Immigrant New York:The Invisible Media

It's an open secret for many New Yorkers: almost half of the population in the capital of the world was born outside of the United States. Immigrants are rarely mentioned in the mainstream media and almost everybody assumes that the New York Times, The New York Post, and the Daily News are the most influential media outlets for the entire city. Another wrong perception puts CNN, FOX NEWS, CBS, ABC, and NBC as the most watched TV channels in New York City. But the reality is different. Overwhelmingly, immigrants prefer and trust their ethnic community newspapers, radio, and TV stations over mainstream major media outlets.
Readers of Vecherniy New York (Russian Language Weekly), Nowy Dziennik (Polish Daily News), World Journal (Chinese Daily), El Diario (Spanish Daily), Irish Echo (Weekly) receive most of their information about the city, state, and country as well as news about the world from their favorite ethnic newspapers. Why? Because they know their editors and reporters; because they recognize their relatives, friends, and neighbors on the photos in these publications and because they find there the point of view closer to them. People who work for these immigrant newspapers followed the same paths, faced similar challenges in adapting for new conditions -- just like their readers. People who work for ethnic radio and TV stations know the mentality, traditions, and habits of their audiences much more than even the best journalists of the National Public Radio, or CNN. That is why, immigrants often feel ostracized by the mainstream media that usually focuses on the stories about the Russian Mafia, Chinese illegal immigrants, or Hispanic high school dropouts and the like.

So, I feel proud to be one of the first members of the Steering Committee of the Independent Press Association of New York (IPA-NY), which for the first time united more than 150 ethnic and community newspapers all over the city. Today, NYCMA (New York Community Media Alliance), formerly IPA-NY, provides crucial assistance and support to this important, but often ignored, part of the media market. It's hard to underestimate the tremendous power of NYCMA. It organizes the annual IPPIES Awards ceremonies, where the best reporters from various ethnic & community media receive prizes for their journalistic achievements. NYCMA also provides technical support, places ads through its advertising service, translates the most valuable stories from many foreign languages and publishes them on its online digest, "Voices That Must Be Heard". In the last several years, NYCMA organized seminars, workshops, journalistic retreats, and fellowships. For example, this year eighteen journalists from ethnic & community newspapers participate in the Fellowship Program (Educational Beat), where they meet representatives from the Department of Education and teachers union, high school principals, educators, advocates for children and parents. All fellows write stories about educational issues in their respective communities. Usually, underpaid immigrant reporters receive $600 monthly stipend for 10 months of participation in this fellowship. But the most important achievement of NYCMA is the creation of the "Feel Good Community" of journalists from all communities of our great city. Last year, thanks to NYCMA, many of us banded together and covered the US Presidential primaries and national party conventions. It was truly a remarkable experience to meet and cover Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and other presidential hopefuls. Besides, our journalistic friendship helped our communities to understand each other much better than before.
On my own initiative, I started to invite ethnic reporters to be guests on my weekly TV show on RTN. Recently, I interviewed Luna Liu from the World Journal. We talked about the growing power of the Chinese community, the celebration of the Chinese New Year, and the similarities between Russian and Chinese parents (we both want to see our children get the best education).
I believe that NYCMA has a great future. Even in these tough economic times, non-for-profit foundations are eager to support an organization which reflects the diversity of New York and represents the views of almost half of the city's population.

Michelle Obama Receives Fashion Tips from A Former Model

September 5, 2008

This article was written by Ari Kagan who was in Minnesota to cover the Republican National Convention under a project sponsored by the radio Feet in Two Worlds and the New York Community Media Alliance

Tatiana Sorokko is a beautiful former model, tall, and an all-about-business person. An energetic, self-confident and proud young woman, she is a contributing editor for Harper’s Bazaar and a former freelance reporter in Moscow for the Russian edition of Vogue magazine. Her husband Serge Sorokko works as a real estate developer in San Francisco. During his 30 years in America he has admired Republicans, especially President Ronald Reagan.

Tatiana and Serge came to St. Paul, MN for the Republican National Convention. But they were not regular delegates. They proudly flashed their VIP credentials as “McCain 100 Team” members: the Sorokkos say they raised about $100,000 for the presidential campaign of the senator from Arizona.

I met this interesting couple from California inside the Xcel Energy Center, where the Republican National Convention was being held (I overheard their conversation in Russian). “We believe in tax cuts, strong leaders like John McCain and Sarah Palin, and staying on the offensive against terrorists. That is why we are hard core Republicans,” said Serge.

