Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Empire Boulevard to the south. It is about wide and long. Neighborhoods bordering Crown Heights include Prospect Heights to the west,

Flatbush Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood consists of several subsections in central Brooklyn and is generally bounded by Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park to the nort ...

, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and East Flatbush to the south, Brownsville to the east, and Bedford–Stuyvesant to the north. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is

Eastern Parkway Eastern Parkway is a major east–west boulevard in the borough (New York City), New York City borough of Brooklyn. Designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, it was built between 1870 and 1874 and has been credited as the world's fir ...

, a tree-lined

boulevard A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

in the late-1800s, extending east–west. Earlier, the area was sometimes known as Crow Hill, with a succession of ridges running east and west from

Utica Avenue Utica Avenue is a major avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, New York (state), New York, United States. It is one of several named for the city of Utica, New York, Utica in Upstate New York. It runs north–south and occupies the position of East ...

to Washington Avenue, and south to Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue. When Crown Street was cut through in 1916, the area became known as the heights. The northern half of Crown Heights is part of Brooklyn Community District 8 and is patrolled by the 77th Precinct of the

New York City Police Department The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

(NYPD). The southern half is part of Brooklyn Community District 9 and is patrolled by the 71st Precinct of the NYPD. Crown Heights's primary ZIP Codes are 11213, 11216, 11225, 11233, and 11238. Politically, it is represented by the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City in the United States. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The council serves as a check against the mayor in a mayor-council government mod ...

's 35th, 36th, and 41st Districts.

History

Early history

Although no known physical evidence remains in the Crown Heights vicinity, large portions of what is now called

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

including present-day Brooklyn were occupied by the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

Native Americans. The Lenape lived in communities of bark- or grass-covered

wigwam A wigwam, wikiup, wetu (Wampanoag), or wiigiwaam (Ojibwe, in syllabics: ) is a semi-permanent domed dwelling formerly used by certain Native American tribes and First Nations people and still used for ceremonial events. The term ''wikiup'' ...

s, and in their larger settlements—typically located on high ground adjacent to fresh water, and occupied in the fall, winter, and spring—they fished, harvested shellfish, trapped animals, gathered wild fruits and vegetables, and cultivated corn, tobacco, beans, and other crops. The first recorded contact between the indigenous people of the New York City region and Europeans was with the Italian explorer

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , ; often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1491–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, who led most of his later expeditions, including the one to America, in the service of King Francis I of ...

in 1524 in the service of France when he anchored at the approximate location where the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge touches down in

today. There he was visited by a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

party of

. The next contact was in 1609 when the explorer

Henry Hudson Henry Hudson ( 1565 – disappeared 23 June 1611) was an English sea explorer and navigator during the early 17th century, best known for his explorations of present-day Canada and parts of the Northeastern United States. In 1607 and 16 ...

arrived in what is now

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

aboard a

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

ship, the ''

Halve Maen ''Halve Maen'' (; ) was a Dutch East India Company ''jacht'' (similar to a carrack) that sailed into what is now New York Harbor in September 1609. She had a length of 21 metres and was commissioned by the VOC Chamber of Amsterdam in the Dutch ...

'' ''( Half Moon)'' commissioned by the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...

. European habitation in the New York City area began in earnest with the founding of a Dutch

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

settlement, later called ''"Nieuw Amsterdam"'' (

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam (, ) was a 17th-century Dutch Empire, Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''Factory (trading post), fac ...

), on the southern tip of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in 1614. By 1630, Dutch and English colonists started moving into the western end of

. In 1637, Joris Jansen de Rapalje purchased about around Wallabout Bay and over the following two years, director Kieft of the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company () was a Dutch chartered company that was founded in 1621 and went defunct in 1792. Among its founders were Reynier Pauw, Willem Usselincx (1567–1647), and Jessé de Forest (1576–1624). On 3 June 1621, it was gra ...

purchased title to nearly all the land in what is now Kings County and Queens County from the indigenous inhabitants. Finally, the areas around present-day Crown Heights saw its first European settlements starting in about 1661/1662 when several men each received, from Governor Peter Stuyvesant and the directors of the

what was described as "a parcel of free (unoccupied) woodland there" on the condition that they situate their houses "within one of the other concentration, which would suit them best, but not to make a hamlet."

