By It’s mid-December, and Your Old Droog is waiting on some latkes has established himself as one of the best MCs in the game and incredible sense of humor have drawn critical raves and acknowledgement from almost every major rap legend from Black Thought and Pharoahe Monch to the late MF DOOM and Sean Price But now he’s trying something a little different: talking about himself a restaurant in Brighton Beach not far from the Gravesend neighborhood where Droog was raised and a saxophonist is standing just inside the entrance The setting is very familiar to the rapper who says he spent more time in adjoining neighborhoods like Coney Island and Brighton Beach than in Gravesend proper when he was growing up His family moved to Brooklyn from Ukraine when he was just four years old “My mom used to sew wigs right when we first moved to Brooklyn She used to walk to Midwood from Gravesend to save money,” he recalls there was a stigma around being perceived as Russian in those post-Cold War years The rapper says as a kid he was unaware of any socio-political implications of his background whether they had to do with anticommunism or Russian/Ukrainian tensions—the latter became an independent country in late 1991 just two years before Droog came to the U.S “There was tension between Russians and certain Italians and Puerto Ricans but it was just in a one- or two-block radius I don’t know if people understand the distinctions back home Some people won’t even view us as Ukrainians because we’re Jews I don’t know if the world is ready for those conversations.” He says now that he’s “happy” about his early ignorance I’m not talking to Henry Louis Gates.” ‘I’m not even gonna tell you guys I’m Jewish.’ I’m getting bedtime stories from my grandma about the Holocaust A lot of these recollections work their way into songs on Movie by far the most personal of Droog’s many releases Incorporating childhood stories “wasn’t calculated,” he notes “The production drove what I was talking about But I’m not gonna lie: when I do songs where I’m rapping just for rapping’s sake You want to give a little more of yourself.” when he saw a classmate spitting rhymes in the hallway and was inspired to challenge him to a battle He recalls that his contribution was essentially “roasting in rhyme form.” “It was everything bad you could say about somebody He had maybe one or two pairs of jeans a week That’s the perspective.” That early victory led to more battles and a loss to “a dancehall rhyming cat” who had the incredible ability to rap over a beat “So, after that, I was like, hold up, I think I need to learn how to rhyme on a beat,” Droog remembers. That led to trips to the Bronx, which were initially just for fun—and, he admits, “really about weed”—but evolved into plenty of rapping, and discovering beat CDs that he could rap over. He was partial to J Armz’s instrumental collections as well as a collection of Nas instrumentals his very first studio recording somehow made it onto the internet It attracted at least one listener: a teenager not much older than Droog himself who got the young rapper’s number and prank-called his house to roast him That early listener was none other than Steven “A$AP Yams” Rodriguez who would go on to co-found A$AP Mob before dying in January 2015 “He was tapped in,” Droog remembers of Yams “The first time any official recordings hit the internet he knew about them.” While Yams was skeptical of Droog’s first raps the Brooklyn spitter won him over later at a battle in Harlem And I was the only dude from Brooklyn over there is how his parents found out their son was a professional rapper “I don’t know if he thought it was fake or some shit I just gave him the paper and left—I’ll see you later ‘When am I gonna see you in the newspaper?’ There you go.” Since that early highlight, Droog has released a slew of projects, including Jewelry, a 2019 examination of his Jewish identity. That one began life as a joint album with Quelle Chris that they wanted to call “Crown Heights Riot.” “It was gonna be Run the Jewels from hell,” Droog explains whose title was inspired by Droog’s parents’ tendency to say “kino” (Russian for “movie”) when something in a film was obviously faked “Maybe it’s a sentimental thing,” he admits After a decade in the rap trenches, what’s left for Droog is an upcoming joint project with the enigmatic Los Angeles producer Madlib. The two were introduced through Droog’s DJ, Edan, who had a line into the producer’s then-manager and locking in when either happened to be on the other’s coast who had been “waiting on that message for like 10 years.” “It’s like you’re meeting your long-lost brother or cousin. There’s very few people in the game that I could discuss Frank Zappa’s Uncle Meat movie with. So that’s my guy,” Droog recalls Their chemistry and shared fascination with obscurities have fueled a potent creative connection that has amounted to countless sessions and a