Miss Polonia crosses the bridge

February 24, 2007

By Matthew Lysiak
The Brooklyn Paper

How many Polish people does it takes to hold a beauty pageant? Just three — if you can find three, that is.

That’s how many contestants participated in last year’s Miss Polonia of Southern Brooklyn pageant — and this year, organizers hope that the rapid decline in Brooklyn’s Polish population won’t spell the end of the venerable contest.

If so, Brooklyn stands a chance of not having one of its own don the coveted tiara and ride a float in the 70th annual Pulaski Day Parade this October in Manhattan.

“The Polish-American community remains strong, but the number of participants [in the pageant] is getting less and less,” said Helen Prusinowski, a Miss Polonia pageant organizer.

The Polish-American population in southern Brooklyn has shrunk so dramatically that finding eager contestants is more difficult than finding pierogies on 86th Street. Of course, it wasn’t always that way.

There’s been a strong Polish population in Brooklyn since 1890, when Poles set up a community along Third Avenue in Sunset Park — and there are still Polish meat stores, bakeries and supermarkets in the “Little Poland” community of Greenpoint. But the older Polish-American community in Bay Ridge has fled across the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

“They got priced out and moved to Staten Island,” said the owner of Polinica Restaurant at 7214 Third Ave. “When we opened, half my customers were Polish, and now it is down to less than half of that — and many of my Polish customers now make the trip from Staten Island.”

The recent Polish exodus has been so dramatic, that in the last few years Staten Island has begun ITS own Miss Polonia pageant.

To be eligible for the tiara, female contestants must be single, and have at least one parent of Polish descent.

If they get past that round, the young women face a panel of high-profile Polish-American judges, who rate them on their Polish heritage, future goals, how well they speak their native language, and, of course, beauty.

The winner can earn $300, plus the coveted seat on the float at the Oct. 7 Pulaski Parade. And she even gets the Miss Polonia tiara — for at least a little while.

“A few years ago when we had more support [of the business community], the winner got to keep the crown,” Prusinowki said. “But they are too expensive now, so they get to wear them for a little bit — but we need them back.”


The Miss Polonia pageant is April 22 at Sirico’s (8015 13th Ave.). Interested contestants should call Helen at (718) 853-9351.