Comptroller Honors Brooklyn’s Russian-Speaking Community

City Comptroller Scott Stringer celebrated Russian-speaking immigrants in Brooklyn on Tuesday and honored four members of the community for their leadership in business, culture, and civic engagement.

Russian conversations, occasionally sprinkled with some Yiddish, filled the crowded dining room at the Tatiana Garden, which sits on the boardwalk overlooking Brighton Beach.

“You can’t say ‘Russian community’ without saying the word ‘Brooklyn,’” Stringer told the press before the event. “It’s an honor to be here and celebrate union leaders and business people and those who have done so much, not just for Russian immigrants, but for the whole city.”

The gathering honored individuals and an organization that have shown exceptional leadership in the community. Several local lawmakers also spoke at the event, including State Assemblymen Steven Cymbrowitz, Alec Brook-Krasny, and Bill Colton, as well as City Councilmen Chaim Deutsch and Mark Treyger.

“In this community, it didn’t make a difference what language you spoke, but what you do for the people and how you help each other,” said Deutsch, who represents the area. “That is the Russian-American community. That is what it’s all about: our family. It’s about looking out for one another.”

Vladimir Fortunny, the first Russian-speaking vice president of the healthcare workers union 1199 SEIU, was one of the honorees. He was introduced by Stringer, who explained that Fortunny began working at 1199 two years after immigrating to New York. Fortunny joined the union because he recognized that many Russian healthcare workers did not understand their benefits, and by the early 2000s, Fortunny had helped grow the union by 23,000 members, Stringer said.

Nina Gadilova, the president of the Jewish Community of Starrett City, was also awarded an commendation by the comptroller.

“I couldn’t think of a better leader for such an important organization,” Stringer said. “This is a group that helps preserve Jewish tradition, assists New York seniors, helps Russian-speaking immigrants to build a life here, and publishes the monthly newspaper Moya America, which gives a voice to the Russian-speaking population in New York.”

The comptroller also honored Ezra Malakov, the cantor at Congregation Beth Gavriel in Queens. Stringer called Malakov an “international rock star of Bukharian Jewish music” for releasing several “blockbuster records” and “dazzling audiences around the world with his performances.”

The comptroller’s final award was given to an entire organization: The Association of Ukrainian Natives in the USA, which works to send money and supplies from private donors to people suffering due to the conflict in Ukraine. The organization’s president, Pavlo Makovskiy, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

Makovskiy said the comptroller’s award was very important because “it recognizes the work of the organization and it spreads the word so that more people will volunteer and help to do good deeds.”

Councilman Treyger, who represents parts of southern Brooklyn, said that the event was a way to pay respect to the evolving immigrant story in New York City.

“Many of the families here are business owners, they’re teachers, they are nurses and doctors,” he said. “This is about celebrating the contributions and the culture of the Russian-speaking community.”

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the age that Vladimir Fortunny began working at 1199 SEIU.