Tens of thousands of visitors attend the annual Brighton Jubilee, a multicultural festival founded 48 years ago by Pat Singer to raise the neighborhood's profile. Brighton Beach contains one of New York City's largest concentrations of senior residents, with Community Board 13 reporting more than 23% seniors and many immigrants. The Shorefront JCC provides weekly social programs such as dance parties, karaoke and bingo for Holocaust survivors and operates a near-daily kosher and halal food pantry. Volunteers and bilingual caseworkers sustain services, helping seniors navigate benefits and overcome language barriers in accessing assistance.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to descend on Brighton Beach this Sunday for the annual Brighton Jubilee, a vibrant celebration of diversity. Founded 48 years ago by Pat Singer of the Brighton Neighborhood Association, the festival was a push to bring the neighborhood on the map. "Brighton Beach has become like a world population," she told Brooklyn reporter Hannah Kliger.
At the Shorefront JCC, weekly activities include a dance party, karaoke and bingo for Holocaust survivors. For 83-year-old Meir Kadosh, a survivor from France, it's a welcome ritual. "The ambiance is very high, and we sing and we talk to each other. I tell my story to some people," Kadosh said. The center also operates a kosher and halal food pantry almost daily, sustained by volunteers like retired nurse Sofia Grodski.
Community Board 13 reports that more than 23% of Brighton Beach residents are senior citizens, the highest concentration in the city, making the neighborhood what experts call a "naturally occurring retirement community." Many are also immigrants. "All of our staff here and most of our volunteers are bilingual, sometimes multilingual, because a lot of these people have had issues getting assistance elsewhere because of the language barrier," said Savannah Eklund, a case worker at the Shorefront JCC.
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