic situations, like going to the doctor or talking with a child’s teacher. The stories capture the spirit of people who have come from all over the world that have made the Big Apple their home. 

The characters speak every day English, but at a slower pace, and subtitles are used to help facilitate understanding of sentence formation and context.

Watch episodes from the We Are New York television series on Fridays at 10:00pm and Sundays at 1:00pm on NYCTV. (Channel 74 on Cablevision; Channel 24 on Verizon FiOS)

Live streams of the episodes from the We Are New York television series are now available on the Episodes and Resources page. To watch the episodes, click here.

WANY site sponsors can now enroll participants for their conversation groups online. In order for a conversation group to be listed as an available class for participants, site sponsors must notify WANY in their project requests or via email at info@wany.nyc.gov.