Brighton Beach Early 80s

Quite by chance, I managed to get to the small exhibition "Jews Brighton Beach, 1980-1982", consisting of photographs of Karl Glassman, who in the early 80s watched the life of former citizens of the Soviet Union who came to Brooklyn. Incredibly atmospheric, he got pictures, I must say.

In the subway car. It seems to me very symbolic photograph. All in one shot.

I retook those photos that seemed to me the most interesting. Found several works on the Internet. There are few photographs, but this is so rare material illustrating the life of Brighton Beach of that period that I decided to put them in a separate post.

Judging by the photo, the first thing a Soviet man bought in the United States was a fur hat and a sheepskin coat :) And, probably, still good boots.

Cheats off at the exam.

Glazier from 3rd Brighton (this is the name of the street).

They play dominoes. In Brighton, even today such a picture can be seen.

Hairdressers. A very common profession among Bukhara Jews living in New York.

An unhealthy craving for furs has survived on Brighton Beach to this day.

The exhibition was an excellent opportunity not only to look at interesting photographs, but also to look into a building made in a rather exotic architectural style for New York - neo-expressionism.

The exhibition was held on the basement of a very unusual synagogue in Tribeca. You could learn about it only by passing by. And then, if instead of looking at passers-by, you would pay attention to a small black and white poster on the fence.

Then I had to look for someone who runs the synagogue on Sunday. It turned out to be a very friendly black man from Brooklyn, who showed us the exhibition and the rest of the building. It was difficult to call this an exhibition, in fact. Just photos hanging on the wall of a large hall where various events are held. There were also tables on which were boxes of cookies prepared for the celebration of Sukkot.

The main hall of the synagogue. A man talked about the fact that architecture may be unusual, but completely stupid. To replace the ceiling lamps, for example, it was necessary to build scaffolding. There’s no other way to get there. A curtain divides the room into male and female halves.

This is a view from the street. It is absolutely impossible to identify a religious building in such a strange building. The building was built in 1965-67 by the project of architect William Breger. Made in the style of neo-expressionism, like the Trans World Flight Center at Kennedy Airport.