Recent Ukrainian Immigrants Shun Brighton Beach

“It’s time traveling! Time has frozen in the ‘90s. It’s sometimes interesting to go there because of the ocean, but I can’t imagine my life there,” said Daryna Yatsiuk about Brighton Beach. The recent Ukrainian immigrant is one of the many Ukrainians who moved to New York City because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Like Yatsiuk, some of the recent arrivals from Ukraine avoid Brighton Beach and South Brooklyn altogether because it reminds them of the Soviet Union. Brighton Beach became home to many immigrants from post-Soviet countries after the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. It got the nickname “Little Odessa” after the port city in Southern Ukraine.

Today, more recent immigrants don’t have much in common with those who came before.

“I don’t feel comfortable with the previous immigration wave from the Soviet Union. I think we are too different in our worldviews,” said Iryna Burletska. She came to New York from Ukraine in 2022. “Brighton has its own atmosphere. It’s like a time capsule. Ukraine didn’t have this kind of vibe long ago. When I was there for the first time, I felt like I was five again, and I saw phantom memories long-forgotten by my generation. It’s a real ‘90s culture.”

Burletska and Yatsiuk live in Bedford-Stuyvesant, where they try to fit into the rhythm of New York. Since the Russian invasion, almost 7 million Ukrainians have moved abroad, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. has welcomed over 270,000 of them, and it’s estimated that the latest wave of immigration puts the Ukrainian population in the city at 150,000.

Some Ukrainians did head to Brighton Beach and have tried to make the area their own. Valeria Vasylets, a Ukrainian immigrant, came to the U.S in 2014. She created a Ukrainian beauty studio, Sugarboo, which opened in 2022 in Sheepshead Bay, right next to Brighton Beach. The salon employees are all Ukrainian, and they provide services like gel manicures, pedicures, hair coloring, and makeup.

“Today, all employees are from Ukraine,” Vasylets said, “primarily due to the fact that I focused on the quality and service of an exclusively Ukrainian salon. With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, many talented professionals arrived. This was actually the push for opening the salon.”

The nail salon became popular because many Ukrainians feel more comfortable working with other Ukrainians. Clients and workers speak the same language. It is especially noticeable in partnerships with other businesses. “Someone always supports someone. There is a flower shop/fitness studio/bakery – give us your flyers. In other words, the unity of the diaspora is clearly felt,” said Vasylets..

Daryna Roslyna is one of Sugarboo’s clients. “When Ukrainians do it, it means Ukrainian quality. Americans just don’t know how to do it,” she said. Roslyna lived in Brighton Beach for a year and a half and described it as “a very depressing place. Despite the beach and the ocean, I just don’t know how anyone can live there. It’s the Soviet Union. The only thing I like is the variety of Ukrainian products available.”

Ukrainians in the U.S. are now still looking to make someplace their own, just where isn’t clear. 

*Interviews were conducted in Ukrainian and translated.