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84-718: Prospect Park South is a small neighborhood in Flatbush , Brooklyn , New York City , located south of Prospect Park . It is included within the Prospect Park South Historic District , which was designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1979 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The historic district is bounded by Church Avenue to

168-417: A suburb . Towards the end of the century, the land was worth more if used for real estate than farming, and large landowners began selling off plots. John Lefferts divided his family's Flatbush homestead into 516 parcels, restricted by covenant to only be developed into single-family housing. These formed Lefferts Manor, containing possibly the neighborhood's earliest row houses . Another early development

252-534: A century. A church was built in 1654, replaced by another structure in 1698. The early settlement was enclosed by a palisade wall for protection. By 1658, it was the location of the courts and seat of Justice for the County. There were records of schoolmasters in the town from 1659. The north end of Midwout was called Steenraap, the main business center the Dorp, and the south end Rustenburgh or resting-place. Among

336-463: A college education or higher. The percentage of Flatbush and Midwood students excelling in math rose from 43 percent in 2000 to 68 percent in 2011, though reading achievement remained steady at 48% during the same time period. Flatbush and Midwood's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is about equal to the rest of New York City. In Flatbush and Midwood, 18% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year , compared to

420-452: A coming merger with Brooklyn, and lamented that the Dutch character of the town was gone. The only remaining signs of its presence to her were "the reminiscences and traditions, while the old family names mark the localities still, as the projecting peaks mark the submerged rock." In 1894, Flatbush was successfully annexed into Brooklyn. A reception hosting Brooklyn mayor Charles A. Schieren

504-755: A community of substantial homes, a "rural park within the limitations of the conventional city block and city street." Alvord characterized the development as rus in urbe , the country in the city. The location was selected to take advantage of the train service on the Brooklyn and Brighton Beach Railroad of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT) . The line, now known as the BMT Brighton Line , offered express and local train service that remains to this day. The trains emerged at Fulton Street as an elevated line and continued across

588-448: A dire shortage. The response from the government was a slew of housing and tenant bills, with one allowing the city to exempt new residential construction from property taxes until 1932. The ordinance spurred a housing boom across the borough, with significant development in the much cheaper land of southern Brooklyn and Flatbush, which was increasingly connected to the rest of the city via new infrastructure projects. Extant homes—including

672-481: A few years after Flatbush and the other towns of Kings County avoided annexation by Brooklyn. The Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway , established 1878, connected Flatbush to the pleasure spots at Coney Island and the Atlantic Coast to the south, and downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan to the north. The railways and the opening of bridges connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan began transforming Flatbush into

756-427: A lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 79.9% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 43 rapes, 246 robberies, 601 felony assaults, 225 burglaries, 586 grand larcenies, and 98 grand larcenies auto in 2018. In 1997, officers from the 70th Precinct restrained and sexually assaulted innocent suspect Abner Louima in the precinct's restroom. Louima received

840-540: A non-profit rescue organization, has a large social media following. Flatbush is covered by two precincts of the NYPD . The 70th Precinct is located at 154 Lawrence Avenue in Parkville and serves Ditmas Park, Prospect Park South, and Midwood, while the 67th Precinct is located at 2820 Snyder Avenue and serves East Flatbush. The 70th Precinct ranked 30th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010, while

924-480: A relatively high population of residents who are uninsured , or who receive healthcare through Medicaid . In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter , the deadliest type of air pollutant , in Flatbush and Midwood is 0.0077 milligrams per cubic metre (7.7 × 10  oz/cu ft), lower than

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1008-729: A settlement from the city of $ 8.7 million, at that time the largest individual payment for an NYPD brutality case. Approximately $ 1.6 million of the settlement money came from the police union, which allegedly tried to help cover up the crime. Flatbush is served by three New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations: As of 2018 , preterm births are more common in Flatbush and Midwood than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Flatbush and Midwood, there were 99 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 17.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Flatbush and Midwood has

1092-586: A staff to design the houses in the development, although clients could also provide their own architect if they preferred to. Petit ended up designing many of the houses in the development, in a wide variety of styles, including Colonial Revival , Tudor Revival and Queen Anne . The houses in Prospect Park South were required to be substantial, freestanding homes exceeding 3,500 square feet (325 m) and costing over US$ 5,000. Several other restrictions were also placed upon builders wishing to develop