19th century

In the 19th century, the area was rural. The Crow Hill penitentiary and various orphanages were located in the area at the time. In 1884, Alexander Jefferson was killed during a prolonged hanging after being convicted of the Crow Hill Murders. Appeals seeking to overturn his death sentence documented the significant poverty in the area at the time.

Early and mid-20th century

Crown Heights had begun as a fashionable residential neighborhood, a place for secondary homes in which Manhattan's growing

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

class could reside. The area benefited by having its rapid transit in a subway configuration, the

IRT Eastern Parkway Line The IRT Eastern Parkway Line is one of the lines of the A Division (New York City Subway), A Division of the New York City Subway. Built for the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), it stretches from Downtown Brooklyn south along Flatbush ...

(), in contrast to many other Brooklyn neighborhoods, which had elevated lines. Conversion to a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

also included tearing down the 19th century Kings County Penitentiary at Carroll Street and Nostrand Avenue. Beginning in the early 1900s, many upper-class residences, including characteristic

brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...

buildings, were erected along Eastern Parkway. Away from the parkway were a mixture of lower middle-class residences. This development peaked in the 1920s. Before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Crown Heights was among New York City's premier neighborhoods, with tree-lined streets, an array of cultural institutions and parks, and numerous fraternal, social and community organizations. Jewish Hospital of Brooklyn jeh

From the early 1920s through the 1960s, Crown Heights was predominantly

Ashkenazi Jewish Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

reflecting the demographics of the city, at the time. In 1950, some 50 to 60 percent, or about 75,000 people, were Jewish. Many of them were Holocaust survivors and recent arrivals from Displaced Persons Camps in the Allied Zones of Occupation of Germany. (During this time period, Jews were not considered white as they are by many today; Jews faced discrimination, such as including being barred from hotels and restaurants and being denied employment in certain professions or companies. They also faced quotas at universities.) New arrivals from the West Indies and the American South created a growing Black presence. By 1957, there were about 25,000 Black people in Crown Heights, making up about one-fourth of the population. Around the same time, suburbanization began to rapidly affect Crown Heights and Brooklyn.

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid-20th century. Moses is regarded as one of the most powerful and influentia ...

expanded the borough's access to eastern Long Island through expressway construction; by way of the G.I. Bill, many families moved east. As the Jewish, Irish and Italian populations of Crown Heights moved out of the neighborhood as the housing stock deteriorated and crime rapidly escalated, black people from the south and immigrants from the Caribbean continued to move there. The 1957 departure of the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

and the destruction of

Ebbets Field Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush, Brooklyn, Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the History of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers baseball tea ...

for public housing for its Black population symbolically served as the end of the old Crown Heights and in the 1960s the neighborhood experienced mass

white flight The white flight, also known as white exodus, is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the Racism ...

. The demographic change was astounding; by 1970 the neighborhood was 70% Black. The one exception to this pattern were the Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish Community, who remain there today. There were thirty-four large synagogues in the neighborhood, including the Bobov, Chovevei Torah, and 770 Eastern Parkway, home of the worldwide Lubavitch movement. There were also three prominent

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

elementary schools in the neighborhood, Crown Heights Yeshiva on Crown Street, the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway, and the Reines Talmud Torah.

Late 20th century

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of turbulent race relations in the area: with increasing poverty in the city, racial conflict plagued some of its neighborhoods, including Crown Heights, with its racially and culturally mixed populations. At the request of their leader, the Lubavitcher Rebbe

Menachem Mendel Schneerson Menachem Mendel Schneerson ( – June 12, 1994; Anno Mundi, AM 11 Nissan 5662 – 3 Tammuz 5754), known to adherents of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or simply the Rebbe, was an American Orthodox rabbi and the most rec ...

