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I don’t know, guys. I think I’m calling BS on this one:
What’s happening to Somerton?
There are about four shopping centers in Somerton that have really turned around, but you could only appreciate that if you were Russian.
It seems to me that all the American stores have been shut down and taken over by Russian business owners who don’t seem to realize that they are in America and that American people need to understand what they are selling in their stores.
I even heard if you aren’t Russian, you aren’t able to work there. Plus, I don’t think any American people could stand to go in these stores. Something has got to give.
Yes, it’s possible people in Northeast Philly are going to start hating on Russian immigrants now, too. But I don’t know. This just seems a little over-the-top. Thoughts?
Letters to the editor Feb. 5, 2009 [Northeast Times]
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Someone is probably going to take a midnight ride to Brighton Beach in the trunk of a Town Car over that letter.
I also really enjoyed this letter intro: “I want to warn everyone about the new privately run post office in the Bells Corner Shopping Center on Bustleton Avenue. It has the worst customer service there. The man that runs it is awful. I finally had it out with him. I just finally had enough of his rudeness and disrespect he has for his customers. He only has been open since December, and every time I went there it has been horrible.”
Ugh… blind. I’m pretty sure the Russian stores didn’t “take over” the American stores. That would just be a too ironic result of our victory in the Cold War. (Oh no… they’ve learned capitalism! And they’re using it against us!) No. Those American stores shut down because folks from the Northeast (and elsewhere) decided that they’d rather hop in their cars and head to Walmart than patronize those American stores. When Russian immigrants came along, it was only a matter of time before they took advantage of the cheap rents in the abandoned stores and opened up their own shops to cater to the needs of their customers. They don’t need any Americans to understand anything. So, here are the options: a bunch of closed down, vacant, vandalized store fronts or life, lights and activity, albeit with a distinctly Slavic character. You don’t need to be American to understand which is better.
On a similar note, one of our interns did a story about the Mexican community in South Philly. It’s because of them that 9th Street is as lit up and vibrant as it is. Heck, that whole stretch had been designated as a blighted area just a few years ago. As an American who lives down that way, I’m perfectly happy to learn enough Spanish to order successfully from El Zarape. Besides, how hard it is to remember “dos burritos por favor?”
@Dan Pohlig: 9th Street seems like it would be a fun place to yell “La migra!” and watch what happens. (We learned that from watching Law & Order.)
if i go to a japanese neighborhood, i want to go to a japanese sushi bar with a japanese chef and japanese everything else with as little english/american influence as possible. i know that white, black, hispanic, etc. don’t want white, black, hispanic, etc. sushi chefs just like me. and if i’m the owner, i know what people are thinking and will be hiring accordingly. there’s nothing racist about it. it comes from wanting authenticity and the appearance of authenticity; i.e.: i don’t want polish sausage from malyasia.
also, if the owner/manager is russian and can hardly speak english, what kind of people do you think he is able to hire? if you own a shop and don’t speak chinese, are you going to hire legal chinese aliens that can’t really speak english?
The only thing worse than the northeast times is the bridesburg bulletin in dumbfuck racist content.
Starting to hate Russians? Maybe the Lower Northeast has other, more tradition hate, but the Far Northeast has been hating Russians since the ’80s at least.
agreed. a few years back when i was dating a boy from the northeast, his parents expressed “concern” about the number of russians who were moving in.
Screebin Babushkas!
I will take Russians over the single-moms with 3+ kids, no job and all of them are home, all day, every-day, 24/7/365.
Russians have money, they spend it, and they keep their neighborhood nice.
Oxford Circle has nary a Russian living in it and look how “great” that area is–and it’s got plenty of Americans living there. :-)
I live in the far Northeast, even though I’m from Europe I would rather proudly proclaim that I’m an American citizen. However, the Russian culture depends on it’s “people”. There are many things that Acme or Shopright simply doesn’t have. I’ve been to Bells Market several times and would like to inform you that there are many races that shop there. That’s the thing-most of us would rather talk “crap” on a culture without observing the truth behind “Geography” . The russians are still here, becuase everything their culture needs to survive is available to them. The last thing this “post” needs is how russians are taking all the jobs. Oh,wait that was already mentioned. An American working at a Russian shop wouldn’t make much sense now would it? I wouldn’t even be hired considering my lack of russian social skills. Talk fair people. Or just start ranting about the “white-trash” in Frankford.
I don’t understand how you can fault someone - regardless of where they came from - for having an entrepreneurial spirit. After all, isn’t that what America is *all* about??