Enclaves: Little Odessa
February 15, 2021
Stepping out of the Brighton Beach subway station, you might find some of the signs that greet you difficult to read — unless you’re fluent in Russian. The streets, too, are crowded with a buzz of foreign tongues. That’s because Brighton Beach is home to an enclave called Little Odessa, a nickname coined in the 1970s, when large numbers of immigrants, many Jewish, from Russia and other then-Soviet states began to settle there. In this photo essay, The Observer explores the neighborhood, full of displays of the residents’ cultural heritage that has been preserved throughout the years.
![coney island, near little odessa, covered in snow](https://fordhamobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_7899.jpg)
![storefront in little odessa](https://fordhamobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_7950-1.jpg)
![a turquoise vintage car in little odessa in a snow mound](https://fordhamobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_7889.jpg)
![car parked in front of a fur shop in little odessa](https://fordhamobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_7921.jpg)
![front of a church in little odessa with a sign that reads "house of mercy" in english and russian](https://fordhamobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_7957.jpg)
![yellow awning of a pharmacy in little odessa, with a group of people standing in front of it](https://fordhamobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/DSC_7910.jpg)