1176-448: Is 57% in Flatbush and Midwood, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. As according to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning showed a diverse racial population, though the concentrations of each racial groups varied between different sections of Flatbush. Western portions of the community had between 10,000 to 19,999 White residents, 5,000 to 9,999 Black residents, and each

1260-466: Is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn . The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park to the north, East Flatbush to the east, Midwood to the south, and Kensington and Parkville to the west. The modern neighborhood includes or borders several institutions of note, including Brooklyn College . The area

1344-428: Is covered by ZIP Codes 11203, 11210, 11225, and 11226. Flatbush and Midwood generally has a similar ratio of college-educated residents to the rest of the city as of 2018 . Though 43% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 18% have less than a high school education and 39% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have

1428-424: Is located at 22 Linden Boulevard east of Flatbush Avenue. It was built in 1905 as a Carnegie library branch . The Clarendon branch is located at 2035 Nostrand Avenue south of Farragut Road. It was founded as a deposit station with a small circulating collection in 1913. The branch moved into its current building in 1954, and it was renovated in 1990. The Crown Heights branch, located on the border with Crown Heights,

1512-515: Is located at 560 New York Avenue near Maple Street. Victorian Flatbush The neighborhoods of Victorian Flatbush were developed in the early twentieth century from farmland in the former village of Flatbush, in response to the construction of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit line to Coney Island , and are some of the earliest suburbs. Developers including Dean Alvord, Lewis Pounds and particularly Thomas Benton Ackerson sold

1596-477: Is notable for its relatively unique architecture. Since 1994, the building has been divided internally into five smaller high schools, each concentrating on a different academic area. Brooklyn College (one of the four-year colleges in the City University of New York system) occupies a 35-acre (14 ha) campus shared between the neighborhoods of Flatbush and Midwood . Several Jewish yeshivas are in

1680-698: Is part of Brooklyn Community District 14 . It is patrolled by the 67th and 70th Precincts of the New York City Police Department . Politically, Flatbush is represented by the New York City Council 's 40th and 45th Districts. In the 16th century, western Long Island was inhabited by the Canarsee people, who called it Sewanhacka. The Canarsee and related Lenape tribes lived semi-nomadic lives, moving seasonally to follow food sources. Their crisscrossing trails through

1764-480: Is patronized almost exclusively by people of intelligence and good breeding. While not the first attempt at suburban development in the area, Alvord's vision excited the interest of the wealthy of Brooklyn Heights and Manhattan residents. Ultimately, Alvord's restrictions not only created an exciting new design but a standard to become a blueprint for the modern suburb . Enthusiasm for his design in following years would see South Midwood, Fiske Terrace , Ditmas Park,

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1848-489: The Beverley Squares (Beverley Square East and Beverley Square West), Prospect Lefferts Gardens , Ditmas Park , Fiske Terrace , Victorian Flatbush , and Albemarle-Kenmore Terrace . Bordering Flatbush on the north is Crown Heights, to the east is East Flatbush , to the west is Kensington and Parkville, and to the south is Midwood. Well-known institutions within Flatbush include Erasmus Hall High School ,

1932-429: The Beverley Squares , and many more developments spring up in the surrounding area to accommodate the demand, together forming what is now known as Victorian Flatbush . In 1972, New York's Albanian community established a mosque at 1325 Albemarle Road. Prospect Park South was designated as a historic district by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1979. The Alvord Mansion at 1522 Albemarle Road

2016-678: The Parade Ground , the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church , and Brooklyn College . The Kings Theatre , listed on the National Register of Historic Places , operated from 1929 to 1977; it reopened as a live show venue in February 2015 after extensive renovations. Based on data from the 2010 United States Census , the population of Flatbush was 105,804, a decrease of 5,071 (4.6%) from the 110,875 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 1,038.56 acres (420.29 ha),

2100-615: The Prospect Park South neighborhood hired private security to patrol the neighbhorhood. Residents lobbied commercial business to return to the area. Local merchants, the city, and the Flatbush Development Corporation worked to revitalize the neighborhood's commercial core. The Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District was founded in 1990, and by 1996 included 195 merchants on the stretch of road between Parkside Avenue and Cortelyou Road. In

