One thought on “Neighborhood Guides”

1. Abel Hernandez March 25, 2015 at 3:56 pm

   WELCOME TO BROOKLYN
   Team Members: Ruth, Erika, Andralee, Abel
   Parks and Recreation
   HMGT 4988
   Prof. Duchamp
   March, 27th 2015

   WILLIAMSBURG
   Williamsburg is a neighborhood of about 113,000 inhabitants in the borough of Brooklyn. The surrounding neighborhoods are; Greenpoint to the North, Bedford to the South, Bushwick to the east, and Fort Greene and Eat River to the west. Williamsburg is an influential hub of current indie rock, is attributed to be the place of origin of electroclash, and has a large local art community and hipster culture. Historically, many ethnic groups have moved and made Williamsburg their home. Some of these ethnic groups include African Americans, Italians, Jews, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans.
   Williamsburg was founded in around 1638 by the Dutch West India Company which purchased the land from the local Native Americans. After the English took over in 1664 the town’s name changed to Bushwick. During the colonial times the villagers called this are “Bushwick Shore”. This name lasted for about 140 years. Farmers and gardeners from other villages shipped their good to Bushwick Shore to be sold at markets in what is today Grand Steeet. In 1802, real estate speculator Richard M. Woodhull acquired 13 acres near what would become Metropolitan Avenue, then North 2nd St. He had Colonel Jonathan Williams survey the property, and named it Williamsburgh (with an H at the end) in his honor.
   In 1898, Brooklyn became one of the 5 boroughs within the New York City area, and Williamsburg was exposed to closer connection to the rest of the city. The opening of the Williamsburg Bridge in 1903 marked the real turning point in the area’s history. The community was then opened up to thousands of upwardly mobile immigrants and second-generation Americans fleeing the overcrowded slum tenements of Manhattan’s lower east side. Williamsburg itself soon became the most densely populated neighborhood in New York City, which in turn was the most densely populated city in the United States.
   Some of the Landmarked Buildings include the Music Halls of Williamsburg, and Kings County Savings Bank Building, built in 1860. The Williamsburg houses were designated a landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2003, prohibiting the change in the design of the houses. The Domino Sugar Refinery was built in 1856 and by 1870 it processed more than half of the sugar used in the United States. A fire in 1882 caused the plant to be completely rebuilt in brick and stone. In 2007 the Domino Sugar building was recognized as a landmark building of New York City. Williamsburg is also home to the Brooklyn Brewery, and the East River Park.
   Williamsburg proximity to Manhattan has made the neighborhood the new place to live for many New Yorkers, especially young artists and hipsters. When you visit Bedford Avenue as well as Berry Street, you will find a number of restaurants and shopping kiosks mostly ran by street artists. Handmade products are a huge trend in Williamsburg. This neighborhood has become a notable home for live music and an incubator to new bands. These events take place mostly on Bedford Avenue and its surroundings.
   Williamsburg is easily accessible by train. You can visit Williamsburg by taking the L train to Bedford Avenue, the J, M, and Z to Marcy Avenue or the G to Lorimer Street.

   GREENPOINT
   Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg, on the southeast by the Brooklyn-Queens expressway, on the north by Long Island City, and on the east by East Williamsburg. European settlers originally used the “Greenpoint” name to refer to a small bluff of land jutting into the East River at what is now the westernmost end of Freeman Street, but eventually it came to describe the whole peninsula.
   Greenpoint was originally a farmland just like Williamsburg, many of the farm owner’s family names such as Meserole and Calyer, are current street names in this neighborhood. At the time of European settlement in New York City, Greenpoint was inhabited by Native Americans who used this area for farming. Greenpoint was also affected by the Dutch West India Company which in 1638 negotiated the right to settle Brooklyn.
   Greenpoint first began to change significantly in the 19th century when entrepreneur Neziah Bliss married into the Meserole family in the early 1830s after purchasing land from them. He eventually bought out of most the land in Greenpoin. He also established regular ferry service to Manhattan around 1850. All of these initiatives contributed to the rapid and radical transformation of Greenpoint. In the years that followed Greenpoint established itself as a center of shipbuilding and waterborne commerce; its shipbuilding, printing, pottery, glassworks and foundries were staffed by generation after generation of hardworking immigrants. Germans and Irish arrived in the mid-19th century and large numbers of Polish began arriving before the end of the century.
   Now a day, Greenpoint is an upcoming neighborhood that offers a wide variety of landmarks and attractions. Greenpoint is also known as Little Poland because of its large population of Polish immigrants and Polish descendants. It has been reported that Greenpoint has the second largest concentration of Polish people in the United States, after Chicago.
   Some of the landmarks in Greenpoint include; McCarren Park, formerly known as Greenpoint Park. McCarren Park is also the largest green space in the neighborhood. McGolrick contains both the landmarked Shelter Pavilion and an allegorical monument to the USS Monitor ironclad ship. The Greenpoint Historic District is roughly bounded by Kent, Calyer, Noble, and Franklin Sts., Clifford Pl., Lorimer St. and Manhattan Ave where you can find most of the shopping places.
   Greenpoint has been used as a filming spot by television shows such as; Girls, I Just Want My Pants Back, Boardwalk Empire, Rescue Me, Lipstick Jungle, among other shows and TV series.
   Greenpoint is accessible by train on Nassau Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue stations on the G train. Also by the B24, B32, B43, B48, and B63 buses. Another way to get to Greenpoint is by taking the East River Ferry.

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