Our two visits to Brighton Beach presented us with two sharply contrasting images of the Brighton Beach community. The first expedition took place in a brutally cold winter environment. While stepping outside of the B train in South Brooklyn, I see my breath appearing before me as a cloud of water vapor, which signified freezing weather. Nevertheless, there was a certain beauty in the picturesque snow-flake landscape. Our group only truly starts to comprehend the arctic temperatures after we wait for our friend Asad to arrive. A plethora of B and Q trains enter and leave the station as we impatiently anticipate Asad’s appearance. Every single person emerging from these trains are extensively bundled up in multiple layers of clothes. I see many different fur hats and wool scarves that are typically associated with the Russian style of dress. It feels like the wind on the top of the elevated train platform pierces our bodies to the bones. It felt as though we were experiencing a true Russian winter in Little Odessa. After about what feels like a couple hours (actually 20 minutes), our now complete group finally descends the stairs of Brighton Beach station.
My first impression of Brighton Beach Avenue is how dynamic the people and businesses are on this exceptionally chilly day. Business appears to be as usual, the winter weather a minor inconvenience to the people if at all problematic. The street is reminiscent of a downtown Manhattan street with its overabundance of food markets, pharmacies, clothing shops, music stores, and convenience stores. The signs and advertisements displayed on those places were written in a mixture of English and Russian, fostering an inclusive sensation for those who speak either language. The blending of languages showed the community’s willingness to adapt to a new culture while comfortably preserving its own at the same time. The way the residential sector of Brighton Beach is set up is also suggestive of Manhattan with its grid like appearance. However, rather than a variety of apartment complexes, the streets are riddled with jam-packed minute houses. Every person we encountered in Brighton appeared to be on a mission with a set goal in mind. Nobody was on a casual walk through Brighton. Everyone had something to do.
Our next area we examined was the beach itself. This area was a sharp contrast to the populous and crowded area of Brighton Beach Avenue. Never had I seen a beach so deserted (I have also never visited a beach in the winter time). The few centimeters of snow covering the sandy beach had a profound impact on its appearance. The snow no longer acted as an attractive element of the landscape, as it had when we exited the B train. This snow appeared to muffle the splendor of the beach in addition to driving away the general public. We encountered a mere handful of people on the beach including a diver, a half naked man running along the waterfront, and a woman whom we interviewed. We were amazed by the diver’s dauntless feat of swimming in the ocean in these freezing conditions. The diver seemed to disregard mother nature’s attempt to prevent him from experiencing the beach. The partially clothed man exercising on the beach was another bizarre image for us. We were barely able to survive the artic weather in our numerous layers of clothes, hats, earmuffs, and gloves, and here was a man running like it was a normal day for him. Lastly, the lady whom we interviewed to get a Brighton Beach resident’s perception and opinion of Brighton Beach, was actually from Astoria, Queens. She was visiting Brighton Beach simply because she wanted to observe the beach in a snowy scenery. Despite the apparent randomness of the three characters we met at Brighton Beach, all three had one thing in common. Each of them did not allow the weather to prevent them from doing exactly what they wanted to do. The Brighton Beach community as a whole appears to be resilient in its existence, moving past any obstacles to accomplish their goals.
Our visit in April in some ways mirrored our previous visit in early March, but also had its own unique characteristics. To start, we once again had to wait for Asad at Brighton Beach station, this time for approximately 40 minutes. Abraham was particularly hungry this time, so we entered a Russian аптека (pharmacy) in search of a snack. The pharmacy was laid out like any other pharmacy such as Duane Reade or Rite Aid, just significantly more compact. After Abraham purchased his Chips Ahoy cookies we finally met up with Asad.
We decided to examine the beach first this time. It was almost shocking to see people actually sitting in lawn chairs in the sand or on benches along the boardwalk after our previous trip to Brighton. This time, the beach environment seemed to be filled with a positive and upbeat energy. We witnessed the people taking a moment of their time to appreciate the surrounding nature rather than hurrying off to wherever they needed to go. We were amazed to encounter that same man who was running half naked along the beach during our winter trip. It was at this point that we realized that we came to Brighton Beach on the same day of the week and same time of day as our last visit. This event was pattern of the unique routine that we identified amongst the Brighton Beach community.
According to our research, Brighton Beach was one of the communities that was hit hardest by Super Storm Sandy. Its location along the coastline proved to have detrimental effects on the community. However, the extent of the damage that we saw to the community was a temporarily closed off shark exhibit at the Coney Island Aquarium. The lack of weather damaged property, despite facing one of the worst weather disasters to hit New York, says much about Brighton’s residents. The people’s enduring and persevering nature allowed them to survive the natural disaster by helping one another rebuild. Just like their attitudes towards winter, they will not let weather get in their way.
~Mark