, the neighborhood's mostly white and relatively large population of Lubavitch Hasidim stayed in the community as other whites were leaving. In 1964 the Labor Day Carnival celebrating Caribbean culture was moved to the neighborhood when its license to run in Harlem was revoked. It now attracts between one and three million people and is held on the first Monday in September. During the

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

administration, Crown Heights was declared a primary poverty area due to a high unemployment rate, high juvenile and adult crime rate, poor nutrition due to lack of family income, relative absence of job skills and readiness, and a relatively high concentration of elderly residents. Violence broke out several times in the neighborhood during the late 20th century, including during the

New York City blackout of 1977 The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout that affected most of New York City on July 13–14, 1977. The only unaffected neighborhoods in the city were in southern Queens (including neighborhoods of the Rockaways), which ...

: More than 75 area stores were robbed, and thieves used cars to pull up roll-down curtains in front of stores. In 1991, there was a three-day outbreak known as the Crown Heights Riot, which started between the neighborhood's

West Indian A West Indian is a native or inhabitant of the West Indies (the Antilles and the Lucayan Archipelago). According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED''), the term ''West Indian'' in 1597 described the indigenous inhabitants of the West In ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

and Jewish communities. The riots began on August 19, 1991, after Gavin Cato, the son of two Guyanese immigrants, was struck and killed by a car in the motorcade of prominent

Hasidic Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most of those aff ...

rabbi

. A mob began to attack a Jewish volunteer ambulance, which withdrew. Rumors, which later proved to be unfounded, circulated that the ambulance refused to treat Gavin Cato's injuries while removing members of Schneerson's motorcade instead. Yankel Rosenbaum, a visiting rabbinical student from Australia, was killed in the riot, while Jews were assaulted, and there was property damage amid rock throwing in the ensuing riots. The riot unveiled long-simmering tensions between the neighborhood's Black and Jewish communities, which impacted the 1993 mayoral race and ultimately led to a successful outreach program between Black and Jewish leaders that somewhat helped improve race relations in the city. Through the 1990s, crime, racial conflict, and violence decreased in the city and urban renewal and

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

began to take effect including in Crown Heights.

Early 21st century

In the 2010s, Crown Heights experienced rapid gentrification. In some areas the increasing rents have caused the displacement of long-time residents. Not only did rents for each apartment increase drastically but building management firms such as BCB Realty, affiliated with companies that buy up buildings in the neighborhood, aimed to remove long-term residents by buying them out or pressuring them to move by "failing to adequately maintain apartments", according to a housing activist, with the aim of forcing out the rent-stabilized. Other tactics include relocating residents from their apartments claiming renovation and locking them out, as employed by another realtor in the neighborhood, ZT Realty. In 2017, real estate developer Isaac Hager faced opposition from activists when he proposed building a 565-unit apartment complex in Crown Heights; in April 2019, a judge issued a restraining order against the project. In the wake of the 2010 opening of Basil Pizza & Wine Bar, a series of upscale, kosher,

foodie A foodie is a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food, and who eats food not only out of hunger but also as a hobby. The related terms "gastronome" and "gourmet" define roughly the same thing, i.e. a person who enjoys food for pleasur ...

restaurants opened in Crown Heights, which '' The Jewish Week'' described as "an eating destination". 770Lubavitch

In November 2013, a series of attacks on Jewish residents were suspected to be part of " knockout games". Media attention to knockout attacks increased following the incidents in Crown Heights. In response to the violence, the Jewish community hosted an event for African-American teens, designed to promote greater understanding of Jews and their beliefs. The event, hosted by the

Jewish Children's Museum The Jewish Children's Museum is a Jewish-themed children's museum at 792 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York, U.S. It aims for children of all faiths and backgrounds to gain a positive perspective and awareness of the Jewish heritage, fosterin ...

