Little Odessa

Ethnography Little Odessa, the predominantly Russian-speaking enclave of South Brooklyn, has been a thriving community for decades that achieved political power on its own. The area comprising Brighton Beach and Coney Island had once been a "summer getaway for wealthy New Yorkers," but morphed into a working class ethnic enclave after World War Two (Robinson & D'Onfro, 2014). Subsequent waves of refugees from Russian-speaking areas of Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Russia -- about 50 countries in total -- have poured in, lending the community a multi-ethnic and vibrant character.

Since the 1970s, about 400,000 more refugees and immigrants from former Soviet republics have streamed into New York City and most have congregated in Brighton Beach (Miyares, 1998). In the 1980s, Soviet emigration policies started to become even more lax, enabling the inflight of more refugees from the Soviet Union, most of whom were Jewish. For a while now, Brighton Beach has been the home of the largest Russian-speaking population in the Untied States (Ziyatdinova, 2014).

Half of the population of Brighton Beach is foreign-born, of those, half come from either the Ukriane or Russia (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). Because a large proportion of post-1970 immigrants were from Ukraine, and also because Odessa is a seaside city with a substantial Jewish population, Brighton Beach easily wears the nickname Little Odessa. It is occasionally referred to as "Little Russia by the Sea," or simply, "Little Russia," (Litvinskaya, 2011). The area comprises a substantial geographic space in South Brooklyn, of about ten square city blocks.

Brighton Beach itself imparts a symbolically open feel, and likewise links Little Odessa to its Old World counterpart. Street signs, business signs, and verbal communication are conducted in Russian. Many of the residents of Little Odessa do not know English. Little Odessa has been described as a waypoint for some immigrants, who generally choose to leave after they learn English or find work outside the community (Ziyatdinova, 2014).

Ziyatdinova (2014) notes that seniors and "people who can't learn English" are the only ones who choose to stay and live in the Brighton Beach area (p. 104). Yet Little Odessa businesses are thriving, attracting a substantial number of immigrants who speak varying degrees of English. Nostalgia is a primary reason for remaining in or visiting Little Odessa, as shops and restaurants sell the brands, products, styles, and cuisine of the motherland. Vodka is a staple, along with pelmeni and pirozhki.

There are elements of Old World life that are less savory than others, with widespread knowledge of the perpetuation of Russian social hierarchies including mafia (Ziyatdinova, 2014). In fact, it has been said that in Brighton Beach, "the Soviet Union still exists," (Ziyatdinova, 2014). The political empowerment of Brighton Beach residents is in part rooted in the fact that the area has a promising economic outlook. Median incomes in Brighton Beach are about $37,167, which is lower than the average for New York ("Little Odessa," 2011).

However, rates of job growth in Brighton Beach are twice that of the rest of Brooklyn, and also outpace that of the average job growth rate throughout the five boroughs (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). Business growth has been remarkably high at about 21%, versus 5.8% citywide (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). Most of the business growth is in the small business sector, with 88% of firms having less than ten workers and 75% with less than five (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012).

However, the economy of Brighton Beach is also stimulated by the presence of major health care institutions, which provide Brighton Beach and neighboring Coney Island about 30% of all jobs (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). Because the Russian-speaking, Jewish population of south Brooklyn has been entrenched for several generations, there are no issues related to population displacement. Similarly, the community is relatively self-contained and has even been described as "insular," (Robinson & D'Onfro, 2014).

Its insularity has buffered Little Odessa from the types of problem that might have besieged it otherwise, as local interests and leadership remain predominant. This is also why small businesses are thriving, enabling money to remain in the community rather than funneled outside of it to external interests. With such a strongly localized economy, the communities of Brighton Beach and Coney Island stand poised to withstand economic depressions. This indeed has happened.

Home prices have remained steady, and rebounded well after the housing slump, and the presence of beach-area attractions ensures the long-term economic viability of Brighton Beach and Coney Island (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). As it is self-contained and driven by small business, the community retains an old-fashioned flair that belies the pull of gentrification occurring in other parts of Brooklyn. However, waterfront areas are poised to receive massive injections of funding to improve the entertainment and leisure infrastructure along Brighton Beach and Coney Island.

In particular, a 27-acre amusement park is being planned to supplement attractions like the aquarium (DiNapoli & Bleiwas, 2012). Few scandals, political or otherwise, plague South Brooklyn's immigrant communities. Politics are local, with residents heavily invested in the infrastructure.