By Mark Solter & Claire Lynch
As one walks down the battered streets of Brighton Beach, a few unique characteristics capture and hold one’s attention almost immediately. These include the almost deafening sound of rusted metal clanking beneath a moving Q train, the intoxicating smell of fresh pierogies emanating from several bakeries, and the heartwarming sight of aged babushkas feeding seagulls on the boardwalk. The Eastern European enclave hosts some of the most exciting spots in the city thanks to its proximity to the Atlantic as well as its plethora of thriving authentic small businesses scattered all along Brighton Beach Avenue.
The neighborhood, often dubbed Little Odessa (because of the immense amount of immigrants from the Ukrainian city), is home to primarily Russian speaking people. In fact, according to statistics from the U.S. 2010 census, 72.9% of the population of Brighton Beach was born abroad. This accounts for the fact that over 35% of the neighborhood’s population does not speak or understand English. Brighton Beach is actually home to the highest population of Russian immigrants in the United States. The average resident is about 50 years old, almost 15 years older than the average New Yorker. This is because the neighborhood hosts a massive amount of seniors who left after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
With what began as a getaway for the rich elite of Manhattan, Brighton Beach has become a neighborhood of immigrants, starting with a large influx of Jewish citizens in the early 20th century from other neighborhoods in New York like the Lower East Side, Brownsville, and East New York. The impact of this new Jewish population was tangible as this new population began to get involved in local arts and politics. Along with dominating the local Democratic clubs, the Brighton Beach Music Hall was converted into a Yiddish Theatre in 1918 due to local pressure.
The population of this neighborhood really began to diversify the in the 1930’s and 1940’s with a stream of immigrants escaping the oppressive regimes of the European Nazi and Fascist governments. Along with the large population of Russian immigrants who emigrated from the Soviet Union after the end of World War II, Brighton Beach began to host immigrants from Pakistan, China, Vietnam, and Mexico, despite federal immigration initiatives meant to restrain immigration from these countries to the United States. Measures such as the shift from street names to street numbers, or “places”, in the area were meant to help new immigrants who didn’t speak English learn their way around. Because of a lessening in the previously strict Soviet immigration policies, Brighton Beach’s population began to become more representative of its current ethnic makeup with an influx of Ukrainian and Russian Jews in the late 1970’s. With almost forty thousand Soviet Jews arriving in Brighton between 1975 and 1980, Brighton Beach became the largest population of Soviet Union immigrants in North America.
The 1970’s were not only culturally significant for the neighborhood of Brighton Beach, but also economically resonant. In the 1960’s and early 1970’s, (before the aforementioned influx of immigrants from the Soviet Union), New York City faced an economic downturn, public programs received major cuts, inevitably hurting some of the city’s more vulnerable populations, especially immigrants. With less money flowing into development and program, crime increased dramatically. The deterioration was palpable, with the physical neighborhood reflecting these economic woes: businesses were leaving, landlords stopped renovating and caring for their properties, public work renovations stalled. In the face of these tribulations, another significant demographic shift occurred in the neighborhood; the youth and middle class families were moving to different parts of New York with a stalled economy and a decrepit infrastructure in their wake, leaving an increasingly elderly and impoverished population behind. This change manifested itself physically as landlords transitioned apartments into “single occupancy housing” catering to the elderly, families on welfare, and the mentally ill. Brighton Beach (like other neighborhoods in New York) also experienced high rates of homelessness in the early 1970’s, which can be attributed (although not exclusively) to the closing of governmentally run mental hospitals, or “halfway houses”, after city-wide austerity measures. Despite the difficulties that Brighton Beach faced in the early 1970’s, by the end of the decade the neighborhood was starting to recover (more investment, a decrease in crime, a growing middle class), due to the flood of Russian and Ukrainian immigrants. Like a breath of fresh air, these immigrants saved Brighton Beach.
