History of Brooklyn

Brooklyn (named after the Dutch city Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. An independent city until its consolidation into New York in 1898, Brooklyn is New York's most populous borough, with nearly 2.5 million residents.^[1] If all five boroughs were independent cities, Brooklyn would rank as the third most populous city in the United States, behind Los Angeles and Chicago. Brooklyn is coterminous with Kings County, which is the most populous county in New York State, and the second most densely populated county in the United States^[2] (after New York County, which is coterminous with Manhattan).

(If you know Brooklyn, you know where this is. Need a hint? Near "The River Café".)

Though a part of New York City, Brooklyn maintains a distinct character of its own. Brooklyn is enriched by cultural diversity, an independent art scene, distinct neighborhoods, and a unique architectural heritage.

The Dutch were the first Europeans to settle the area in the 1620s on the western edge of Long Island, which was then largely inhabited by the Canarsie Native American tribe. The Village of Breuckelen was authorized by the Dutch West India Company in 1646 and became the first municipality in what is now New York State. At the time Breuckelen was part of New Netherland.

(First Reformed Dutch Church,Brooklyn, 1766)

The Dutch lost Breuckelen in the British conquest of New Netherland in 1664. In 1683, the British reorganized the Province of New York into 12 counties, each of which was sub-divided into towns. Kings County was one of the original 12 counties, and Brooklyn, the Anglicized name of Breuckelen, was one of the original six towns within Kings County. The county was named in honor of King Charles II of England.

In August and September 1776, the Battle of Long Island (occasionally now called, anachronistically, the "Battle of Brooklyn") was fought in Kings County. It was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the Declaration of Independence, and the largest battle of the entire conflict. New York, and Brooklyn along with it, gained independence from the British with the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

The first half of the 19th century saw urban areas grow along the economically strategic East River waterfront, across from New York City. The county had two cities: the City of Brooklyn and the City of Williamsburgh. Brooklyn annexed Williamsburgh in 1854, which lost its final "h." It took until 1896 for Brooklyn to annex all other parts of Kings County.

(Brooklyn skyline)

The building of rail links such as the Brighton Beach Line in 1878 heralded explosive growth, and in the space of a decade the City of Brooklyn annexed the Town of New Lots in 1886, the Town of Flatbush, the Town of Gravesend, and the Town of New Utrecht in 1894, and the Town of Flatlands in 1896.

Brooklyn had reached its natural municipal boundaries at the ends of Kings County. The question was now whether it was prepared to engage in the still-grander process of consolidation now developing throughout the region.

In 1898, Brooklyn residents voted by a slight majority to join with Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens and Richmond (later Staten Island) as the five boroughs to form modern New York City. Kings County retained its status as one of New York State's counties.

Neighborhoods

A typical Park Slope block.

List of Brooklyn neighborhoods.

(Kids hanging out on a stoop in Brooklyn)

Brooklyn has many well-defined neighborhoods, many of which developed from distinct towns and villages that date back to its founding in the Dutch colonial era in the early 1600s.

Today, Downtown Brooklyn is the third-largest central business district in New York City, after Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan. It has many commercial towers and a rapidly increasing number of residential buildings.

(Prospect Park Gate)

The northwestern neighborhoods between the Brooklyn Bridge and Prospect Park, including Boerum Hill, Brooklyn Heights, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Clinton Hill, Vinegar Hill, DUMBO, Fort Greene, Gowanus, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Red Hook, are characterized by many Nineteenth Century brick townhouses and brownstones. These neighborhoods include some of the most gentrified and affluent neighborhoods in Brooklyn, along with ample subway lines, cultural institutions, and high-end restaurants.

Further North along the East River lie Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Traditionally working class communities with a vibrant cultural mix, many artists and hipsters have moved into the area since the late 1990s. Further changing the area, the city completed an extensive rezoning of the Brooklyn waterfront in 2005 which will allow for many new residential condominiums. As prices have risen, redevelopment has moved eastward away from the waterfront into Bushwick along the L subway line.

(L Train)

Central and southern Brooklyn contains many more architecturally and culturally distinct neighborhoods, some of which grew rapidly in the late 19th and early 20th century as upwardly-mobile immigrants moved out of tenement buildings in Manhattan neighborhoods like the Lower East Side. Borough Park is largely Orthodox Jewish; Bedford-Stuyvesant is one of New York City's most notable African-American neighborhoods; Bensonhurst is historically Italian-American. East Flatbush and Fort Greene is home to a large number of middle-class black professionals. Brighton Beach is home to many Russian-Americans and Pakistani-Americans. Since 1990, Brooklyn has seen a rise in new immigration to neighborhoods like Sunset Park, home to flourishing Mexican and Chinese American communities.

(Coney Island Picture)

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