Hove Beach

“Hove Beach is our little corner of eastern Europe.”

Hove Beach is a neighborhood in Grand Theft Auto IV, Episodes from Liberty City, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, located in the southern region of Broker, Liberty City.

Description

Hove Beach is bordered to the northeast by the Algonquin-Dukes Expressway (South Slopes); to the north by Gibson Street (Outlook); to the northwest by Cisco Street and Delaware Avenue (East Hook); to the west by the Humboldt River; to the south by Crockett Avenue (Firefly Island); and to the east by Onondaga Avenue (Firefly Projects). Niko Bellic's first safehouse is located at his cousin Roman's apartment in Hove Beach.

Hove Beach is one of the largest and most populous neighborhoods of Broker. It is primarily made up of tenements, terraced houses, bars, shops, and warehouses. The residents, predominantly of Eastern European descent with a significant Russian population, seem to appertain to the working-class and middle-class. This cultural influence is reflected in the local businesses, where many, if not most, have signage written in Cyrillic script, including the enterable Russian clothing store. The main thoroughfare of Hove Beach, Mohawk Avenue, tends to experience significant traffic congestion during the day.

Crime

Hove Beach is unarguably the most unsafe neighborhood of Broker. The area is under the watchful eye of heavily armed Eastern European gangs, with tramps often wandering the streets, especially at night.

There are two main Russian criminal organizations operating in Hove Beach: the Faustin/Rascalov Mafiya and the Petrovic Mafiya. These groups are not allies, as it can be concluded from the storyline of GTA IV. The two Russian bratvas can both be seen on the streets of Hove Beach; the Faustin/Rascalov Mafiya members are often young and have a preference for streetwear, while the Petrovic Mafiya members are usually older and they have nicer clothing. Ingots and Uranuses are driven by Faustin/Rascalov Mafiya, while Schafters and Reblas are driven by the Petrovic Mafiya. Occasionally, during a firefight in the Hove Beach area, the two groups may open fire on each other. The Faustin Mafiya will protect Niko when he performs missions for them, but they will later turn hostile against him after Russian Revolution. The Petrovic Mafiya however is always neutral to Niko. In The Lost and Damned, the Uptown Riders also appear in Hove Beach.

The Albanian Mob is also present in the area (albeit exclusively during storyline missions), representing another example of an Eastern European gang. By the events of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars in 2009, the Petrovic Mafiya appears to be the only Russian gang still operating in Hove Beach.

Influence

Hove Beach is primarily based on the Brooklyn neighborhood of Brighton Beach, which is similarly known for its Eastern European, particularly Russian, community. The name references the English seaside town of Hove and its connection with the neighboring town of Brighton; together, the two towns hold city status as a single entity officially known as Brighton and Hove.

The area is further influenced by the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Bay Ridge and Bensonhurst, both of which also feature substantial immigrant populations.

Prominent Appearances in Gameplay

Grand Theft Auto IV

Side Missions

Collectibles

Grand Theft Auto IV

Items & Weapons

Baseball Bat - at Crockett Avenue Car Park and behind the Wappinger Avenue Apartment Building.
Body Armor - on a billboard at Comrades Bar.
First aid kit - on top of a building located at the intersection between Delaware Avenue and an unnamed road descending into East Hook.
Pistol - on the roof of Perestroika.

Flying Rats

Flying Rats roosting on top of the Broker Navy Yard gate, at a pier stemming from Delaware Avenue, and above the entrance facing the courtyard of an apartment building located on Onondaga Avenue.

Vehicles

Stevie's Car Thefts - DF8-90 parked at the Crockett Avenue Car Park.

Transportation

Bridges

Broker Bridge, linking Hove Beach to Algonquin. The stairway leading up to the walkway of the bridge can be found between Iroquois Avenue and Mohawk Avenue. Vehicle onramps to and from the bridge are situated at Oneida Avenue, just south from Outlook.

Public Transportation

Hove Beach is served by the Broker Line of the Liberty City Subway which passes by Hove Beach Station.

Places of Interest

1900 Onondaga Avenue, an apartment building.
Broker Safehouse, the first safehouse of Grand Theft Auto IV.
Comrades Bar, a bar formerly owned by Vladimir Glebov and frequented by Mel.
Delaware Avenue Car Park, a public car park located beneath the Hove Beach Station where Stevie's DF8-90 can be found.
Express Car Service, Roman Bellic's cab depot.
Firefly Building
Hove Beach Police Station
Hove Beach Station
Kenny Petrovic's House, the former residence of Russian gangster Kenny Petrovic and his family.
Laundromat, Hove Beach
Oleg Minkov's House, the former residence of Oleg Minkov and, presently, of Giorgio and Phyllis.
Perestroika, a Russian cabaret formerly owned and frequented by Mikhail Faustin.
Wappinger Avenue Apartment Building

Businesses

Notable Residents

Brian Meech
Dimitri Rascalov († 2008)
Lenny Petrovic († 2008)
Niko Bellic (formerly)
Oleg Minkov († 2008)
Roman Bellic (formerly)
Vladimir Glebov († 2008)
Lenny Petrovic († 2008)
Kenny Petrovic (formerly)
Mrs. Petrovic (formerly)
Kenny Petrovic's Daughter (formerly)
Unnamed Russian Goon (formerly, if killed)
Giorgio (formerly, if killed)
Phyllis (formerly, if killed)

Trivia

In the Grand Theft Auto V mission Minor Turbulence, Trevor mentions that he aspires to make drugs and weapons easily accessible across the U.S. from Hove Beach to Vespucci, Los Santos.

References

↑ Vicki, the pilot at Higgins Helitours, refers to Hove Beach as "Little Sodom".

Navigation

[1] Vicki, the pilot at Higgins Helitours, refers to Hove Beach as "Little Sodom".

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