Starting this project, I knew exactly what to expect. I am not new to the neighborhood, I have been living here for practically my whole life. When I was younger my father used to tell me stories about how when they first came to America, the cops would come to Brighton Beach to harass the new immigrants. Luckily those days have stopped but Brighton Beach has not changed much from those times. The train still runs over head every few min, the streets are still filled with thick heavy accents, and the smell of pierogis still find their way to your nose no matter how far away you are.
In the winter, Brighton Beach has a very dark gloomy atmosphere. The streets are overcrowded with snow and the garbage cans are over flowing with garbage. All the stores start to look dirty and covered in white dust from the salt. As we walked the streets it looked like any other street lined with stores, a large amount of people running from store to store to do shopping. But there was one difference, the faces and bits of conversation that you pick up are all Russian. Just like mentioned in “Changing Face of Brighton Beach” the faces have started to change recently and it is evident in the new stores and restaurants being opened. I feel that soon Brennan may have to write a new article talking about what happened with “Little Odessa.”
In the summer, Brighton starts to change dramatically. It is filled with tourists that come to visit the beach. It is longer filled with just Russians but rapidly becomes a melting pot of different cultures. It is interesting to see that in the summer most of these “outsiders” don’t go to eat pizza but rather embrace Brighton Beach and often get pierogis. In the summer, most of the traffic shifts from the streets to the beach. The congestion on the boardwalk becomes so bad that I often prefer to use the streets to get where I’m going.
Upon doing research I was intrigued by the website Brightonbeach.com. It lists the history of Brighton beach and how it has changed. It also tells the story of how the community came to be and that was very interesting. As a shock as the story was to me, another source did quite the opposite. Neighborhoodscout.com did nothing but confirm what I already knew. The prices in our neighborhood are higher than average due to our location. We are located next to the beach and have multiple stores and modes of transportation within the community. This drives up the prices because of comfort.
What I did learn from this project is that I hate my neighborhood. I love everything about it except the people. Living here my whole life I have never seen a young person move in. It has been the same middle age couples that move in. The area is filled with tons of Russian grandmas that don’t know a word of English and get angry if you assume that they speak English. City-data.com just solidifies my argument by showing that there are roughly only 20% of the population under 25. Maybe I would be okay with the community being mostly of the older generation if the older generation wasn’t so rude. They come from a place that is notoriously cold and bitter and it shows in their personality.
When Diana and I were conducting an experiment to see where people came from, it hit me. The people on Brighton Beach are bitter and rude for absolutely no reason. The moment that made it happen for me was when I asked the first person where they came from and they pretended I didn’t exist. But that opened my eyes to a bigger picture. It has always been like this where I live. No one wants to be bothered by your existence because they aren’t content with their life. They came to America looking for fame and fortune but instead they live in apartments doing nothing all day being too lazy to learn English because there is no need when they are surrounded by Russians.
For this reason, as well as others, I realized that I don’t want to live in this area when I get older. Although I have made many connections with people around the neighborhood and have all of my child hood memories here, I rather go somewhere else. Perhaps it is because I am Americanized and the idea of having to speak in Russian in order to do my shopping doesn’t interest me. Whether it be one reason or another, I know that I much rather leave this neighborhood than have to put up with the negative vibe that is tossed around, this includes inclusion as well.
For example, my best friend is Chinese. We have been friends for 8 years now and consider each other brothers. Because of his nationality, he isn’t welcome in my neighborhood. When we walk around my building or even around the boardwalk I get looks of disapproval. Looks that I shouldn’t see anymore but because of the fact that everyone that lives on Brighton is still stuck in their old ways, I still do. Another reason that I hate Brighton Beach is that there is always a constant battle of who looks the most luxurious. Who has the nicer car or the nicest fur or even who has the prettiest wife. Seeing it from the side it kind of pathetic that people who don’t even know each other compare their success based off each other. Overall Brighton is an unwelcoming, cold, bitter neighborhood and because of this project, I was able to take a look at the bigger picture and notice it for myself.