ton of material “I’m trying to make a classic solo album that’s undeniable, that’s gonna stand the test of time,” he tells me as our meal winds down. “I just want to keep elevating, and showcase exactly what I do best. It’s not just, oh, he’s good at rapping. It’s more than that. I’m specializing in writing the songs nobody else is going to write.” Credit: Tim Ockenden/PA Archive/PA ImagesPolice have charged a man with the rape of a woman on Brighton beach The victim was attacked close to the pier in the early hours of Thursday 1 May and has been supported by specially trained officers following the attack has been charged with rape and has been remanded in custody Soyoye has also been charged with three counts of sexual assault in relation to a separate report made in September last year from the Brighton Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: “Both victims are receiving support from specially trained officers and we encourage all victims of rape or sexual offences to come forward and report it to the police “Advice and information about how we conduct a rape or serious sexual assault investigation is available on our website as well as advice about how to receive further support” Detectives urge anyone with information to call 101 Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.. Join us for a post-screening Q&A with directors Carol Stein and Susan Wittenberg Leadership support forBAM’s strategic initiatives provided by: Leadership support forBAM Access Programs provided bythe Jerome L Leadership support forBAM programming provided by: Leadership support forBAM Film provided byThe Thompson Family Foundation Major support for programs inthe Lepercq Cinema is provided byThe Lepercq Charitable Foundation Brooklyn Academy of Music, 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217info@BAM.org BAM is a 501(c)(3) | EIN 11-2201344​ © Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave® and Teknopolis® are trademarks of Brooklyn Academy of Music By: 7:00 am on April 12 Permits have been filed for a five-story residential building at 2951 Brighton 8th Street in Brighton Beach Located between Neptune and Ocean View Avenues the lot is near the Brighton Beach subway station Moses Ostreicher under the 216th Street LLC is listed as the owner behind the applications The proposed 55-foot-tall development will yield 13,644 square feet with 11,117 square feet designated for residential space and 2,527 square feet for community facility space most likely rentals based on the average unit scope of 926 square feet The masonry-based structure will also have a terrace on the five floor and four open parking spaces Oleg Ruditser of Engineering Professional Service is listed as the architect of record Demolition permits have not been filed yet An estimated completion date has not been announced Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates Like YIMBY on Facebook Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews ga('send', 'event', 'beautyofblock', 'Impression', 'https://newyorkyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Standard_336x280-100-2.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ADVERTISEMENT ga('send', 'event', 'PCRichards Builders Division', 'Impression', 'https://newyorkyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/PCR_Beko_Compact_YIMB_336x280.jpg', { nonInteraction: true }); ga('send', 'event', 'yimby+', 'Impression', 'https://newyorkyimby.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/image.png', { nonInteraction: true }); Follow on Instagram var sb_instagram_js_options = {"font_method":"svg","placeholder":"https:\/\/newyorkyimby.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/instagram-feed\/img\/placeholder.png","resized_url":"https:\/\/newyorkyimby.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sb-instagram-feed-images\/","ajax_url":"https:\/\/newyorkyimby.com\/wp-admin\/admin-ajax.php"}; © COPYRIGHT New York YIMBY® LLC YIMBY IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF NIKOLAI FEDAK / NEW YORK YIMBY LLC A woman was raped on Brighton beach in an attack in the early hours of the morning The force has since arrested a man suspected of raping a woman in her twenties and brought him before a court The attack was reported to have taken place near the Palace Pier in the early hours of Thursday (1 May) The same man also faced three counts of sexually assaulting another woman in September last year and a charge of assaulting a third woman Sussex Police said: “A man has been charged with the rape of a woman on Brighton Beach has been remanded in custody after appearing at court on Saturday (3 May) “The victim has been supported by specially trained officers following the attack which happened close to the pier in the early hours of Thursday 1 May “Soyoye has also been charged with three counts of sexual assault in relation to a separate report made by another victim in September 2024.” from