2184-482: The "soldier from Flatbush" became a symbol of the All-American soldier. After the war, Flatbush saw demographic shifts along with the rest of the city. Owners and renters from the interwar years aged, and their children moved out of the neighborhood; from 1950 to 1960 children under six in Flatbush dropped 14 percent, while the number of seniors over 65 rose 42 percent. The Dodgers left Brooklyn, and Ebbets Field

2268-548: The 18th century. In 1738, 29% of Flatbush's recorded population of 539 were slaves, jumping to 41% by 1790. The enslaved labor pool was also supplemented by indentured servants from the British Isles or Germany. During the American Revolution (1775–1783), Flatbush demonstrated conflicting loyalties to either the loyalist or patriot causes. Patriot troops burned houses and farmland early in war to deny

2352-418: The 1980s, families and young couples priced out of areas like Park Slope and looking for cheaper real estate moved into the homes in the historic areas. Residents started buying their houses and forming block associations; the high percentage of buyers who were middle-class black residents made it atypical from other gentrification waves on the time in the city that displaced the current residents. Owners in

2436-420: The 2000s, Flatbush began to shed its poor reputation, and residents came to the area for its cheaper prices, attractive housing stock, and retail. The Junction was redeveloped with the addition of Target Corporation 's largest-ever store. The demographics of the neighborhood continued to shift; new Jewish residents from Syria arrived alongside Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Russians, and Chinese. The Muslim community

2520-629: The 67th Precinct ranked 40th safest. As of 2018 , with a non-fatal assault rate of 42 per 100,000 people, Flatbush and Midwood's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 372 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 70th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 89.1% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 27 rapes, 162 robberies, 273 felony assaults, 173 burglaries, 527 grand larcenies, and 75 grand larcenies auto in 2018. The 67th Precinct also has

2604-697: The Beverley Squares—are now considered part of Ditmas Park. It has also been identified with Midwood. The Flatbush-Tompkins Congregational Church on 19th Street in the Ditmas Park Historic District, at which Conrad Tillard is since 2018 the Senior Minister, is often used for community meetings. Victorian Flatbush now includes five New York City historic districts, and residents of the sections that have not yet been designated city historic districts are working with

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2688-565: The British the resources. Landowners in Brooklyn were concerned that a full conflict between the Colonies and the British would result in loss of their critical source of slave labor. Parts of the Battle of Long Island took place in Flatbush; the patriots checked the British advance north at what is now known as Battle Pass , until they were surprised by a flanking attack. The town of Flatbush

2772-587: The Brooklyn Bridge to Manhattan. Once he had purchased the land, Alvord laid out all the necessary utilities and marked the entrance of most streets with brick piers with cast concrete plaques bearing the bas-relief inscription "PPS". He also hired John Aitkin, a Scottish landscape gardener, to supervise the plantings for the lawns and the Flatbush Malls , with meticulous attention given to details. Trees, for instance, were not planted only along

2856-533: The Brooklyn, Flatbush & Coney Island Railroad (now called the Brooklyn & Brighton Beach Railroad) was electrified in 1901 and run over the Brooklyn Bridge , connecting Flatbush more directly with lower Manhattan. This was followed by further improvements to the line in the subsequent years, including the addition of more tracks and removal of at-grade crossings. The railways lived alongside five trolley lines that ran to Williamsburg in north Brooklyn and

2940-492: The Canarsee (who did not share the Dutch's view of property rights, viewing the sales not as final but essentially leases.) One of the Dutch settlements was Midwout (alternatively Midwoud or Medwoud ,) Dutch for "middle wood". Midwout was established inland, in a forested area bounded by hills to the north and flat open spaces to the south, which had been managed by the natives for cultivation and game purposes. The geography

3024-465: The English captured nearby New Amsterdam , and New Netherland was ceded to the English, remaining permanently in their hands after 1674 as New York. The towns of Long Island were united as Kings County in 1683. The borders of Widwout were fixed in 1685 in a new charter granted by Thomas Dongan , the English governor of New York province. The English "Flatbush" gradually supplanted the Dutch names for

3108-631: The Flatbush BID organizes the Flatbush Avenue Street Fair, an event that celebrates the cultures of the community. The Flatbush Development Corporation hosts events and programs that are aimed to support the "vitality, diversity and quality of life" in the Flatbush community. CAMBA, Inc . is a Flatbush-based nonprofit that since 1977 has provided housing, youth education and development, legal services and healthcare services to residents of Flatbush and beyond. Flatbush Cats ,