Tatiana offered some comments on so-called political fashion. “Michelle Obama made the same mistake as Teresa Kerry four years ago. Michelle wore a light blue dress that was totally similar to the color of the background video of blue sky. Teresa wore a red suit that reminded everybody of ketchup (the sauce that made her family fortune). Both of them did not understand fashion and the importance of good taste for public figures.”

Tatiana introduced me to her longtime friend Georgette Mosbacher who is a chairwoman of the New York-based organization Women for McCain. “Look at her,” said the Russian writer for the popular fashion magazine, “she is gorgeous and hot, she just gave a 30 minute interview to Fox and Friends, and she really knows how to dress, so everybody gets excited about her candidate. Not like those clumsy Democratic wives.”
Georgette Mosbacher (left) with Serge and Tatiana Sorokko at the Republican National Convention

Photo by Ari Kagan

Coney Island: Glorious Past, Bright Future... Dark Present

Future:


Present:

Recently I attended a meeting between Coney Island Development Corporation, City Planning Commission and Brighton Improvement District. I listened to the designated speakers with growing disbelief. I caught myself on the thought that I attended more than fifteen similar events in the last five years. There were numerous public presentations by CIDC, CPC, Thor Equities (President Joe Sitt), Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Community Board 13, New York City Economic Development Corporation, and so on. All of them looked and sounded absolutely the same: concerned about the future of Coney Island, praising the beginning of the 20th century in the neighborhood history, ignoring the tough and unpleasant realities of Coney Island today.
During my campaign for NYS Assembly in 2006, I met with many local residents who expressed total luck of confidence in this confusing and very long process. They told me they do not believe Joe Sitt as well as Mayor Bloomberg. They felt complete ignorance by the city and state authorities to their needs and problems. They asked me, "How could we like any of these plans to build condominiums, restaurants, hotel towers and stuff like spa, while we live in low-quality public housing with high crime, and drugs around?" They were reasonably disappointed with a lot of talk and no actions whatsoever.
So, here we were for another round of the same talk. This time, the city was making an effort to reach not just the black community of Coney Island and the local Community Board, but also Russian-speaking businessmen, and community activists from Brighton Beach. The speakers tried to assure us that they know and care about the scarcity of available parking in the area (the plan predicts the creation of more than seven thousand parking spots), the importance of the thousands construction and hospitality jobs for local residents, the necessity of the year-round busy amusement district. They deflected controversial questions about developer Joe Sitt who controls huge chunks of property in the amusement area and about State Senator Carl Kruger who recently became Chairman of the influential Finance committee. Joe Sitt and Carl Kruger together can easily block any city plans by stalling the process for a long time.
I believe that Coney Island residents as well as all New Yorkers deserve to see the better future of this unique neighborhood during their lifetime. To achieve this milestone, all parties, including controversial ones should put their ambitions aside and work together to reach a sensible compromise.

Letter from Brighton Beach: Zhirinovsky plays the clown, and an emigré is not amused

This story was published long ago in English Forward (Jewish Weekly). Unfortunately, ultra-nationalist Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky is still in power and continues to brainwash Russians.