the Brighton Safeguarding Investigations Unit said: “Both victims are receiving support from specially trained officers and we encourage all victims of rape or sexual offences to come forward and report it to the police.” Detectives urged anyone with information to report it online or call 101 and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Brighton and Hove Albion 1 Newcastle United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion looked to be on course for a 1-0... Brighton and Hove Albion face Newcastle United at the Amex this afternoon with Jan Paul van Hecke back in the... Everton 2 Brighton and Hove Albion 3 Nikita Parris returned to the club where she started her senior career and... Sussex 169 (59 overs) and 278 (94.2 overs) Nottinghamshire 300 (68.3 overs) and 149-1 (25.5 overs) Nottinghamshire (21pts) beat Sussex... Karagulian is one of the stars of the new action rom-com “Anora,” and his co-star Vache Tovmasyan and the film’s director, Sean Baker, joined him in Brighton Beach. Standing under the elevated B/Q stop, Baker gestured at a second-floor window that faced the train tracks. “Our production office was right there,” he said. A train roared by. “It was three months of us all screaming to hear one another,” he yelled over the noise. In the film, Karagulian and Tovmasyan play the Armenian henchmen of a Russian oligarch whose son, Ivan, is living in New York City and surviving on a diet of strippers, video games, and ketamine. When Ivan elopes with a Brighton Beach stripper named Anora, the henchmen are dispatched to find him and bust up the marriage. One stop on their search is Tatiana Grill, a Russian restaurant on the boardwalk. The cast lived in Brighton Beach during the shoot, where they got a taste of the local hospitality. In one scene, Tovmasyan’s character gets his nose broken and then pukes after taking painkillers. “I walked home with fake vomit and fake blood running down my shirt,” he said, “and no one stopped and asked me if I was O.K.” But Yura Borisov, who plays a third tough guy, received a hero’s welcome and kept getting stopped by fans. “He’s the Ryan Gosling of Russia,” Baker said. can you tell me which is the routing number and which is the account?”Cartoon by Benjamin SchwartzCopy link to cartoonCopy link to cartoonLink copied who has been in all eight of the director’s feature films had dreamed of making a movie in Brighton Beach for a long time we were thinking about a Russian gangster movie,” Baker said But they settled on a Cinderella story about a stripper who is whisked away by a rich young Russian A gaudy estate in South Brooklyn stood in for the prince’s castle “I literally Googled ‘biggest and best mansion in Brighton Beach,’ ” Baker said It has walls covered in yellow leather and heated marble floors and was once owned by the ex-wife of a Russian oligarch Baker was so nervous about damaging the floor that he filmed in his socks Baker picked up one Russian word from his cast: blyad' which is used as an exclamation to mean “Fuck!” but literally translates as “hooker.” “Anora” is his fifth film in a row about sex workers and the insults they endure The film was screened for a group of sex workers and strippers One dancer told Baker that she recognized her own Cinderella story in the plot who was also a producer on “Anora,” stopped by “Who doesn’t want the fairy tale?” she asked “We all want to believe that dreams can come true It’s just like when people come to America.” he refers to New York City as his home town A long-ago crime, suddenly remembered A limousine driver watches her passengers transform The day Muhammad Ali punched me What is it like to be keenly intelligent but deeply alienated from simple emotions? Temple Grandin knows The harsh realm of “gentle parenting.”  Retirement the Margaritaville way Fiction by F. Scott Fitzgerald: “Thank You for the Light.”  Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. South Brooklyn now becomes something else: a movie star Filmmaker Sean Baker always knew he wanted to make a movie in this part of the borough –especially as it's often overlooked by pop culture in favour of more touristed neighbourhoods closer to the East River He and longtime friend and collaborator Karren Karuglian an Armenian American actor who hails from South Brooklyn spoke about doing so for years but held off until inspiration delivered the right plot a Cinderella story of sorts about Russian-American sex worker Ani who gets swept off her feet by the spoiled itinerant son of a Russian oligarch holing up in his parents’ Sheepshead Bay mansion is set in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach neighbourhood On Location is a column that lifts the curtain on the destinations behind the season’s most exciting new releases What drew you to make a movie in South Brooklyn We've been talking about telling a story [set] in the Russian American community in Brighton Beach and Coney