3192-587: The Hispanic and Asian populations were between 5,000 to 9,999 residents. Eastern portions of the community had between 30,000 to 39,999 Black residents, 10,000 to 19,999 Hispanic residents, and 5,000 to 9,999 White residents. The bustling business district and neighborhoods of Flatbush are supported by several community organizations. The Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District provides services to keep Flatbush Avenue from Parkside Avenue to Cortelyou Road clean, safe and profitable for its businesses. Every year,

3276-655: The Lower East Side in Manhattan. Development of the north end of Flatbush was helped along with the construction of Ebbets Field , home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. Construction across Brooklyn slowed as Europe and then America became embroiled in World War I ; the cost of construction spiked, and the city emerged from the war years having gone from a surplus of housing a decade earlier to

3360-564: The area formed some of the early roads for the modern region. One of their primary settlements was located roughly at the current intersection of Flatbush Avenue and Kings Highway , named Keskachane or "council fire". Henry Hudson is reported to have landed on the island in 1609. Hudson was an Englishman working for the Dutch East India Company, and the Dutch established trading posts and settlements in their new colony of Nieuw Nederland thereafter, buying up land from

3444-515: The area had focused on farming, which proved lucrative as nearby New York City grew. The need for labor spurred the importation of African slaves, making New York one of the largest slaveholding regions in the northern English colonies. Dutch slavery was less rigid and repressive than that of the Southern Colonies , but as the English assumed control of the region, harsher legal codes came into effect. The slave population swelled through

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3528-445: The area in 1971 recalled that his building gradually shed staff and maintenance was neglected as the decade wore on, amid a wider drop in city services following the city's financial crisis . Parts of the neighborhood in the west and to the south of Prospect Park continued to attract a sizable number of wealthier homeowners, and doctors still resided and practiced on a stretch of Parkside Avenue immediately adjacent to Prospect Park. By

3612-405: The area is one with fuzzier boundaries, compared to neighborhoods with sharp, widely-agreed-upon delineations. The borders roughly coincide with Brooklyn Community District 14 , which also includes portions of Midwood and Kensington. Over time, neighborhoods once considered part of Flatbush have gained their own distinct identities. These include the planned communities of Prospect Park South ,

3696-485: The area resembles other parts of the US more than it does the rest of New York. It is one of the largest collections of Victorian houses in the country. There has been rezoning to guard against oversize buildings near Coney Island Avenue . Victorian Flatbush is in the western part of Flatbush, bounded approximately by Prospect Park (Brooklyn) or Church Avenue in the north and Avenue H in the south, and by Flatbush Avenue in

3780-486: The area, comprising the majority of the rural labor force by 1860. Though Flatbush and Kings County did not support Abraham Lincoln 's presidency in 1860, after the American Civil War broke out, Flatbush residents raised funds and soldiers for the war effort. Blacks fleeing the violence of the New York City draft riots found refuge in Flatbush and nearby Weeksville . Flatbush built a Town Hall in 1875,

3864-455: The city where real estate was expected to take off, as buyers looked for more affordable options. Flatbush was disparately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic compared to higher-income parts of the city. As housing prices have increased, the neighborhood's predominantly black population has begun to shrink. The neighborhood continues to face issues as a lower-income neighborhood compared to

3948-500: The city, with a 2016 WNYC reporting finding the neighborhood was disproportionately the target of Vision Zero traffic safety enforcement compared to whiter neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Greenpoint . a 2023 Gothamist analysis of 311 data revealing the neighborhood was one of the largest problem areas in the city for illegal waste dumping. Little remains of the original Flatbush village and its surroundings. The 18th-century Lefferts family house , which resided in Flatbush,

4032-417: The citywide and boroughwide averages. Ten percent of Flatbush and Midwood residents are smokers , which is slightly lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Flatbush and Midwood, 28% of residents are obese , 13% are diabetic , and 31% have high blood pressure —compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 21% of children are obese, compared to

4116-484: The citywide average of 20% of students. Additionally, 75% of high school students in Flatbush and Midwood graduate on time, equal to the citywide average of 75% of students. Flatbush is home to a number of elementary and intermediate schools, as well as the Erasmus Hall High School campus. Founded in 1786, it has a long list of famous alumni. Its building has been expanded numerous times, and

