The level of political activity of Russian-speaking Jews of Brooklyn and Queens has long ceased to surprise New York politicians or journalists. We are used to the many community organizations, candidates for political office and business associations for “us.” Until recently, Manhattan, the Bronx or Staten Island could not compare.
Did I say Staten Island? According to official numbers, today there are approximately 50, 000 Russian-speaking immigrants living in the borough. The majority of Russian Staten Island is middle-class. There are quite a few doctors, lawyers, bankers, brokers and small business owners. Their appearance on the island was not welcomed by native inhabitants—particularly construction companies, which had been run by Americans of Italian descent. In the last few decades, under the guise of a battle to save Staten Island from “excessive development,” a campaign has begun to create the image of an enemy in the likeness of the “Russian threat.” Writings in English-language papers, hints dropped by certain local politicians and statements of resident associations have drawn an alarming picture of the “capture and destruction” of the unique island.
The newly organized Russian American Council of Staten Island (RACSI) seeks acknowledgment from the political establishment and will fight any form of discrimination. The inauguration of RACSI took place in Atlantis Restaurant on October 22. The management of the council includes businessmen, community leaders, journalists and lawyers. Igor Baboshkin, a financial consultant who works for New York Life, was elected president of RACSI. The leadership of RACSI includes Mikhail Kremerov, president of the New York Brotherhood of the Russian-speaking Disabled, Anna Pekkerman, radio journalist and director of Homes R Us , a real estate ad agency, and Boris Konovalov, president of a club for fishermen and hunters. The presidents of Staten Island’s construction firms were among the audience. They are very worried about the political and psychological atmosphere surrounding “Russian” businesses in the neighborhood. In the opinion of Igor Fleishmaker (Bay Properties) and Igor Nezhdanov (DNR Construction) the cries of “Russian invasion” and the “overpopulation of Staten Island” art intrigues on the part of competitors. Who among the locals is going to like quick, cheap and efficient development of the island by new people? It’s a matter of millions of dollars and they don’t want to let Russian-language construction companies into the rapidly developing housing market.
But our businessmen are not a timid bunch and are confidently taking third place in the economy of this conservative region. The creation of RACSI is yet another serious response to xenophobes. At the inauguration, a speech was made by Staten Island president James Molinaro and his deputy Dan Donovan, who is running for public prosecutor. They emphasized the large contribution of the Russian-speaking community to the island’s economic and cultural life and promised any form of assistance. They condemned “anti-Russian” comments in the press.
Those gathered were charmed by the festive show of the young graduates of the “Russian” kindergarten “Smiles Around Us” (owned by Svetlana Kazakevich and Yelena Gordiyevskaya). The young Esther Pesochina, student of Svetlana Dragayevaya, who is a participant in a European championship, did beautiful pirouettes on rollerskates. Alyona Bolgarova, a teacher, told the Russian Forward about the achievements of her wards in the Great Hills community kindergarten, where children from the ages of two to six learn to read, write, dance and recite poetry.
The honored guests of the celebration were Jean Borsh and Mark Davidovich, of the socio-political organization PRAVO, who have given great support to RACSI. Also present at the inauguration were Natalya Ushakova, an employee of the regional branch of the New York Public Library, Alexander Korkhov, deputy director of the city commission on human rights, and Evgenii von Rosenschild-Paulin, publisher of the colorful advertising magazine “Russian Staten Island.”
RACSI intends to publish its own monthly newspaper. The first issue of the free publication called “Our Home—Staten Island” elicited much interest among local businessmen, as well as residents of various neighborhoods of New York. Natalya Barenboim, RACSI lawyer, well known to Russian Forward readers for her writing on the compensation of Holocaust survivors, predicted a successful future for the new organization. Angela Tkachuk and Lyubov Krut, sisters and dentists at Sand Lane Dental, expressed their hope that the energy and enterprise of residents of Staten Island will lead to an influx of Russian-speaking residents from Brooklyn, Queens and even New Jersey. “Come visit us in the neighborhood and you’ll smile all the time!” said the dentists.
Jokes aside, the event in the Atlantis restaurant (owned by Igor Khokhlov and Lilya Kovner) demonstrated the seriousness of the intentions of Staten Island’s thriving Russian-speaking community. “It’s our home, and we’re going to revitalize it ourselves,” said RACSI members. As if in confirmation of this, upperclassman Alex Pesochin gave a speech. Alex is the founder and president of a local Russian-language youth organization for teenage immigrants. The avid fisherman and hunter Boris Konovalov shared his secrets of ice fishing, deer and duck hunting with those interested. All there was to see and hear (not to mention what there was to eat) was so appealing that I felt a crack forming even in my Brooklyn patriotism.