Island for 20 years now We just couldn't figure out the plot – until recently But it was the desire to shoot there that made this film the amusement park and everything around it feels like it hasn’t changed in decades The Cyclone [wooden roller coaster] is almost 100 years old and I wanted to shoot it almost like postcard images that really take the landscape in It was important for me to stay geographically accurate as the characters go on this tour through these three neighbourhoods of South Brooklyn: Coney Island which is more residential and where Ivan [the oligarch’s son] lives Brighton Beach is many things—home to New York City's Eastern European community and iconic landmarks like Coney Island (pictured) when Sean approached you to work on the film what was your familiarity with the neighbourhood Stephen Phelps: I've lived in New York for 15 years and I was more familiar with Coney Island than Brighton Beach because we started location scouting a bunch of different places but seeing the inside of Tatiana really gave me a sense of what this place is about It’s a full restaurant but there’s a stage with dancers and little booths and fish tanks SB: We were always going to shoot at Tatiana – it’s iconic we were doing some initial on-the-ground exploration and we went to Tatiana with Yuri Borisov people wanted to take their photos with him this is the perfect time to ask them if we can shoot here.” There was an excitement and an appreciation that it wasn’t Hollywood actors coming in doing Russian accents And when we actually filmed at Tatiana six months later Those were the real people who work there and who go there You’re on location in Brighton Beach – what are you eating for lunch SP: I was always going to this Georgian restaurant it was my favourite place and now I can’t remember it and getting this little cheese boat made of bread But they have all sorts of cuisines there –Ukrainian and Igor go on to find Ivan allows you to feature a lot of different places – what other spots were on your hit list to feature SB: I really relied on Karren. Brighton Beach Avenue is chock full of unique locations. There was Ocean View Cafe the Ukrainian restaurant where a woman says that he must have been kidnapped [Williams Candy Shop on Surf Avenue] is where they smash all the counters We shot in a pool hall on the day that it closed permanently and the owners were happy because we were memorialising it Bright Beach locations used in Anora range from Russian nightclubs to Georgian restaurants and when Toros [who is a priest on the payroll of Ivan’s parents] gets the call in the middle of a christening to go find him and abandons his post – that’s bad enough Karren was telling me that he’s been in that exact position three or four times in his life being made the godfather for a kid What can you tell me about the more residential part of Sheepshead Bay Do people realise there are standalone mansions in Brooklyn like that SB: I knew they existed there, just by living in New York knowing that Sheepshead Bay had some wealthy Russian residents And so I was sitting in my West Hollywood apartment writing this thing and I googled “biggest and best mansion in Brighton Beach” and that thing popped up It had been on the market about four years ago and was actually designed for and lived in by a Russian oligarch who then sold it to a local Russian American who grew up in the neighbourhood All the photos were online on Zillow and I was able to look through the entire house from preexisting photos The marriage of sex worker Ani to a Russian oligarch's son propels the storyline of Anora There’s some private air travel in this movie – what went into shooting those scenes where Ivan’s parents arrive from Russia SB: We shot in a real jet at the airport as well as a decommissioned fuselage of a private jet for the interior We used the [private airfield] in Amityville on Long Island which is where people like this would fly into where Ani and Ivan elope – where did they stay SB: We were at the Palms Casino, which was really great. When we were looking around, one place rejected us – not because it was a movie about a sex worker and sex and drugs, but because they didn’t want to perpetuate the idea that people come to Las Vegas and recklessly get married only to regret it later But the Palms was great because it’s not actually on the Strip meaning the penthouse has a beautiful view of the Strip Anora is out for limited theatrical release on October 18 SP: The penthouse suite has different levels SB: And they get married at the Little White Wedding Chapel, just like Joan Collins and Michael Jordan, down on Fremont Street. We really wanted to take advantage of Fremont Street, which is a little wild, it’s a real snapshot of America six bands playing in a row at any given time on Fremont at different stages set up SB: So we had them run down the part of the street where they’ve put this big screen overhead