4200-577: The citywide average of 20%. Eighty percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 77% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly less than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Flatbush and Midwood, there are 21 bodegas . Major hospitals in close proximity to Flatbush include Kings County Hospital and SUNY Downstate Medical Center . The facilities are located in neighboring East Flatbush just east of New York Avenue. Flatbush

4284-466: The community of free blacks. Slavery was fully abolished in 1827, though many former slaves continued to work as under their former owners. Into the 19th century, Flatbush remained a slow-growing farming community. The opening of the Erie Canal shifted cultivation away from grains and towards market produce, with Kings County being the second-largest largest provider of produce in the country until

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4368-439: The curb line, but also at the building line as well, to give the streets greater breadth of vision, to block out adjoining houses, and provide the illusion that each house was the only one on the block. Both Norway maples and Carolina poplars were used: the poplars for immediate shade, and the slower-growing maples for long-term shade. Alvord did all this before selling a single plot. Alvord also hired architect John J. Petit and

4452-577: The early colonists in Midwout who would rise to prominence was Leffert Pietersen Van Haughwout. Van Haughwout's family, later known as the Lefferts, would build a homestead in the 1680s in the north of town, now part of Prospect Lefferts Gardens . Other Dutch families would ultimately lend their names to the streets of the modern city. In its early years, Midwout came into conflict with its neighboring town of New Amersfoort over its borders, as well as with

4536-699: The east and Coney Island Avenue in the west. It includes a dozen neighborhoods or enclaves: The earliest development in Victorian Flatbush was the Tennis Court development, planned by Richard Ficken in the 1880s. These homes were bought and razed to build apartment buildings in the 1920s. The only remnants left of it are the eponymous street, and the Knickerbocker Field Club . Many parts of Victorian Flatbush, particularly those centered on Cortelyou Road —Ditmas Park West and

4620-459: The east, Avenue H to the south, and Coney Island Avenue to the west. However they also noted that some residents still considered Midwood part of Flatbush, and the historic definitions had it stretch from Ocean Parkway to New York Avenue. By the 2000s, the Times had shifted the boundaries eastward, with New York Avenue the eastern border and Ocean Avenue the western one; the paper also noted that

4704-461: The end of the century after Queens County. It remained isolated from the growing Brooklyn by open country. Prospect Park was developed from land partially in Flatbush, though it was wholly claimed by Brooklyn. The rural character of the town, however, would not last. In the second quarter of the century, a street grid was laid out, and the main north-south road was established as Flatbush Avenue. A stream of Irish and some German immigrants arrived in

4788-468: The farther-flung areas remaining mostly rural and dotted with wood-framed houses. Amid the construction of houses and the infrastructure to support them, Flatbush's population tripled in the decades before 1900. In the face of increasing urbanization, some community leaders wished for Flatbush and the outlying Kings County towns to retain their rural character. Resident and amateur historian Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt, writing in 1881, correctly predicted

4872-496: The historic center of Flatbush at Church and Flatbush Avenues. When Flatbush merged with Brooklyn, the old town became coterminous with the 29th ward . There are no official boundaries for the modern neighborhood, which is smaller than the old boundaries of the town, and have long been disputed. In 1928, the Brooklyn Standard Union gave an expansive definition of Flatbush as running from Ocean Parkway in

4956-475: The local natives; in 1670 the Rockaway Indians challenged the Dutch claims, saying the Canarsee had no authority to sell the land. Midwout's leadership bought the land again to avoid trouble. By the end of the century most of the natives in the region were either dead by war or disease, or dispossessed of their ancestral lands; a few remained in Midwout as farmhands or servants for the Dutch. In 1664,

5040-522: The lots. Alvord wanted to create an environment that attracted the Protestant, wealthy elite while excluding the immigrant population moving into Brooklyn at the time. In his original prospectus, Alvord wrote: In fixing upon a location for a home, it is pleasant to live where children, in going to and fro, are not subject to the annoyance of contact with the undesirable elements of society. The Flatbush Avenue trolley line penetrates no slum sections and

5124-480: The mid-1980s, however, the neighborhood had numerous abandoned or semi-abandoned buildings, many of which had fallen into a state of disrepair. The eastern parts of Flatbush were particularly affected. Crime worsened significantly during the 1970s and 80s, alongside a rise in drugs. A number of stores on Flatbush and Church Avenues fell victim to looting during the 1977 blackout . Tenants rights organizations and neighborhood associations formed to fight back against

