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Mill Basin may be experiencing an influx of Russians? Can anyone confirm that?
From what I understand,there is also a large Jewish population there.
Definitely some (well, more broadly, Russian/Ukrainian/Belarussian). Some of the houses I've been to are insane. I think it's where some of the really rich buy in the Russian community, sort of like how some of the really rich Chinese, Koreans and Taiwanese have bought further east into Queens or even Long Island from Flushing. They aren't the majority of the neighborhood, but they're definitely there.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 06-28-2017 at 08:35 PM..
Right, I do like Park Slope because it's pretty and borders a great park, but its tastes and culture can run pretty close to a number of affluent urban neighborhoods in the US. I don't think that's a bad thing at all, but it's just somewhat more common.
What makes those Queens neighborhoods, as well as some Brooklyn neighborhoods, unique is how quickly these different communities run on to each other. I think what makes Flushing and some surrounding neighborhoods unique among those is the kind of economic and political capital it's accumulated and its sheer size/density. Though it's a different culture, I think the closest equivalent is parts of Brighton Beach / Sheepshead Bay / Manhattan Beach / Mill Basin and its surrounding area have become the same for ex-Soviet Bloc communities.
These two larger communities are similar in that the ethnic population isn't just working class immigrant communities coalescing around a neighborhood for survival and convenience as they run a larger gamut of socioeconomic strata and have thus had an incredible amount of power and wealth in physically reshaping the neighborhood and to serve as a draw for a far wider net of the community at large. In this sense, these places aren't under the same kind of threat of gentrification that other immigrant communities are--they already are the gentry. Also, the nightlife in these places is ridiculous.
These are also part of the allure of living in NYC for some people--not the established high culture which is also an attraction, but the medley of different cultures wholesale transplanted and then playing off each other and the US.
I hear you.
I don't know as much about Queens/Flushing (haven't been there in a while but am due for a visit!), but I am more familiar with the Brooklyn ethnic nabes of Brighton Beach/Sheepshead Bay/Manhattan Beach, and nearby...
It's true that southern Brooklyn is very unique culturally (I live there now - in Gravesend/Midwood - not too far from Sheepshead Bay). Personally I like it. Maybe it's more similar to Queens in a way?
In my current nabe, most of the grocery stores are either kosher, Russian (of some variety) or corner stores owned by Soviet Asians with general produce but also some ethnic snack food, etc. There is also the odd Mexican restaurant, grocery, and bodega. Many of the restaurants similarly are either kosher, Soviet (of some sort), Middle Eastern/Israeli/Syrian, or Turkish (some Turks in the nabe as well). There are very few "American" sort of businesses or restaurants. (Here and there you find a Subway, or a Starbucks, or an Annie Sez, but that is in the minority). The clothing stores are also Soviet-owned many of them and carry European fashions (not just from the former USSR), as well as Orthodox Jewish stores that carry "modest" fashions, etc.
The neighborhood is unique and doesn't feel like anywhere else in America. I do love that about it.
I imagine Flushing and other neighborhoods in Queens have a similar feel?
Making generalizations about the boroughs doesn't really make sense. Both Brooklyn and Queens are huge. Calling Queens "bland" means the person hasn't experienced much of it. It may not be your cup of tea but there are many ethnic neighborhoods that make it very different from your typical suburb. The "American dream" would be more like moving out to the actual suburbs. What Queens lacks are larger museums and music venues but that's just a short ride away in Manhattan.
Brooklyn is also huge and has its fair share of ethnic enclaves. I also really enjoy the "gentrified" areas but I agree with those who say that they're not so unique. Many downtown areas of other large US cities have that Brooklyn feel to me. Basically parts of Brooklyn have become more like an extension of Manhattan and other cities are Manhattan-lite.
I feel like if you've traveled enough, you realize that many cities are very similar. The idea that NYC is this insanely unique place is not really true. It's just more dense. Heck, if you think about it, even Queens is not really that unique. Other cities have ethnic enclaves, just more spread out and not as many of them.
The OP asked about the "allure" of NYC but that was basically answered in his/her first few sentences. People who like NYC feel that the cultural and professional opportunities outweigh the downsides (the traffic/crowds/lack of trees/etc). This goes for any other city and deciding what is the best fit for you. Do the pros outweigh the cons based on your own personal preferences?
I don't know as much about Queens/Flushing (haven't been there in a while but am due for a visit!), but I am more familiar with the Brooklyn ethnic nabes of Brighton Beach/Sheepshead Bay/Manhattan Beach, and nearby...
It's true that southern Brooklyn is very unique culturally (I live there now - in Gravesend/Midwood - not too far from Sheepshead Bay). Personally I like it. Maybe it's more similar to Queens in a way?
In my current nabe, most of the grocery stores are either kosher, Russian (of some variety) or corner stores owned by Soviet Asians with general produce but also some ethnic snack food, etc. There is also the odd Mexican restaurant, grocery, and bodega. Many of the restaurants similarly are either kosher, Soviet (of some sort), Middle Eastern/Israeli/Syrian, or Turkish (some Turks in the nabe as well). There are very few "American" sort of businesses or restaurants. (Here and there you find a Subway, or a Starbucks, or an Annie Sez, but that is in the minority). The clothing stores are also Soviet-owned many of them and carry European fashions (not just from the former USSR), as well as Orthodox Jewish stores that carry "modest" fashions, etc.