By Ari Kagan, Forward, August 30, 2002

It was a strange feeling. As if I never left the Soviet Union, as if I never escaped anti-Semitism, as if I am still a target. Hateful statements, followed by long applause—ethnic Russians laughing over dirty jokes about Jews. No, it was not a nightmare. It was Aug. 21. I was at the Millennium Theater in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn’s famous Russian emigré neighborhood often called “Little Odessa.” On the podium I could see Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the far-right Russian lawmaker, known for his populist style and offensive remarks about Jews, Israel and America. In Boston a week earlier, his appearance attracted fewer than 100 spectators and more than 30 protesters. Here in New York, Zhirinovsky was more successful. Before speaking at the 1,500-seat theater, he promoted the event on a Russian-language radio station, a local restaurant, a hair salon and even at the beach, where he posed with local beauties and distributed hand-made flyers about his busy schedule in Brooklyn. His marketing paid off: At 8 p.m. more than 1,000 Russian immigrants, maybe half of them Jews, packed the Millennium. Later, one Russian-language paper would describe the event as a circus — but it was a joyless circus and, for the careful listener, a dangerous one. Zhirinovsky, deputy speaker of the Russian Duma, or parliament, and leader of the so-called Liberal Democratic Party, again repeated his inflammatory charge that on September 11th, 4,000 Jews heeded a call to stay away from the World Trade Center. Where did he get his information? “In your American newspapers with Jewish editors,” he said. “Ask your fellow Jews why they printed such information.” A naïve World War II veteran rose to ask a question. “I fought Nazis, most of my family members were killed in ghettoes or concentration camps, and you are saying that the Holocaust was organized by Jews to help the Zionist cause?” he asked. “How can you explain your anti-Semitic statements?” Zhirinovsky answered with a smile, “You, papasha [daddy], probably spent too much time in a tank. You have to read Ben-Gurion’s memoirs. The founder of the Jewish state conceded that without the Holocaust, Israel would have never been created.” And so it went, a three-hour barrage of political fantasies—“Georgia will be off of the map very soon, Caucasian gangs will destroy themselves with Russian arms”—macho foreign policy— “If America attacks Iraq, I will call for hundreds of thousands of Russian special forces officers to go to Baghdad to kill as many Americans as possible”—anti-Americanism—“There is no civilized society in America if you let Arabs continue training in your flight schools, even after September 11, out of fear of so-called profiling”—and anti-Semitic remarks—“Ninety percent of lawyers, doctors and businesspeople in Russia are Jews, so obviously Russian people have reasons to hate Jews.” His remarks were often greeted with ovations. Zhirinovsky, who confirmed in an autobiography last year that his father was a Polish Jew named Volf Isaakovich Eidelshtein, explained at the Millennium his personal hatred toward Jews. “Why in the world should I say one good word about my Jewish father who left me when I was a child and never expressed interest in my life, never wrote me one letter? I have all reasons to be proud and thankful to my Russian mother who alone raised me.” He claimed that he witnessed at Russian embassies all over the world long lines of emigrés who wanted to come back home, although he neglected to mention huge daily lines of those seeking to leave near the American embassy in Moscow. He spoke highly about his friend Jean-Marie Le Pen, the French ultra-nationalist. He praised a recent $40 billion trade agreement between Russia and Iraq. “We don’t produce Toyotas, Mercedes, BMWs or Hondas,” he said. “We produce Moskwich, Zhiguli and Volga [cars] and good Russian arms—unlike bad Jewish Uzis. So, if someone wants to buy our arms, our cars, our steel, why not? All of Baghdad uses Russian automobiles. That’s great! If you produce poisoned cutlets and somebody buys them, why not continue to sell them?” Zhirinovsky had some angry words about the few Jewish protesters outside the theater: “They were paid to protest”—by whom, he didn’t say. He praised his bodyguards for their courage in standing up to the protesters, such as Susan Lasher, a middle-aged American, who held a sign reading: “Zhirinovsky—Jew-hater.” At the end of his performance, tireless Zhirinovsky promised to return to Brighton Beach next year. Zhirinovsky’s party polled about 6 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections two years ago; in Brighton Beach, few take him seriously, appreciating him more for his entertainment value than his ideas. Nevertheless, when I listened to his speech, looked at his skinhead bodyguards and heard the laughter in the audience, I had a strange feeling. Adolph Hitler, at the beginning of his political career, was also ridiculed and taken lightly.

More Than A Public School, Less Than A Yeshiva

Jewish Week

By Carolyn Slutsky
1/14/2009

For Nadya Drukker, the chance to give her children a secular Jewish education in a public elementary school is a very private matter.

Drukker left western Ukraine in 1990 as a teenager, settling in Brooklyn and, now 33, raising two children there. She wants her children to learn Hebrew and Jewish culture so much that she has begun Hebrew lessons herself in order to teach them and allow them to communicate with their cousins in Israel.
But Drukker would never think of sending her children to one of Brooklyn’s ubiquitous yeshivot. She is a part of a large community of mostly secular Russian Jews who emigrated to the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union and who are defined by their

deep connection to a Judaism largely devoid of religious roots.

Next fall their children, along with their African-American, Hispanic, Israeli and other counterparts from various backgrounds living in District 22 in South Brooklyn, will have the chance to attend the newly approved Hebrew Language Academy Charter School, New York City’s first publicly funded school devoted to Hebrew language and culture.

On Tuesday the New York State Board of Regents officially approved the charter application for the proposed HLA, which is slated to open in September with 150 students in kindergarten and first grade, with plans to expand to fifth grade and 675 students. The school, whose lead planner is Sara Berman, daughter of mega-philanthropist and Jewish cultural advocate Michael Steinhardt, will feature a dual-language curriculum that will expose students to Hebrew and Jewish culture, and planners say they have worked hard to excise any religious content from the secular program.