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5208-420: The neighborhood had a population density of 101.9 inhabitants per acre (65,200/sq mi; 25,200/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 19.9% (21,030) White , 48.6% (51,470) African American , 0.3% (281) Native American , 9.2% (9,712) Asian , 0.0% (26) Pacific Islander , 0.5% (575) from other races , and 1.9% (2,051) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.5% (20,659) of

5292-453: The neighborhood shifted from 89% white in 1970 to 30% white in a decade. The white and Jewish residents were replaced by Hispanic, Asian, and black ones, and the commercial properties shifted to reflect the change. Afro-Caribbean immigrants joined African Americans in moving from traditional neighborhoods like Harlem to Flatbush, particularly Haitians fleeing the dictatorial rule of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier . One resident who moved to

5376-434: The neighborhood's decay. The Flatbush Development Corporation, one of a number of community development corporations that formed in poorer areas of the country starting in the late 1960s, sought to revitalize the community. The FDC investigated bad landlords and agitated for loans to developers willing to refurbish old buildings. Other groups worked to protect threatened buildings and neighborhoods as historic landmarks . In

5460-463: The neighborhood's earliest suburban development—were converted to multifamily dwellings or demolished for new homes or apartments, which came in an array of architectural styles. Alongside the residential construction came commercial developments, from movie palaces like the Loew's Kings Theatre to department stores like Sears Roebuck & Company . An entertainment and commercial district developed in

5544-518: The neighborhood, including the Mir Yeshiva , Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin , Yeshiva Torah Vodaas , Yeshiva Torah Temimah , Yeshiva Tiferes Yisroel , and the Yeshivah of Flatbush . Combined, they form a major center of Jewish learning. The area had an estimated total enrollment of 14,500 students in 2004. The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has three branches in Flatbush. The Flatbush branch

5628-593: The new developments as country living, under the name "The Village in the City". Utilities and the subway were buried underground, and the area was carefully laid out with tree-lined avenues, including the Flatbush Malls , and country clubs. The detached houses, many of them large and all distinct, were designed in fashionable styles including "Victorian, Queen Anne , shingle style, colonial revival, neo-Tudor, Spanish Mission and Georgian", with porches and columns, and in many cases bay windows, turrets, and stained glass, and

5712-556: The north, the BMT Brighton Line ( B and ​ Q trains) of the New York City Subway to the east, Beverley Road to the south, and between Stratford Road and Coney Island Avenue to the west. Prospect Park South, along with other neighborhoods within Flatbush, is policed by the 70th Precinct of the New York City Police Department . In 1899, developer Dean Alvord purchased about 60 acres (24 ha) of farmland in order to create Prospect Park South,

5796-496: The population. The entirety of Community Board 14, which comprises Flatbush and Midwood, had 165,543 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.4 years. This is slightly higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 25% are between the ages of 0–17, 29% between 25–44, and 24% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents

5880-534: The remaining Anglo-Dutch, who decamped to farther-off suburbs in Long Island or New Jersey. By the Great Depression , Flatbush had a population of 400,000, and boasted fifteen theaters, rail and trolly lines, dozens of schools, fifty-four churches, and five newspapers. New York greatly benefited from New Deal policies and funds, which helped build Brooklyn College in 1935. During World War II

5964-409: The town. The Dutch character of Flatbush remained despite the English takeover; Dutch landowners continued to exert political control, and Dutch remained the dominant language until the latter part of the 18th century. Marriage outside of Dutch social circles was discouraged, which helped retain Dutch culture and kept the inhabitants "clannish", in the words of one historian. Early Dutch settlement of

6048-742: The vicinity of Church and Flatbush Avenues, with another developing at the intersection of Flatbush, Avenue H, and Nostrand Avenue, known as the Junction. As six-story Art Deco and Colonial Revival elevator apartment houses alongside stylistically analogous walk-ups were developed on Ocean Avenue and throughout its periphery, Flatbush nurtured a socioeconomically diverse population of Irish Americans , Italian Americans and American Jews ; according to anthropologist Ansley Hamid, occupants ranged from "merchants [and] professionals" to "skilled [and] manual laborers." By 1930, one-third of Flatbush's residents were Jewish. The new residents ultimately displaced

