Brighton Beach is home to hundreds of small shops, 50 plus origins, one famous boardwalk, and New York’s best piroski. Located in the southern part of Brooklyn, Brighton Beach has always been known for having one of the highest Russian –Jewish populations within not only Brooklyn but New York State. Commonly referred to as “Little Odessa”or “Little Russia by the Sea” Brighton Beach, as of 2014 has a population of 75,829 citizens, more than half of which are Russian speaking immigrants and descendants from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan etc.
During the 1970’s Brighton Beach was not the lively, culture oriented neighborhood that it is today. Due to the sudden economic crisis it became a hotspot for crime and poverty. Around the same time, there was a sudden burst of immigrants from the Soviet Union, who spent decades transforming Brighton Beach into a safe refuge by providing low cost housing facilities, healthcare, and community and religious programs.
Nowadays, Brighton is still known for providing a comfortable atmosphere for immigrants and residents. But with that said, Brighton is also experiencing some setbacks, specifically increases in rent and overall living cost. The median cost for houses in Brighton has increased by $200,000, or 44.4% when compared with the previous quarter, and 15.1% when compared to the past year. The increase in construction of condominiums has pushed out local businesses, as well as many residents who can no longer afford the rent.
I would like to propose writing a profile on one of Brighton Beach’s long time residents, interviewing a local dry cleaner business, contacting Shorefront, a popular community center, and finally writing a conflict piece relating to one of Brighton Beach’s recent setbacks, as mentioned above.
As a lifelong citizen of Brighton Beach, I have grown up in the midst of all the well known changes and events that my neighborhood has gone through. I have seen Brighton’s best superstores open and close, witnessed many front page news stories, and sat from my third floor building as Sandy ripped through the streets. For the past 2 decades, I have been apart of Brighton and Brighton has been apart of me. Now, I’d like to share the stories of my neighborhood with everyone.
You made an excellent presentation in class today. I raised a couple of questions because I wanted you to think about the folks who might live there and yet be marginalized.
Hi Lynette,
From your post and your presentation in class, you are on the right track with the kind of stories you have in mind to pursue win the Brighton Beach neighborhood. I think you should go ahead with putting essential focus on the recent economic changes taking place, as I think there is so many key things that can be explored and shared with everyone. Your enthusiasm and passion in this writing is the exact approach a journalist should have to create moving and insightful feature stories. All the best!
Hi Lyn,
Judging by this proposal and the subsequent presentation in class, it looks like you’ve got this topic down perfectly. As everyone else already stated, you should put emphasis on the economic situation over in Brighton.