and that’s where we played the fireworks above them that you see on the poster This article was first published on Condé Nast Traveler For a hit of culture, head to these fabulous exhibitions across London Our favourite bags for overnight stays and weekends away New Balance dad shoes are the ultimate travel sneaker From roomy canvas carryalls to sleek leather work bags, a good tote is a travel essential The suitcases every British traveller needs to know about News 12 New YorkWhere to WatchDownload the AppNJ Transit Rail Strike NYPD: Man fatally shot in Brighton Beach No arrests have been made yet. News 12 Staff Mikey Madison called out the Brooklyn seaside setting on Oscar night but the real star of Sean Baker’s madcap anti-love story was New York’s Brighton Beach Situated on the southern shore of Brooklyn the tight-knit Russian and eastern European enclave retains a midcentury it is the fairytale setting for Madison’s Anora a sex worker who falls for and marries the childish son of a Russian oligarch Anora’s husband runs away and leaves her the hostage of his father’s goons – and Brighton Beach’s boardwalk begins to feel more sinister Anora’s best picture triumph owed in no small part to this neighborhood’s offbeat charm. (“Thank you Brighton Beach for lending us your beautiful backdrop and incredible community,” Madison said in her acceptance speech.) So A copy of the Bay News featuring Mikey Madison and Peter Agrapides Photograph: Alaina Demopoulos/The GuardianWilliams Candy shop a confectionery featured prominently in the movie sits next door to the Coney Island staple Nathan’s Famous A friend of Anora’s husband works at the shop and his father’s henchmen destroy the place when looking for him Though Williams has been around since 1941 management welcomes the fresh PR boost from Anora They’ve been spotlighted on local news segments a copy of a newspaper called Bay News rested on the counter with Madison on the cover as she posed with the shop’s owner The publicity has helped Williams ride out the winter months which typically see fewer customers due to the chill along the water “I’m very happy for the store and this publicity,” said Agrapides whose family has owned the store since 1982 But it wasn’t easy to watch an actor smash glass counters all over his shop “They kept me far away during that scene.” Anora is now one of the lowest-grossing Oscar winners of the modern era but enough people liked it to make the journey to Brighton Beach which is about an hour away from midtown Manhattan on the subway homestyle joint where the Anora crew shot a scene a server named Dennis Kolenkom said he had seen an increase in foot traffic since the movie’s release last fall unlike most of the workers and diners who unwittingly became actors in the film as patrons lined up for English-language classes and conversation groups a librarian wearing an Anora T-shirt helped an elderly woman who wanted to watch the film figure out how to stream it He added: “I think Ariana Grande [is in it].” (She’s not – that would be Wicked.) Across from Sergev and next to Tatiana’s stood an adult daycare bundled up in winter coats with big fur trims One man walked two tiny dogs wearing Christmas sweaters and nearby two women spoke to each other animatedly in Russian Anora may be a love letter to Brighton Beach the City of Duluth officially reopened the popular Duluth destination of Brighton Beach at Kitchi Gammi Park.  “Brighton Beach and Kitchi Gammi Park are probably the most visited park in the city of Duluth, one of the most heavily, both by residents and by tourists alike. It’s kind of the gateway to the north shore. It’s the last stop out of the Duluth, but it’s one that almost everybody stops at,” said Cliff Knettel, assistant manager of Duluth Parks and Recreation. Brighton Beach has been a construction zone with what seemed to be no end in sight We’ve made it more resilient for the long term and we’ve made it more enjoyable by some of the amenities that we’ve added,” said Knettel Talks of renovating the shoreline location began in 2015 but plans changed in 2019 after multiple major storms destroyed areas of beach and its infrastructure “We engaged in a strategy that’s called ‘managed retreat’ where rather than rebuilding public infrastructure in place to absorb hammering we relocate public infrastructure as much as possible to be out of the harm’s way,” said Jim Filby Williams leader of the City of Duluth’s Property The project took place in four stages beginning with the extension of the Duluth Lakewalk reconstructing public infrastructure farther away from the shoreline constructing a new and improved roadway and adding more accessible amenities such as permanent bathrooms “We wanted to make sure that the park could be preserved and enjoyable for people to use for the long term,” said Knettel Now that the area is completed and reopen to the public the improvements made to the park help to keep it