Alec Brook-Krasny

Alec Brook-Krasny (born 1958) is a Russian-born American politician serving as a Republican member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 46th district in southern Brooklyn since January 2023. Born in Moscow to working-class parents, he emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1989, initially working in retail before founding Fun-O-Rama, an entertainment business that earned him recognition as Entrepreneur of the Year by Leisure and Entertainment magazine. He also established the Council of Jewish Émigré Community Organizations to support Russian-speaking immigrants.

Brook-Krasny entered politics as a Democrat, winning election in 2006 to become the first Soviet-born member of the New York State Assembly, where he advocated for new immigrant integration through his role as chair of the Assembly Task Force on New Americans and received a Public Service Commendation Medal from the U.S. Department of the Army. He served until resigning in 2015 to return to the private sector amid reported business opportunities. In 2022, he switched to the Republican Party, citing policy divergences, and reclaimed the seat in the district encompassing Coney Island and Bay Ridge, areas with significant immigrant populations. His legislative priorities have included bolstering small businesses, enhancing public safety, and opposing measures like congestion pricing and a proposed Coney Island casino, reflecting constituent concerns over economic impacts. Brook-Krasny faced federal indictment in 2017 for alleged involvement in a Medicaid fraud scheme tied to opioid prescriptions, including bribery and conspiracy charges; he was acquitted on key counts in 2019, with remaining bribery charges dismissed by court ruling due to insufficient evidence of corrupt intent.

As a member of Moscow's Jewish community, Brook-Krasny's formative years occurred amid systemic antisemitism, including informal quotas limiting Jewish access to higher education and professional advancement, as well as suppression of religious and cultural expression under official state atheism. Soviet policies denied Jews the ethnic-cultural autonomies granted to other nationalities, fostering a climate of discrimination that influenced family decisions, such as Brook-Krasny's uncle's prominent status potentially deterring earlier emigration attempts in the 1970s due to associated risks.

Brook-Krasny emigrated from Moscow to the United States in 1989, during the perestroika reforms that eased restrictions on Soviet Jewish departures. He arrived in New York City and settled in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach area, a concentrated enclave of Russian-speaking immigrants from the former Soviet Union.

As a Soviet-born immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1978, Brook-Krasny has sustained deep connections to Brooklyn's Russian-Jewish community networks, where he is recognized as a pioneering figure and immigrant success story among Russian-American circles. These ties reflect his roots in Odessa, Ukraine, and his integration into local ethnic enclaves that support cultural and communal institutions serving post-Soviet Jewish immigrants.