, was coordinated by local Jewish organizations, public schools, and by the NYPD's 71st and 77th precincts. On January 8, 2024, clashes broke out at the World Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement at 770 Eastern Parkway, after a group tried to stop workers who were trying to infill an illegal tunnel excavated by students; the incident resulted in nine arrests.

Demographics

Crown Heights is divided into two neighborhood tabulation areas, Crown Heights North and Crown Heights South, which collectively comprise the population of Crown Heights. Crown Heights has a majority

and

population according to the 2010 census. Reflecting the most varied U.S. population of Caribbean immigrants outside the West Indies, Crown Heights is known for its annual West Indian Carnival. The vivid ostentation goes along

, from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza. According to the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association, over 3.5 million people participate in the parade each year. Crown Heights also contains a significant number of Hasidic Jews. It is the location of the Worldwide Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish movement, at 770 Eastern Parkway. An

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

community which established itself in Crown Heights in the 1940s has continued to thrive around that location.

Crown Heights North

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Crown Heights North was 103,169, a change of -293 (-0.3%) from the 103,462 counted in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of .Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
, Population Division -

Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 49%

, 31%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.4% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 14% of the population.Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010
, Population Division -

Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016. The entirety of Community District 8, which covers Crown Heights North, had 97,130 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 79.2 years. This is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 20% are between the ages of 0–17, 37% between 25 and 44, and 22% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 12% respectively. As of 2016, the median

household income Household income is a measure of income received by the household sector. It includes every form of cash income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, investment income and cash transfers from the government. It may include near-cash gover ...

in Community District 8 was $60,107. In 2018, an estimated 21% of Crown Heights North 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, is 50% in Crown Heights North, lower than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Crown Heights North is considered to be gentrifying. According to the 2020 census data from

New York City Department of City Planning The Department of City Planning (DCP) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for setting the framework of city's physical and socioeconomic planning. The department is responsible for land use and environmental review, p ...

, there is still an overwhelming Black population majority of 40,000 or more residents, but there is a diverse cultural population with each of the White and Hispanic populations at between 10,000 and 19,999 residents.

Crown Heights South

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, the population of Crown Heights South was 39,670, a change of -2,700 (-6.8%) from the 42,370 counted in

. Covering an area of , the neighborhood had a population density of . The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 62.8% (24,921)

, 25.8% (10,221)

, 0.7% (285) Asian, 0.2% (81) Native American, 0% (12)

, 0.3% (127) from other races, and 1.5% (601) from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 8.6% (3,422) of the population. The entirety of Community District 9, which covers Crown Heights South, had 98,650 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 81.2 years. This is equal to the median life expectancy of all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 22% are between the ages of 0–17, 30% between 25 and 44, and 25% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 14% respectively. As of 2016, the median household income in Community District 9 was $51,072. In 2018, an estimated 22% of Crown Heights South residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in nine residents (11%) 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, is 55% in Crown Heights South, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Crown Heights South is considered to be gentrifying. As of the 2020 census, according to

, there were between 20,000 and 29,999 Black residents and 10,000 to 19,999 White residents. The concentration of Black residents in South Crown Heights is slightly lower than North Crown Heights.

Politics

The neighborhood is part of New York's 9th congressional district, represented by Democrat

Yvette Clarke Yvette Diane Clarke (born November 21, 1964) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for New York's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party (United States ...

since 2013. It is also part of the 19th and 20th

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

districts, represented by Democrats Roxanne Persaud and Zellnor Myrie, and the 43rd and 57th State Assembly districts, represented respectively by Democrats Brian A. Cunningham and Phara Souffrant Forrest. Crown Heights is located in New York's 35th and 36th

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

districts, represented respectively by Democrats Crystal Hudson and Chi Ossé. As compared to most other parts of New York City, however, Crown Heights is more politically moderate; several of its precincts voted for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in the

2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...

