The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn

Book excerpt: Brooklyn—famed for its bridge, its long-departed Dodgers, its Botanic Garden, and its accent—is the most populous borough in New York City and arguably the most colorful. Its many neighborhoods boast diverse and shifting ethnic enclaves, an abundance of architectural styles, and an amazing number of churches and festivals. Generously illustrated with both historical and contemporary photographs, The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn is an indispensable and entertaining guide. Begun as an offshoot of The Encyclopedia of New York City, which provides much of the historical background, the book takes its character from the neighborhoods themselves, as detailed by the Citizens Committee for New York City and Brooklyn Borough Historian John Manbeck. Taking us on a tour of some 90 neighborhoods (including ghost neighborhoods that no longer exist), the book identifies the boundaries of each one through a neighborhood profile and a street map. There is also an essay on each neighborhood as well as an insert with practical tips on subways, buses, libraries, police precincts, fire departments, and hospitals. In addition, each entry includes eclectic neighborhood facts: Erasmus Hall Academy, in Flatbush, boasts such famous graduates as Barbra Streisand and Bobby Fischer; during Poland’s 1990 elections, more than 5,000 absentee ballots were postmarked Greenpoint. The introduction by Kenneth T. Jackson gives an overview of Brooklyn, while an index allows readers to locate key sites within the borough. In 1898, when it was the third largest city in the United States, the City of Brooklyn merged with New York City to become one of its five boroughs. A century later it is time to salute this unique community in a book that will be an essential resource for past, present, and future residents. The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn is the first in a series on New York’s five boroughs.