a landmark to remember for years to come “thank you for the abundant patience of our residents It has been a long time and we are very pleased to be able to return this to our citizens,” Click here to learn more about Brighton Beach and Kitchi Gammi Park Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public file should contact Vicki Kaping at vkaping@wdio.com or (218) 727-6864 By: 6:30 am on February 11 Permits have been filed for a five-story mixed-use building at 1102 Banner Avenue in Brighton Beach Located between East 11th Street and East 12th Street the lot is closest to the Brighton Beach subway station Jack Saadia of Saadia Residence LLC is listed as the owner behind the applications The proposed 50-foot-tall development will yield 7,166 square feet with 4,927 square feet designated for residential space and 2,238 square feet of community facility space for a clinic on the first two floors most likely rental based on the average unit scope of 821 square feet The concrete-based structure will also have a cellar Benjamin Lam of Lam & Lam Engineering is listed as the architect of record Demolition permits will likely not be needed as the lot is vacant Last Friday, State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton (SD 23-Staten Island/Southern Brooklyn) called for immediate reforms to the parking system at Brighton Beach, shedding light on a steep quarterly permit fee increase from $500 to $625, significantly higher than fees at other city municipal lots Community Board 13 District Manager Eddie Mark emphasized the financial burden the fee hikes place on older adults “The affordability of parking is a major issue for many of my constituents particularly our older adults living on fixed incomes It’s clear that the current parking rate of $625 at Brighton Beach is an unfair financial burden on them,” said Scarcella-Spanton “This rate is disproportionately high compared to other lots throughout the city and the problem is worsened by unauthorized parkers occupying spaces meant for permit holders.” Scarcella-Spanton said she has engaged with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the NYPD over the past eight months to propose solutions “My goal is to make parking more affordable for my older constituents while ensuring our municipal parking lots don’t become an unnecessary cash grab for hardworking residents who are already being burdened with these costs,” she said Read the full article here. DULUTH — After six years of work and a $6.4 million investment Duluth officially reopened the reconfigured park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony The project has extended the Lakewalk up the shore “Our park maintenance and street maintenance staff have probably no more closely identified with Sisyphus as they have in this park,” Filby Williams said referring to the recurring damage the park has sustained in recent years and the repeated repairs that followed only to watch it roll back to the bottom each time he nears the top This happens repeatedly to Sisyphus throughout eternity Filby Williams invoked the scene just six years previous much of Brighton Beach Road had again been destroyed after yet another Lake Superior storm disaster Park maintenance and street staff were preparing yet again to clean up the debris and repair the damage with the dispiriting knowledge that they would be back to do the same expensive labor-intensive cleanup and reconstruction over and over years into the future,” he said The redesigned park offers a far brighter future “I am very confident that this reconfigured park will be resilient and durable even in the face of the more intense and frequent storms we’re seeing with climate change,” he said Filby Williams said the redone park provides a safer environment for walkers It also offers improved access to the lake for the general public Filby Willliams said the city was compelled not just by its legal obligation to comply with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act “But it is a value of the city of Duluth to serve all of our citizens we’re really excited about improving accessibility knowing that it helps people with disabilities to enjoy the park But it also makes the park far easier to access and enjoy for those many people who may not have a disability per se but are growing older and are experiencing physical limitations of sorts,” he said Filby Williams predicts the community will be pleased with the results “The opportunity was not only to move infrastructure out of harm’s way but to take the opportunity to naturalize the shore,” he said pointing out that the city reopened tributary streams that had previously been routed through culverts Mayor Roger Reinert acknowledged the lengthy staff planning that went into the Brighton Beach project and credited his predecessor Filby Williams said the city’s work to stabilize its shoreline and recreational amenities is far from done staff hope