. Crown Heights is served by Brooklyn Community Board 8 north of Eastern Parkway and Brooklyn Community Board 9 south of Eastern Parkway.

Police and crime

Crown Heights is patrolled by two precincts of the

NYPD The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...

. Crown Heights North is covered by the 77th Precinct, located at 127 Utica Avenue, while Crown Heights South is patrolled by the 71st Precinct, located at 421 Empire Boulevard. The 77th Precinct ranked 42nd safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010, while the 71st Precinct ranked 46th safest. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 85 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights North and 73 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights South, both areas' rates of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

s per capita are greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rates of 872 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights North and 598 per 100,000 people in Crown Heights South are both greater than that of the city as a whole. The 77th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 85.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 32 rapes, 180 robberies, 297 felony assaults, 158 burglaries, 397 grand larcenies, and 72 grand larcenies auto in 2018. The 71st Precinct also has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.7% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 8 murders, 26 rapes, 166 robberies, 349 felony assaults, 143 burglaries, 464 grand larcenies, and 68 grand larcenies auto in 2018.

Fire safety

The

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) is the full-service fire department of New York City, serving all Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs. The FDNY is responsible for providing Fi ...

(FDNY) operates four fire stations in Crown Heights: * Engine Company 234/Ladder Company 123/Battalion 38 – 1352 St Johns Place * Rescue 2 – 1472 Bergen Street * Engine Company 280/Ladder Company 132 – 489 St Johns Place * Engine Company 227 – 423 Ralph Avenue

Health

preterm birth Preterm birth, also known as premature birth, is the Childbirth, birth of a baby at fewer than 37 weeks Gestational age (obstetrics), gestational age, as opposed to full-term delivery at approximately 40 weeks. Extreme preterm is less than 28 ...

s in Crown Heights and births to teenage mothers in Crown Heights North are more common than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers in Crown Heights South are less common than in other places citywide. There were 92 preterm births per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights North and 91 preterm births per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights South (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide). Additionally, there were 24.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights North and 14.8 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births in Crown Heights South (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Both neighborhoods have a relatively high population of residents who are uninsured, or who receive healthcare through

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

.New York City Health Provider Partnership Brooklyn Community Needs Assessment: Final Report
,

New York Academy of Medicine The New York Academy of Medicine (the Academy) is a health policy and advocacy organization founded in 1847 by a group of leading New York metropolitan area physicians as a voice for the medical profession in medical practice and public health r ...

(October 3, 2014). In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 12% in Crown Heights North and 16% in Crown Heights South, compared to the citywide rate of 12%. The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of

air pollutant Air pollution is the presence of substances in the air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be gases like ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles like soot and dust. It affects both outdoor ...

, is in Crown Heights North and in Crown Heights South, slightly higher than the citywide and boroughwide averages. Eighteen percent of Crown Heights North residents and eight percent of Crown Heights South residents are smokers, compared to the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Crown Heights North, 26% of residents are

obese Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classified as obese when ...

, 13% are

diabetic Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

, and 33% have

high blood pressure Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms itself. It is, however, a major ri ...

—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. By comparison, in Crown Heights South, 32% of residents are obese, 15% are diabetic, and 37% have high blood pressure. In addition, 19% of children are obese in both Crown Heights North and South, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-four percent of Crown Heights North and eighty-one percent of Crown Heights South residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 78% of Crown Heights North and 84% of Crown Heights South residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", compared to than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket, there are 25 bodegas in Crown Heights North and 21 bodegas in Crown Heights South.

Post offices and ZIP Codes

Crown Heights North is covered by ZIP Codes 11238, 11216, 11213, and 11233 from west to east, while Crown Heights South is covered by ZIP Codes 11225 and 11213 from west to east. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates two post offices nearby: the Saint Johns Place Station at 1234 St Johns Place, and the James E Davis Station at 315 Empire Boulevard.