6132-402: The west to Schenectady Avenue in the east, and from Prospect Park in the north as far south as Sheepshead Bay . By the 1960s, the northern region of the neighborhood was now considered part of Crown Heights instead. 1980s New York Times articles, following the definition of the Flatbush Development Corporation, outlined the narrow boundaries as Parkside Avenue to the north, Bedford Avenue to

6216-476: Was Vanderveer Park, formed from 65 acres of the Vanderveer family's holdings. Like Lefferts Manor, Vanderveer Park traded on the Dutch history of the region to attract buyers. The developers of the new housing pitched Flatbush as a country oasis offering respite from the "cliff-dwelling" vertical living of Manhattan. Much of the development focused on the areas immediately south and east of Prospect Park, with

6300-525: Was built by Alvord for his family. Later, it was purchased by Israel Matz , founder of the Ex-lax Company . The Alvord Mansion burned down c.1955 under mysterious conditions after its sale by the Matz family to apartment developers fell through in the face of community opposition. Among the other notable houses in the neighborhood are: Notes Bibliography Flatbush, Brooklyn Flatbush

6384-592: Was consolidated into the City of Greater New York in 1898 and was further connected to the rest of the city with the development of the New York City Subway in the early 20th century. Post-World War II, the neighborhood underwent tremendous demographic shifts, becoming home to increasing numbers of immigrants from the Caribbean, Asia, and elsewhere. In the late 20th century and 21st century it has continued to see changes due to gentrification and new immigrants. Flatbush

6468-428: Was created by the ancient glacier that once covered the area, leaving behind as it retreated the hills of the terminal moraine and a large outwash plain beyond. Midwout was settled between 1630 and 1636, and received a patent of township by 1652. In the following years it would also be known as Vlachte Bos or Flackebos ("wooded plain"), and the various names and spellings of the town were used interchangeably for nearly

6552-479: Was held at the Midwood Club House, where Schieren called the former town "the prettiest and most fascinating suburban village of Kings County." Brooklyn itself was merged into New York City in 1898, a move opposed by many in Brooklyn and passed by just 277 votes. In the early 20th century, Flatbush changed even more rapidly as further transit improvements spurred additional development. The course of

6636-463: Was hit hard in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks ; an estimated 20,000 residents left voluntarily or otherwise after immigration crackdowns. Recognizing the changed makeup of the eastern part of the neighborhood, the city designated two areas "Little Caribbean" and "Little Haiti" in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The Times featured the neighborhood in 2016 as one of four in

6720-627: Was home to the Canarsee people before contact with Europeans; many of the tribe's paths would become important roads through the region. Flatbush was originally chartered as the Dutch Nieuw Nederland colony town of Midwout, also called Vlachte Bos. It was one of the six original European towns on Long Island. The town remained primarily Dutch and rural in character until the latter half of the 19th century, when increasing rail and road connectivity to other parts of New York made it an attractive suburb to Brooklyn and New York City. The town

6804-523: Was lower, at 9% and 13% respectively. As of 2016, the median household income in Community Board 14 was $ 56,599. In 2018, an estimated 22% of Flatbush and Midwood residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent,

6888-729: Was moved in 1918 from its original location to Prospect Park along Flatbush Avenue. Near the Lefferts house is a former toll booth from the 19th century that once sat along the Flatbush Turnpike leading to Brooklyn. Other historic houses nearby include the Wyckoff-Bennett Homestead , built 1766, and the Wyckoff House , built on Twiller's Flats. A marker in Prospect Park marks the site of Battle Pass. The Flatbush Reformed Dutch Church remains at

6972-710: Was occupied by the British for seven years, with British troops and American prisoners of war billeted in area homes. Some Flatbush residents maintained their loyalist sympathies: the King's Arms, for example, appeared in the town's inn for a half-century after the conclusion of the conflict. For several decades after the Revolution, New York merchants and farmers continued to engage in the slave trade. The Gradual Emancipation Law of 1799 emancipated people of African descent born after July 4, 1799. Men and women escaping enslavement often went to Manhattan, where they could live within

7056-409: Was torn down. In the 1960s, poorer African Americans and Puerto Ricans began moving into the corridor along Nostrand Avenue , where the subway offered access to job opportunities, while middle-class African Americans bought up row houses to the west. Blockbusting encouraged white residents to sell and leave the neighborhood, and properties fell into disrepair while crime increased. The population of

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