Krystal Perez

ENG 1121-D428

15 May 2014

Research Paper

 

Brooklyn Navy Yard

 

New York City, “the city that never sleeps”, consists of five boroughs. Each of these boroughs is significant in their own way and known for many different things. One of these boroughs, Brooklyn, has had some major changes done these past few years to an important aspect of it. The Brooklyn Water Front is a part of Brooklyn that is located near the Brooklyn Bridge which has recently been renovated. The plan is to consist of 15 new buildings, 4.5 million square feet for office space and 8,500 new housing units. One important part of the Brooklyn Water Front that is being renovated is the United States Navy Yard, which is also famously known as the Brooklyn Navy Yard or simply as the Navy Yard. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is a very important historical feature to Brooklyn because of the history behind it, what it turned out to be after it was closed down, and how helpful it has been to the economy.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard was built in 1801 and was opened from 1806 until 1966. Bought by federal authorities for only $40,000, the Brooklyn Navy Yard had many docks and was best known as the United States’ Navy’s shipyard. During this time, the buildings in the Navy Yard were made up of handmade bricks and even consisted of a naval hospital, built for soldiers who were then injured. The Naval hospital was built and used from 1830 to 1838 and reconstructed from 1841 to 1843. However, it stopped being used and was taken down in the mid-1970s. The Brooklyn Navy Yard was also used as the site of a British prison ship that was used to imprison about 11,000 American soldiers and other prisoners during the Revolutionary War.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard was originally built so that the United States Navy could build more merchant vessels. A lot of famous and well known ships were built, decked, and repaired there. According to the records of Columbia University, the battleship North Carolina was put into deck there to be repaired in 1937 and a couple of years later, battleship Iowa and Missouri were finished being rebuilt and repaired in the year 1942. Also, in the year 1942, the battleship Maine was launched from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. A couple of years later on January 12, 1953, the ship Antietam was launched and was named “America’s first angle deck aircraft carrier” after completing its test operations in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Without the Brooklyn Navy Yard, it isn’t clear where most of these ships would have needed to go to in order to get repaired. Also, without the Brooklyn Navy Yard, some of the world’s best known battleships and carriers wouldn’t even have been built. These ships have given the Brooklyn Navy Yard a reason to live up to its name.

Throughout history, the Brooklyn Navy Yard has changed and been turned into an area of private manufacturing. After the Navy Yard was closed in 1966, it was used for commercial activity. The Bloomberg administration invested into the Navy Yard and invested $250 million so that the Navy Yard’s infrastructure could be boosted, and this included the water, the roads, and the sewer. Today, more than about 200 different companies occupy it and own different parts of the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the land associated with it. From business companies to retail companies and more, one of the most important buildings occupying the Brooklyn Navy Yard is Building 92. This is somewhat like a museum that opened in November of 2011. People are allowed to visit Building 92 to take tours and view some exhibits that preserves the nature of what the Navy Yard once was. Building 92 also has a part of it called the Employment Center. This center is where people go to in search for jobs. The Daily News has reported that the Navy Yard is “exploding with new development – ranging from a mega supermarket to massive new sounds stages and medical labs.” The same newspaper article claims that the Navy Yard helps people get jobs that will most likely grow into management roles.

Along with all of the other improvements being made to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, it is evident that the Navy Yard has always been associated with the economy in a positive way. After the American Civil War, the Brooklyn Navy Yard employed up to 6,000 men. In the year 1938, The Brooklyn Navy Yard recorded to employ about ten thousand people. Not only were these workers men, but they were also a part of an organization called the Works Progress Administration (WPA).The WPA was an organization formed in April 1935 and was one of the largest agencies in its time to employ almost 8 million jobs to unemployed people. These men employed by the Navy Yard from the WPA carried out jobs as construction workers, to painting new building, and even helping build railroad tracks. Even today, The Brooklyn Navy Yard is associated with the economy with the help of the Employment Center. According to The Brooklyn Navy Yard’s website, the Employment Center “identifies, pre-screens, and places qualified job seekers in various types of employment.” In other words, The Employment Center has been providing jobs for many people in Brooklyn and different parts of New York City. A woman named Loretta Swindell claimed that “she walked into the yard’s employment center and walked out with a job working on a demolition project within the complex.” Although it hasn’t provided jobs to as many as ten thousand people, the Employment Center has slowly been changing the lives of many people and adding on to the economy by making sure people who need the jobs, get them.

Many people pass the Brooklyn Water Front each and every day and don’t even know the history behind it. It provided many things to the people in the nineteenth through twentieth century. So, starting off as a shipyard for many ships to be developed and repaired for war, the Navy Yard could be known as one of the most historical features that New York City has. After the shipyard was closed and even today, the Brooklyn Navy Yard is still important because it was being used for commercial use by many companies. What once was, is still is. The Brooklyn Navy Yard is slowly helping better the economy by helping people find jobs. People may look at the Brooklyn Navy Yard as just a part of the Brooklyn Water Front but the Brooklyn Navy Yard has a strong background and will continue its legacy.

 

 

 

 Work Cited

 

 

Bartelstone, John. The Brooklyn Navy Yard. Brooklyn, NY: PowerHouse, 2010.      Print.

 

Berner, Thomas F. The Brooklyn Navy Yard. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 1999. Print.

 

Blau, Reuven. “Full Speed Ahead! Historic Brooklyn Navy Yard Exploding with New Development, Job Opporunities.” NY Daily News. NY Daily News, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 May 2014.

 

Lange, Alexandra. “New Improved Brooklyn.” NYMag.com. New York Magazine, n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.

 

Stobo, John R. “Brooklyn Navy Yard.” Brooklyn Navy Yard. Columbia University, n.d. Web. 15 May 2014.