Education

Crown Heights generally has a similar ratio of college-educated residents to the rest of the city . In Crown Heights North, 44% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, while 16% have less than a high school education and 40% are high school graduates or have some college education. In Crown Heights South, 35% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, while 16% have less than a high school education and 48% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher. The percentage of Crown Heights North students excelling in reading and math has been increasing, with reading achievement rising from 31 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2011, and math achievement rising from 22 percent to 47 percent within the same time period. In Crown Heights South, reading achievement rose from 31 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2011, and math achievement rose from 21 percent to 47 percent within the same time period. Crown Heights' rates of elementary school student absenteeism are higher than the rest of New York City. The proportions of elementary school students who missed twenty or more days per

school year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classes and do rel ...

were 28% in Crown Heights North and 22% in Crown Heights South, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students. Additionally, 71% of high school students in Crown Heights North and 77% of high school students in Crown Heights South graduate on time, compared to the citywide average of 75% of students.

Schools

Among the public schools are the International Arts Business School, The League School, The School for Human Rights, The School for Democracy and Leadership and the High School for Public Service: Heroes of Tomorrow, all on the campus of the now-closed George W. Wingate High School, and Success Academy Crown Heights, part of Success Academy Charter Schools. M.S. 587, New Heights Middle School, Achievement First Crown Heights Elementary School, and Achievement First Crown Heights Middle School are all located in Crown Heights, housed in the Mahalia Jackson School building. Explore Empower Charter School is also located in Crown Heights. The PS 373 Brooklyn Transition Center at H594K, serving grades 9–12, is located at 561 Grand Avenue at the border of Crown Heights and Prospect Heights.

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was established in 1970 in central Brooklyn. It is name ...

is an institution of

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

in the neighborhood. The orthodox Jewish community is serviced by gender-segregated schools. Among the girls schools are Beth Rivkah Academy, founded in 1941 by the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, as the oldest Chasidic school for girls; the school now hosts preschool through higher learning institutions. Newer schools include Bnos Menachem, Bais Chaya Mushka, Bnos Chomesh and Chabad Girls Academy. The boys are educated at Oholei Torah, Yeshiva Tomchei Temimim Lubavitch, Cheder Ohr Menachem, Gan Academy, Darchei Menachem and various other smaller schools.

Libraries

The

Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two Brooklyn Publ ...

(BPL) has three branches in Crown Heights: * The Crown Heights branch, on the border with Flatbush/Prospect Lefferts Gardens, is located at 560 New York Avenue near Maple Street. The branch was built in 1958 as part of a plan by mayor Abraham Beame. * The Brower Park branch is located on the ground floor of the

Brooklyn Children's Museum The Brooklyn Children's Museum is a children's museum in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. Founded in 1899, it is the first children's museum in the United States – and according to some, the first one worldwide. It ...

. The original Brower Park branch at 725 St. Marks Avenue was built in 1963 under the Beame plan; at the time, it was northern Brooklyn's first new library in four decades. A new library was announced in 2017, and the original building at 725 St. Marks Avenue was vacated in 2020. Brower Park Library reopened for lobby service in the

in 2021, with full service resuming in 2023. * The Eastern Parkway branch and Eastern Parkway Learning Center is located at 1044 Eastern Parkway at Schenectady Avenue. It is a two-story, limestone-clad Carnegie library branch with of floor space. The branch was renovated at least four times, most recently in 2016.

Transportation

Crown Heights is served by the

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system in New York City serving the New York City boroughs, boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. It is owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Tr ...