to reconstruct Duluth’s downtown Lakewalk from the corner of the lake to 26th Avenue East at a cost of about $10 million Even after Duluth completes work on its waterfront Filby Williams said the city likely faces “a far greater lift” to upgrade upland parks and properties to better survive more frequent flash floods Park Planner Cliff Knettel said the city received numerous inquiries as to why the Brighton Beach project was taking so long “The reality is that this involved four separate projects They all involved different funding sources — state federal and local — and they don’t always align 100% But the fact that we could get them to align within a four-year span was huge because otherwise it could have a decade or more,” Knettel said the city footed about $4.1 million of the bill On Friday October 24th, The City of Duluth released a press release inviting the public to the grand re-opening Kitchi Gammi Park. The newly-renovated and restored Kitchi Gammi Park/Brighton Beach will have a ribbon cutting celebration This is following years of ongoing construction and restoration efforts and community partners will celebrate thecompletion of the long-term projects and highlight the features of the newly-renovated park forattendees This event will take place on Monday, October 28, 2024, 1:00 – 2:00 PM, near the stone fireplace building/2nd restroom building. The public can witness the completion of the major park upgrades. These include new restrooms, picnic sites, shoreline resiliency, rewilding, ADA accessibility. There’s also a new one-way roadway, parking, extended Lakewalk, and much more throughout Kitchi Gammi Park at Brighton Beach Duluthians will be glad to hear that Brighton Beach is finally reopening You might recall when Brighton Beach closed back in August of 2021 they’re finally ready to welcome back the public and I hope you will say to others as we go out and about after today is and yet has all the elements of everything you’ve always loved about Brighton Beach So really job well done to everybody who participated and helped us get here today,” said Duluth Mayor Roger Reinert A lot of the construction involved repairing damage from storms But having more accessibility was another thing kept in mind “It’s much more resilient than it was before There’s been a lot of engineering and design to place anchor stones and create berms and vegetate the shoreline so people have an easier and better access to the shoreline than they did before,” said Duluth Parks and Rec Assistant Manager Cliff Knettel Other updates to the park include extending the lake walk As well as renovating some of the historical buildings such as the stone fireplace and the pavilion BRIGHTON BEACH — Father Sergiy Emanuel raked his fingers through his hair to point out the silver strands that have begun to appear since Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago He was born of Polish heritage in the Czech Republic where his elderly mother still resided at the start of the war on Feb he brought her to New York to stay with him coordinator of the Russian-speaking and Ukrainian immigrants in the Diocese of Brooklyn Father Emanuel, who is also the pastor of Guardian Angel Parish in Brighton Beach, which celebrates Mass in Ukrainian on Saturdays this grinding war of attrition has not produced a decisive victory for either side By mid-March this year, both sides were wrangling over the idea of a 30-day ceasefire in advance of more tough negotiations to end the fighting the Wall Street Journal has reported that about 1 million people on both sides have been killed or wounded RELATED: On Road to Recovery, Ukrainian Veterans Rediscover Faith, Friendship The Tablet caught up with Father Emanuel on March 13 via FaceTime as he visited family in Poland While it is hard to say for sure that his silver hairs resulted from war fatigue there have been some “silver linings” over the past three years for the local Ukrainian community and to their own language,” Father Emanuel said Father Emanuel said he began to notice this trend soon after the start of the war when he posted a Ukrainian flag beneath a U.S flag in an upper-floor window of the parish rectory you can see this flag from far away,” he said of the blue-and-yellow banner “Many see that somebody understands them in their Ukrainian language they come knocking on the door of the rectory Father Emanuel said the parish responds with food assistance but some started coming to the church and were baptized RELATED: Brooklyn Store Owner Supports Ukraine With Name Change Mass in Ukrainian has helped others re-engage with their language and culture It’s not an observation to stir up national pride have fueled faith through their unique stories and customs Father Emanuel explained that an estimated 80% of his parish is composed of Spanish-speaking Catholics whose language gives a unique perspective to the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe Andrew was reportedly the first early Church leader to evangelize in what today is Ukraine was baptized and championed for Christianity Both men helped unify Ukrainians in the faith Father Emanuel said Russian-speaking Catholics in the diocese have expressed solidarity with Ukrainians as well This is the reason why we immigrated to the United States — because there’s no freedom for religion in Russia You need to be proud that you lived in Russia.’ ” Father Emanuel said he had to end the interview to catch a train to Kraków to pray at the Sanctuary Shrine of the Divine Mercy This basilica is dedicated to the devotion of the Divine Mercy which is associated with the apparitions of Jesus to St Faustina Kowalska in the 1930s and the famous Divine Mercy painting Father Emanuel said he would pray for real and lasting peace for Ukraine He also said he’d pray in the spirit of the appearances of Jesus’ mother to three children at Fátima He recalled how the Lady urged the world to pray for a conversion of Russia to God Your email will be used to send you The Tablet newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy. More info Create your free account or log in to continue reading The Tablet is the newspaper of the Diocese of Brooklyn, serving Brooklyn and Queens since 1908.© 2025 DeSales Media Group, Inc. Website by 345 Design ' + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.webview_notification_text + ' " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_title + " " + scriptOptions._localizedStrings.redirect_overlay_text + " “Brighton Beach Memoirs,” the first of Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical trilogy of plays about his youth (followed by "Biloxi Blues” and “Lost in Yonkers”) is the neurotic story of Eugene Morris Jerome and his upbringing in 1937 Brighton Beach Eugene's character tells his story directly to the audience all the while commenting on the action swirling around him and totally universal regarding family dysfunction and dynamics Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content Email notifications are only sent once a day Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.We recommend switching to one of the following browsers: Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Have the latest food and drink articles delivered to your inbox every Thursday Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates Sign up today to receive email newsletters of local daily obituaries Get the Register Star and Daily Mail E-edition delivered directly to your inbox Have the latest local news delivered every morning so you don't miss out on updates Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account By: 7:00 am on November 5 Construction is stalled on 2960 Brighton 4th Street, a 12-story residential building in Brighton Beach Designed by Dome Architecture for 4th Brighton Realty LLC the 118-foot-tall structure will span 29,500 square feet and yield 22 condominium units with an average scope of 1,030 square feet as well as an 8,950-square-foot parking garage for 21 vehicles The property is located on a 9,450-square-foot plot by the intersection of Brighton 4th Street and Ocean View Avenue Recent photographs show the reinforced concrete superstructure nearly built to its pinnacle with rebar protruding from the exposed columns on the 12th and final story Formwork still populates portions of the upper levels while the rest of the building has been clad in white paneling that has begun to show signs of weathering Some windows and doors are installed on the eastern and western elevations 2960 Brighton 4th Street spans 25 feet wide from north to south and features a low-rise podium along the rear of the property for the parking structure The below aerial image shows the property outline for 2960 Brighton 4th Street and the single-family homes that formerly occupied it YIMBY first covered the project when permits were filed in September 2015 The superstructure did not start rising until early 2022 The nearest subways from the development are the B and Q trains at the elevated Brighton Beach station to the south along Brighton Beach Avenue 2960 Brighton 4th Street’s original anticipated completion date was for December 2020 and a new completion date have yet to be disclosed The City of Duluth temporarily closed Kitchi Gammi Park/Brighton Beach to all traffic on Tuesday August 27th The closure is a part of the Brighton Beach project and will allow contractors to complete cement work in the park The closure is expected to last up to a week The road construction portion of the Brighton Beach project is in the final stages of work now focusing on the entrances The road construction portion of the project is expected to end in the coming weeks The Brighton Beach project aims to mitigate storm damage to the park area as well as provide new park landscaping and amenities You can learn more about the Brighton Beach project here.