Chabad Oceanview Jewish Center was formally established in 1933 in the heart of Brighton Beach. In 1970, Rabbi Shalom Mendel Simpson ob"m, member of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's secretariat, and his wife, Rebbetzin Rochel Simpson ob"m, have been sent by the Rebbe as the first Chabad representatives to Brighton Beach. Rabbi Simpson received personal guidance from the Rebbe related to his role at the Chabad Oceanview Jewish Center, which is the first Chabad center in the Brighton Beach area. Today, Rabbi David Okunov, a descendant of a notable Chabad Lubavitch family of Rabbis devoted to aiding Eastern European Jewry, serves as spiritual leader of the Chabad Oceanview Jewish Center, together with his wife Rebbetzin Yocheved, and serve as emissaries of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.