Observers in the Russian community are largely excited about the school’s arrival. Leonard Petlakh, executive director of the Kings Bay YM-YMHA in Sheepshead Bay, said there’s a great deal of anticipation from the parents he has spoken to, who are waiting to see how the school’s lottery will be conducted (students from the district get first priority), and eager to give their children the opportunity to learn about Jewish culture from a public school.

“The vast majority [of Russians] are proud of their Jewish identity but there’s no entry portal for them into Jewish life, no sense of comfort here in South Brooklyn because the symbol of Jewishness is an Orthodox person with a yarmulke on his head,” said Petlakh of the Russian parents who view Jewish culture as vital in maintaining their children’s Jewish identity. “There’s a tremendous gap for average secular Russian parents, so the school will be able to fill that void by offering a product where they know there’s no religious observance.”

“We have this whole generation born in this country and their identity is completely American, they don’t even speak Russian to each other. Culturally, they’re more Russian than New York,” Petlakh continued. “For the most part they never had any religious exposure, their connection to the Jewish people is just through ethnic identity, Israel and cultural things. Religion is not part of their genetic makeup.”


This new model of charter school fits the vision of the majority of Russian-Jewish parents said Ari Kagan, senior editor of the Russian newspaper Vecherniy and a community activist.

“In my opinion it’ll be very popular,” said Kagan. “The majority of Russian Jews are not very religious, they like Jewish traditions but if we talk about religious Jews, people who strictly follow kashrut, Shabbos and everything I would say it’s a small part of the Russian-speaking community. But the majority are pro-Israel, they follow some traditions and celebrate Jewish holidays so this school perfectly fits the beliefs of this part of the community. It’s not a yeshiva, not a [typical] public school, it’s a perfect in-between.”
Kagan noted that young Russian Jews in Brooklyn go to discos, attend public schools, play on the Internet but have zero affiliation with Judaism, Israel or Jewish traditions.

“Without such a school choice it’s quite clear they’d end up having nothing, none, zero,” he said. “Better something than nothing.”


But Rabbi Avner German, dean of Be’er Hagolah, a yeshiva of 800 students geared toward Russian immigrants that charges little or no tuition, said that something is not better than nothing, and that Jewish commitment must come from a place of both culture and religion.
“Schools that don’t connect with the Torah, mitzvot, I believe those schools unfortunately will give the children certain content but you cannot have the force of continuity which we seek,” said Rabbi German. “I truly believe that if they’re exposed to culture in the abstract without it being interwoven with their religious traditions, their heritage, with Torah and mitzvoth, it’s going to evaporate eventually.”

Rabbi German was emphatic that Russian Jews, even those who come from a secular background, have more to gain from a religious education than simply a public one.

“Jewish culture we believe is synonymous with the Jewish religious traditions, and that you can’t teach in a charter school,” he said.

Despite church-state stalwarts who opposed such schools as the dual culture Arab-American Khalil Gibran International Academy in Brooklyn (unlike charter schools, which are administered by private groups with public funds, Khalil Gibran is administered directly by the Department of Education), the charter proposal passed handily, with eight members of the Board of Regents committee that oversees charter schools voting in favor of the proposal, one abstaining and one, Saul Cohen, voting against it.

“It’s a way of getting a good private school with public funds,” The New York Times reported Cohen saying Tuesday, adding that he questioned “whether a Hebrew-language school was needed in a relatively high-performing district and whether a broad swath of students in the district, which is predominantly black, Hispanic and Asian, would be interested in learning Hebrew.”

For Nadya Drukker, who lives in Dyker Heights but is in the process of moving to the Sheepshead Bay section of South Brooklyn, a yeshiva would never provide the appropriate brew of Jewish exposure for her children.

“For people who want religious content they go to yeshivas; people who come to the charter school want a good education and the Hebrew and cultural aspect,” said Drukker.

Upon hearing that the charter application was approved, Drukker said she was “very excited.”
“If it works out it would be a great model, and I think we shouldn’t want to go to charter schools, all the schools should be like charter schools,” said Drukker, laughing. “Now I want to get in, that would be even better news.”

The best perfume from the first nose of the world

She is a very modest person. She doesn't like compliments in public and she doesn't look like a wealthy woman. She wears fashionable but simple clothing. She was born on March 8, also known as International Woman's Day. She is famous, but is still unaccustomed to it.

Meet Sophia Grossman, the world-renowned perfume designer! Out of the thirty most popular aromas in the world, more than twenty were created by her. Trésor, Champagne, Eternity for Women, Magic, 360° (for women). She has even made the scent for the best-selling fabric softener Downy and created perfumes for the largest fragrance companies in the world, including Calvin Klein, Lancome, and Estee Lauder. She has also invented aromas for many celebrities, like Elizabeth Taylor, Laura Bush, and others.


