Flatbush, Brooklyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.
The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vladbos (approximately wooded land).[1]
The Flatbush Post Office is assigned postal zone (ZIP Code) 11226, but the area understood as included in Flatbush is rather larger than the postal zone.
The Flatbush communities have traditionally had diverse populations, including large communities of ethnic Italians, Jews and West Indians.
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[edit] History
Flatbush was originally chartered as the Dutch Nieuw Nederland colony town of Midwout in 1651. Both names were used in the Dutch era, and Midwood was an alternative name for Flatbush into the early 20th century. Midwood now describes the area immediately south of Brooklyn College. Midwood is a mix of Orthodox Jews and Irish Americans.
Flatbush and the other towns of what was to become Kings County were surrendered to the English in 1664. The influence of Dutch merchant and farming families remained strong in the area until after consolidation into the City of Greater New York in 1898, after which the development of Flatbush as a suburb, and then an integral part of the larger city, proceeded apace.
Before it was incorporated into Brooklyn City in 1894, Flatbush described both the Town of Flatbush, incorporating a large swath of central Kings County extending east to the Queens County border, and the Village of Flatbush, formerly the heart of the current community. Many of the remaining early Dutch structures are in the Flatlands and Marine Park neighborhoods.
[edit] Notable institutions
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| The Patroon System |
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| Directors-General of New Netherland: Cornelius Jacobsen Mey (1620-1625) |
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| Influential people Adriaen van der Donck |
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Well-known institutions within Flatbush include Erasmus Hall High School, Parade Grounds, the Flatbush Dutch Reformed Church, Brooklyn College, and Ebbets Field, the last Brooklyn home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team, long since demolished, as well as Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin and Mir yeshiva (Brooklyn).
[edit] Location and neighborhoods
Flatbush includes the southernmost portion of Prospect Park.
The neighborhoods of Flatbush extend south from the old Brooklyn City Line north of the southern edges of Prospect Park, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Empire Boulevard. The southern border of Flatbush neighborhoods is approximately on the line of the Long Island Rail Road's Bay Ridge Line, which runs to the south of Avenue H, the campus of Brooklyn College, and "The Junction" where Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues intersect. "The Junction" is also the location of Flatbush Avenue station, the southern terminal of the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line (2 5) of the New York City Subway. Flatbush's eastern border is roughly around New York Avenue while its western border is Coney Island Avenue.
Neighborhoods within Flatbush include the planned communities of Prospect Park South, Beverly Square West, Beverly Square East, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Ditmas Park and Fiske Terrace. Bordering Flatbush on the north are the community of Crown Heights and the former neighborhood of Pigtown. On the east, within the old town of Flatbush, is East Flatbush, on the west are Kensington and Parkville (formerly Greenfield), and on the south is Midwood. Many consider Midwood to be a part of Flatbush, but historically it was part of the neighboring former towns of New Utrecht, Gravesend and Flatlands.
[edit] Flatbush today
While Flatbush today is predominantly Black and West Indian, there are sizable numbers of Latinos as well as Whites and Asians living within its borders. While a majority of residents are working-class, there are a few middle-class and wealthier residents that call Flatbush home. Flatbush's primary commercial strips are Flatbush, Church and Nostrand Avenues, with Coney Island Avenue also emerging as a major strip. One can find Caribbean, Soul Food, Chinese, Mexican and in the case of Coney Island Avenue, South Asian restaurants within Flatbush. Most of the businesses are small ones, but there are some larger businesses (such as Old Navy, Rite-Aid and Target) also present.
Flatbush housing varies in character. It generally features apartment buildings, though some rowhouses are also present. Victorian-style (albeit older) housing can be found in Prospect Park South, and brownstones in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens.
[edit] Notable residents
Current and former residents of Flatbush include:
- Michael K. Williams
- Chubb Rock
- Shyne
- Patrick Fitzgerald
- Foxy Brown
- David Draiman
- Susan Hayward
- Barbra Streisand
- Talib Kweli
- Red Cafe
- Busta Rhymes
- Michael Jordan
- Shaggy, reggae musician
- Michael Showalter
