Discover Brighton Beach, a “Little Odessa by the sea” in Brooklyn
Written by Mariya Tsalkovich
Stepping off the B/Q train platform onto the sidewalk of Brighton Beach Avenue, one is transplanted into a myriad of history. The rich smell of salty ocean water mingling with the scent of freshly baked pirozhki permeates the air and speaks to the Eastern European immigrant influence of this small seaside town, Brighton Beach.
Until the latter half of the 19th century, the Brighton Beach area consisted of little more than farms on sandy hills. But in the late 1870s, a German-American tycoon, William Engemann, invested in and developed the area, and officially called it “Brighton Beach” after a famous British resort. Brighton Beach now flaunted a resort catering to the upper-middle class from all over New York. It had a bathhouse, large hotel with room for 5000 people, racehorse tracks, a world-class theatre, beaches, and an array of other entertainment options. Many high-rise apartment buildings built in an art-deco style still visible today sprang up, adding a thread of glamour to the neighborhood.
The town really began to see a large influx of people in the beginning of the 20th century as Engemann built the Brighton Rapid Transit, which provided for easier and more affordable access. It allowed upper middle-class men to travel to Williamsburg or Manhattan during the week for work, while their wives and children enjoyed the sunshine in Brighton. Today, residents from all over the city flock to Brighton Beach for summertime fun.
Come by the 1920s, Brooklyn’s population had risen to over two million people, with immigrants accounting for an estimated 660,000. Many Eastern European Jews began moving into the Brighton Beach neighborhood at a steadily increasing rate, and opened up businesses that catered to Jewish needs, such as Kosher grocery stores. A team of women immigrants from Russia established the Hebrew Alliance of Brighton by the Sea Inc., which sold baked goods and clothes to fund the construction of the first neighborhood synagogue. In the 1930s the neighborhood saw an even greater influx of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe as Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies took hold and became increasingly abusive and disruptive. During World War II, as about nine percent of the US population was sent overseas to fight, Brighton Beach was left in a very different light – impoverished and desolate – than just a few bright decades prior.
At the border of Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay, the Holocaust Memorial Park speaks to the enormous survivor population of the neighborhood. Along with over 200 engraved stones paying tribute to perished victims and communities, a large towering sculpture inscribed with the word “Remember” in English and Hebrew stands for the many families of survivors to remember each time they pass the park. With the help of resettlement agencies such as the New York Association for New Americans (NYANA), Brighton Beach became a safe haven for many Holocaust survivors and refugees in the late 1940s. The neighborhood was a supportive and attractive environment for Jewish immigrants, as many organizations and businesses already catered to their needs. At the same time, the desolation caused by the war opened up opportunities for newcomers to start anew with businesses such as tailor stores and bakeries.
In the 1970s, a new wave of Jewish immigrants made its way to the United States from the Soviet Union, as emigration policies became more lax in the latter country. At the time, practicing religion was still a taboo in the Soviet Union, and anti-Semitism was rampant; Jewish individuals were identified as “Jewish” on their official documents, rather than as from a specific geographic region of origin like other Soviet citizens.
As an immigrant who came to Brooklyn in 1993 reflects:
“My best friend was applying to law school in the 70s in Saint Petersburg and while she had the grades, she was still unable to get in. With the help of friends and family, she later found out that with her identification marked as ‘Jewish’, no matter how many times she would apply, she would not get in. This was not a singular type of story.”
In 1968 and then in 1971, an estimated 17,000 and 23,000 Soviet immigrants, respectively, entered the United States. With the help of NYANA, the majority of these immigrants settled in Brighton Beach, and the neighborhood rapidly became known as “Little Odessa by the Sea,”or “Little Russia by the Sea.”
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, New York became once again the destination of another great wave of Eastern Europeans. In 1992 alone, more than 20,000 Eastern European immigrants came to New York. In contrast to previous waves, many did not consider themselves religiously Jewish. Also, many had received a higher education and had access to some financial resources. While transferring degrees and licensure remained difficult in many fields, professional industries such as medicine and law began to integrate some of these immigrants into their ranks. Moreover, many of the secular Jews who had experienced discrimination in the Soviet Union solely because of their surnames, were able to come to New York to start anew.
Today, the neighborhood’s population is aging, as the children of immigrants begin to Americanize and move out of “Little Russia by the Sea.” In their place, burgeoning new immigrant groups such as Mexicans and Pakistanis are beginning to move in and slowly change the landscape of Brighton Beach. On small side streets and corners, Pakistani restaurants and Mexican car services are replacing some of the neighborhood’s former businesses.
The main strip of Brighton Beach however, is still very much Eastern European. Walking through the streets of Brighton Beach today, one can see the former Soviet Union men and women thriving in their new home. They are behind the counters of pharmacies. They sell Eastern European delicacies to their neighbors in the Brighton Bazaar. They are the doctors who provide care to survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. They are the people who contributed greatly to the transformation of Brighton Beach, from being a glamorous seaside resort town to a home for survivors of some of the darkest times in history.