Until recently, Sophia worked as a senior vice-president of International Flavors and Fragrances, one of the leaders of the perfume industry in the world. This company had been in business for over thirty years. Now, Sophia works as a senior consultant for IFF special projects. Amazingly, Grossman-created fragrances are still the most popular all over the world, despite the economic crisis and changing culture. Her most famous fragrance, Tresor, is so popular, that Lancome has created variations of her aroma.
Newsweek , the New York Times, and other major newspapers and magazines have all published profiles of Sophia Grossman and praised her work in the perfume industry, calling her "The First Nose of America". She received numerous awards from the industry, winning many international contests among perfume designers from America, and Europe.

I am proud to call Sophia my friend and supporter. She gives me advice, donated money to my campaign for Assembly, and generously allowed my family to vacation in her condo in Florida.
With all her accomplishments, Sophia is still a very nice, kind, sincere person, and a caring daughter, sister and mother. She loves her family so much that she talks and thinks about them more than about herself. Her parents, Peter and Raisa, survived the Holocaust. Her father was a brave partisan during the Nazi occupation of Belarus. Born in the Belorussian city of Novogrudok, Sophia always admired her father for his heroism, kind heart, sense of humour and affection.
Grossman sponsored several books about the Holocaust in Belarus and a few Holocaust events.

Sophia loves Japanese restaurants, fancy boots, exotic haircuts, wooden pearls, and cats. She's very smart, and a generous woman with strong convictions. I'm blessed to know her, and her family.

Russian Community & Politics

In the last ten years, the Russian-speaking community in New York made huge progress on the political scene. There were numerous state and city races where the votes of the Russian-community made a difference, especially in the close elections. Today, we have Russian-speaking Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, Democratic District Leader Mark Davidovich and Republican District Leader Boris Pincus. I estimate that the number of Russian-speaking voters in the general election is about 80,000 citywide while the total number of Russian speakers in New York City is about 350,000.

Still, old habits prevail. Russian-speaking citizens are not very sophisticated and are heavily influenced by the opinions of Russian media outlets. These supposedly "credible" sources of information are easily swayed by campaign ads, gifts to reporters, and even free dinners disguised as press conferences. Non-for-profit community organizations are neither non-partisan nor non-political. The leaders of the largest groups usually endorse candidates in a very public way.

Till this day, plenty of Russian immigrants have no idea how to register to vote, ignore the importance of party affiliation, misunderstand district lines, confuse city/state/federal [political] offices, and underestimate the number of non-Russians in their neighborhoods. This produces chaotic events at Election Day, when some Russian seniors grow frustrated and even furious when poll workers turn them away from the voting booth.

The majority of popular journalists in the Russian-language media are very conservative, and hate the idea of being "politically correct". They often use terms like, "lazy n******", "sleazy gays", " Barack Husseinovich Obama" , and " smelly Muslims". If any of their offensive rhetoric would ever reach English media outlets, they would be instantly fired.

The Russian community is very close-knit. Our community still largely stays within itself, and rarely involves itself with other ethnic & racial groups. We often feel ostracized unfairly by the English language media and by the mainstream American community -- but this is our own fault!

I am the Only Kagan!

Every person is unique. So am I. The author of this blog is the Only Kagan! I was born in Belarus, the former Soviet Union. At the age of 14, I left my native city of Minsk and entered Leningrad Military High School, a school named after Suvorov (a famous military commander of the 18th century). Later, I graduated from an elite military college with a degree in journalism and served in the Soviet Army for 3 1/2 years as a lieutenant. I resigned from the Soviet Communist Party and left the Army in 1991, right after the KGB engineered the military assault on the Lithuanian TV Station.

In the same year, I married a beautiful Jewish girl whose father lived in the United States. In 1993, I emigrated to the U.S. with my wife and my 10-month-old son. And here I am, a Russian-speaking Jewish American citizen living in Brighton Beach. It took me more than four years to graduate from Baruch College in 1999 with major in Marketing Advertising and minor in Political Science. After 13 years in USA, I decided to run for New York State Assembly. I lost my first political race, but it was quite an experience (I received 49.2% of the total vote, while winning the majority of the Russian community).

As a journalist for a Russian-language newspaper, radio, and the TV, I would like to share my knowledge and my passion about the Russian-speaking community. This blog will help you to learn more about interesting people I met during my journalistic and political career here. I would be glad to hear your comments and suggestions. I promise this blog will be controversial, fascinating, and useful!