, with stations at Franklin Avenue (), Nostrand Avenue (), Kingston Avenue (), and

(). It is also served by the

IRT Nostrand Avenue Line The IRT Nostrand Avenue Line is a rapid transit line of the A Division of the New York City Subway running under Nostrand Avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is served by the train at all times and is also served by the trai ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and Sterling Streets (). The subway's BMT Franklin Avenue Line, served by the contains stations at

Botanic Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

and Park Place. The IND Fulton Street line runs on its namesake street, 2 blocks north of the border between Crown Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant, stopping in the Crown Heights area from Clinton-Washington Avenues to Ralph Avenue and Broadway Junction. Just east of the Utica Avenue station, on the border with Brownsville, there is a park called Lincoln Terrace (also known as Arthur S. Somers Park), which slopes gently down toward the southern Brooklyn coastline; the IRT New Lots Line transitions from a tunnel to an elevated structure within this park. Several bus lines serve the area, including the .

Recreation

Crown Heights has one

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

: *

Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the Borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The botanical garden occupies in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park, Prospect Park (Brooklyn), Prospect Park, ...

There are also four museums in Crown Heights: *

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...

* Weeksville Heritage Center Crown Heights has several parks: * Prospect Park and

Mount Prospect Park Mount Prospect Park is a park in the central portion of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. It includes Mount Prospect, the second highest point in Brooklyn. It is located on Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn), Eastern Pa ...

runs along Crown Heights' western edge. * Brower Park * St. John's Park and Recreation Center * Hamilton Metz Field * Wingate Park * Parkside Playground

Notable locations

* 23rd Regiment Armory * 770 Eastern Parkway (central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement) * Crown Heights North Historic District * Ebbets Field Apartments * former Empire Roller Disco * George W. Wingate High School * Hunterfly Road Historic District * Kol Israel Synagogue *

* former Nassau Brewing Company * Park Place Historic District * St. Bartholomew's Protestant Episcopal Church and Rectory

Notable people

* Abraham Abraham (1843–1911), businessman who was the founder of the department store Abraham & Straus in 1865 * Bob Arum (born 1931), founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company * Abraham Beame (1906–2001), 104th

mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The Mayoralty in the United States, mayor's office administers all ...

, serving from 1974 to 1977 * Robert S. Bennett (born 1939), attorney who represented President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

during the Lewinsky scandal Bennett, Robert S.br>''In the Ring: The Trials of a Washington Lawyer''
p. 4. Crown Publishers, 2008. . Accessed November 2, 2017. "I was the first child of Nancy Walsh Bennett and F. Robert Bennett. Mother was a housewife and Dad worked for a bank. We lived at 698 St. Marks Avenue in what is now known as the Bedford-Stuyvesant section." Note that Bennett inaccurately describes the 698 St. Marks Avenue address as being in Bedford-Stuyvesant (not Crown Heights). * William Bennett (born 1943), Secretary of Education under President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

* Oni Blackstock, primary care and HIV physician, researcher, and founder of Health Justice, a racial and health equity consulting practiceCohen, Joyce
"After a Life Together, Living Apart"
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 12, 2006. Accessed August 24, 2021. "As identical twins, Uché and Oni Blackstock were always together. They lived together, studied together, earned their M.D. degrees together.... The twins, whose parents gave them Nigerian names, grew up in a four-story brownstone on St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn." *

Uché Blackstock Uché Blackstock is an American emergency physician and former associate professor of emergency medicine at the New York University School of Medicine. She is the founder and CEO of ''Advancing Health Equity'', which has a primary mission to enga ...

, physician * James Bouknight (born 2000), professional basketball player *

Buckshot A shotgun cartridge, shotshell, or shell is a type of rimmed, cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns. It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub-projectiles called shot. Shotguns typically use a ...

(born 1974), rapper *

Shirley Chisholm Shirley Anita Chisholm ( ; ; November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005) was an American politician who, in 1968, became the first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress. Chisholm represented New York's 12th congressional dist ...