The neighborhood is unique and doesn't feel like anywhere else in America. I do love that about it.
I imagine Flushing and other neighborhoods in Queens have a similar feel?
Yes, Flushing and its environs are similar but with Chinese, Taiwanese, and Koreans. Some of the neighborhoods G-Dale mentioned are more like Sunset Park and Bay Ridge with their large Mexican, Chinese, and Middle Eastern presence but without the odd transplanted "High Street" sort of retail and venues.
Yes, Flushing and its environs are similar but with Chinese, Taiwanese, and Koreans. Some of the neighborhoods G-Dale mentioned are more like Sunset Park and Bay Ridge with their large Mexican, Chinese, and Middle Eastern presence but without the odd transplanted "High Street" sort of retail and venues.
Am thinking you're confused. Bay Ridge has NOTHING in common with Sunset Park. Can confirm that there is a Middle Eastern presence in the northern part of the neighborhood, but that's about it. Bay Ridge has been rated the BEST neighborhood in Brooklyn. Clean and family-oriented, it is nothing like the industrial wasteland that is Sunset Park.
Am thinking you're confused. Bay Ridge has NOTHING in common with Sunset Park. Can confirm that there is a Middle Eastern presence in the northern part of the neighborhood, but that's about it. Bay Ridge has been rated the BEST neighborhood in Brooklyn. Clean and family-oriented, it is nothing like the industrial wasteland that is Sunset Park.
I'm citing a neighborhood that has a sizable immigrant community, but that doesn't meant the entire neighborhood is like that. Since you know that's the case, I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with. Some neighborhoods of decent size can host several communities at once and can have a strong variance within it. Bay Ridge does have a large middle-class community that's been established for a while, but it also has, which you confirm, a large Middle Eastern presence. There's a pretty large array of neighborhoods out there that have different communities within its borders and there is a difference between saying there's a large immigrant community in a neighborhood and saying that the entire neighborhood is made up of that community.
Also, there's a large part of Sunset Park, almost everything east of 4th Avenue and some blocks between 3rd and 4th Ave, that is not an industrial wasteland--it's a large neighborhood which is the point I'm making. The northeastern portion of it even features families that are probably more well-to-do than you are due to the steady gentrification occurring over the last decade or so coming down from Park Slope / South Slope. Which also ties into what I was saying earlier about these communities being different from the ex-Soviet Bloc community based in and around Brighton Beach and the East Asian community that are based in and around Flushing. I think I've done a pretty fair assessment, but I'm open to learning more.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 06-29-2017 at 10:09 AM..
I'm citing a neighborhood that has a sizable immigrant community, but that doesn't meant the entire neighborhood is like that. Since you know that's the case, I'm not sure what you're disagreeing with. Some neighborhoods of decent size can host several communities at once and can have a strong variance within it. Bay Ridge does have a large middle-class community that's been established for a while, but it also has, which you confirm, a large Middle Eastern presence. There's a pretty large array of neighborhoods out there that have different communities within its borders and there is a difference between saying there's a large immigrant community in a neighborhood and saying that the entire neighborhood is made up of that community.
Also, there's a large part of Sunset Park, almost everything east of 4th Avenue and some blocks between 3rd and 4th Ave, that is not an industrial wasteland--it's a large neighborhood which is the point I'm making. The northeastern portion of it even features families that are probably more well-to-do than you are due to the steady gentrification occurring over the last decade or so. Which also ties into what I was saying earlier about these communities being different from the ex-Soviet Bloc community based in and around Brighton Beach and the East Asian community that are based in and around Flushing.
I know it, but others may not, and Bay Ridge has always been a great neighborhood. No need to go tarnishing its reputation by comparing it to Sunset Park.
I know it, but others may not, and Bay Ridge has always been a great neighborhood. No need to go tarnishing its reputation by comparing it to Sunset Park.
Yea, Bay Ridge never hit anything near the rough spots that Sunset Park had. Bay Ridge is still nicer, but Sunset Park is now rough only by historic reputation at this point. From the massive increase of the Chinese presence in the southeast (whose communities generally have little violent crime), to the top-down corporate investment into the Industry City complex on the west, and finally the march of gentrification from the north, Sunset Park has changed pretty drastically over the couple decades. I'd say it's my favorite Brooklyn neighborhood at this point.
Yea, Bay Ridge never hit anything near the rough spots that Sunset Park had. Bay Ridge is still nicer, but Sunset Park is now rough only by historic reputation at this point. From the massive increase of the Chinese presence in the southeast (whose communities generally have little violent crime), to the top-down corporate investment into the Industry City complex on the west, and finally the march of gentrification from the north, Sunset Park has changed pretty drastically over the couple decades. I'd say it's my favorite Brooklyn neighborhood at this point.
Sunset Park is still ugly overall. Am thinking having the Gowanus removed and buried would certainly help matters.
Yes, Flushing and its environs are similar but with Chinese, Taiwanese, and Koreans. Some of the neighborhoods G-Dale mentioned are more like Sunset Park and Bay Ridge with their large Mexican, Chinese, and Middle Eastern presence but without the odd transplanted "High Street" sort of retail and venues.
Bay Ridge doesn't have a large Mexican or Chinese presence at all. You're thinking Sunset and Dyker Heights respectively.
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