One particular senior, a man named Igor Izrailov, remembers the culture shock he experienced after he came to New York with his son. “The people born in this country do not understand how good it is. I jump into politics right away, and thank God everyday for freedom and safety. My American coworkers are not same. They do not vote. They complain all the time about not enough vacation days, or too much work. As long as I am healthy enough to work, I work till I die hopefully,” he recounts in his broken English. This difference in cultural approach to civil duty is actually quite entrenched in the neighborhood. Igor explains the reason as a result of having known what life is like when these liberties don’t exist in the first place. “I know what it is like when you cannot vote at all, so I am not spoiled like the Americans are. I try very hard so my son knows he has best opportunities available,” Igor says as his voice breaks from emotional pressure.
This cultural difference also manifests itself through politics as well. While Brooklyn is often regarded as a staunchly Democratic area, Brighton Beach is almost wholly Republican. An amateur statistician would come to the conclusion that Brighton Beach is an anomaly, but a quick survey of its residents would provide the basic rationale behind this unyielding red community. Igor’s political ideologies are generally reflective of many of Brighton’s residents, and can provide insight into the reason behind why the neighborhood votes republican year round. “The Americans do not understand how bad communism is. My son comes home and shows me how he learns about Marx in school, but it did not work for me. Us Jews were hurt, and we had access to very little. They ran out of bread in Kiev all the time. People who vote Obama do not know how important private companies are because they lived who lives without ever knowing powerful state taking away freedom from people. For the first time I see two shops selling the same thing side by side, something you never see in communism. This is what makes private market beautiful. That is why I want no government influence in things,” Igor yells whilst slapping his hand on the table. This is the rationale used by many of these immigrants in the neighborhood, but it is restricted to generation. Igor regretfully admits, “My son voted for Obama. Many of our kids are now spoiled and vote for democrats because of what they learn in schools. But we have more experience than them. They think we are clueless immigrants, but we lived longer and try to teach them that what they want is only fantasy. Still, I don’t think they will ever listen, and Brighton will be as democratic as the rest of Brooklyn when we grow old.”
Although Brighton Beach began as a posh beach getaway location, it became a haven for some of New York’s newest immigrants, fleeing famine, oppression, and poverty. Its inhabitants have had an incredibly significant impact on the politics and cultural identity of the area, making it unique from other neighborhoods in Brooklyn. As you walk down Brighton’s infamous boardwalk, the impact that Ukrainian and Russian immigrants have had on this neighborhood for the last quarter of a century ago can still be felt, from the small pierogi and tea shops to the Russian language newspapers to the groups of babushkas out for their afternoon walks.
Lyudmila is one of these stereotypical babushkas with deep wrinkles running across her face, like rivers, and a scarf tied around her head depicting vibrant sunflowers. She came from Minsk, Belarus in the late 90’s and settled by the water because it would be the first time she’d ever seen the ocean in her life. Like most of the seniors on Brighton, she lives off of pension and resides in one of the many massive apartment buildings scattered across the area. “I come late, so I do not know English like young people. I can only afford little apartment, but my son now moves to New Jersey,” she says. Lyudmila’s typical day involves walking across Ocean Parkway in search of Borscht, getting some traditional Russian fairytale books or toys for her grandchildren from the Saint Petersburg store, and staring with wonder at the new Oceana buildings. The Oceana condos serve the more affluent residents of the neighborhood. While 29.4% of the population lives below the poverty line, the younger immigrants who were able to assimilate quickly had access to more resources and in turn could eventually afford living in this private community. Lyudmila’s deep wrinkles tell the story of a young working girl who was never blessed with a specialized career. As she opens her eyes wide, she exclaims “The young people can do everything. They become doctors and pharmacists because they learn English fast, and the rest of us live in red brick buildings with no pools or gates.”
Brighton Beach reflects the different stories of its residents. To the young and sprightly immigrants who took to english quickly, it looks like beautiful condos and secure gates protecting you from outsiders.To most seniors, it looks like a small apartment that is often left empty during the day in favor of a trip along the boardwalk with a cabbage perogie. To the jaded middle aged shoppers, Brighton looks like grey noisy bustling Russian shops hidden in the shadow under the train railing. However, regardless of socioeconomic status, Brighton will always smell like escape and opportunity as the smells of the ocean and potato dumplings converge into a homey aroma. Brighton will always look like little Odessa by the sea to those who found comfort in keeping their culture intact in an expanse spanning only 10 blocks.