(1924–2005), educator and politician * Iris Cantor (born 1931), philanthropist *

Clive Davis Clive Jay Davis (born April 4, 1932) is an American record producer, A&R executive, record executive, and lawyer. He has won five Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a non-performer, in 2000. From 1967 to 1 ...

(born 1932), music industry executive * James E. Davis (1962–2003), police officer, corrections officer, councilmember, minister and community activist *

Byron Donalds Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and financial analyst serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Par ...

(born 1978), politician and businessman serving as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021 * Israel Englander (born 1948), billionaire hedge fund manager * Joseph Esposito (born 1950), NYC Emergency Management commissioner, started as a beat cop in Crown Heights * Phara Souffrant Forrest (born 1989), member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

from the 57th district *

Avraham Fried Avraham Shabsi Hakohen Friedman (; born March 22, 1959) better known by his stage name, Avraham Fried, is an Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish American singer. Career Fried was encouraged towards a music career by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneers ...

(born 1959), Hasidic singer * Benny Friedman (born 1984), Hasidic singer * Yitzchak Ginsburgh (born 1944), American-born Israeli rabbi * Allen Grubman, entertainment lawyer * Maggie Haberman (born 1973), journalist *

Jamie Hector Jamie Hector (born October 7, 1975) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of drug kingpin Marlo Stanfield on the HBO drama series ''The Wire'' and as Detective Jerry Edgar in the drama series '' Bosch''. Career Hector began acti ...

(born 1975), actor, portrays

Marlo Stanfield Marlo Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO television drama ''The Wire'', played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ambitious, intelligent and ruthless gangster and head of the eponymous Stanfield Organization in the Baltimor ...

on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime fiction, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series created and primarily written by the American author and former police reporter David Simon for the cable network HBO. The series premiered o ...

'' * Sidney "Sonny" Hertzberg (1922–2005), professional basketball player who played for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

* Regina Herzlinger (born c. 1944), professor at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

* Gavriel Holtzberg (1979–2008), murdered Orthodox rabbi and Chabad emissary to Mumbai, India * J.I the Prince of N.Y (born 2001), rapper * Simon Jacobson (born 1956), rabbi, author and journalist * Yosef Yitzchak Jacobson (born 1972), rabbi and orator *

Hakeem Jeffries Hakeem Sekou Jeffries ( ; born August 4, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, House minority leader and House Democratic Caucus#Leaders of the House Democrati ...

(born 1970), U.S. Representative ( NY-8), leader of the

House Democratic Caucus The House Democratic Caucus is a congressional caucus composed of all Democratic representatives in the United States House of Representatives, voting and non-voting, and is responsible for nominating and electing the Democratic Party leadersh ...

, and House Minority Leader * Harold S. Koplewicz (born 1953), child and adolescent psychiatrist * Carol Laderman (1932–2010), medical anthropologist. *

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

(born 1973), famous hip-hop artist, songwriter, record producer and actor *

Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...

(1923–2007), novelist, journalist and author *

Marty Markowitz Martin Markowitz (born February 14, 1945) is an American politician who served as the borough president of Brooklyn, New York City. He was first elected in 2001 after serving 23 years as a New York State Senator. His third and final term ended ...

(born 1945), former Brooklyn borough president * Matisyahu Miller (born 1979), reggae artist *

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

(born 1957), singer * Mark D. Naison (born 1946), professor of history and former political activist * Lemrick Nelson (born 1975), convicted of violating Yankel Rosenbaum's civil rights in his murder during the 1991 Crown Heights riot * Linda Nochlin (1931–2017),

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

best known for her pioneering 1971 article " Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?" * Mendy Pellin, Hasidic comedian * Mary Pinkett (1926–2003), politician who served in the

from 1974 to 2001, representing the 28th and 35th districts, who was the first black New York City Councilwoman * Harvey Pitt (1945–2023), lawyer and SEC chairman * Aaron Raskin, religious leader,

Chabad Lubavitch Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (; ; ), is a Hasidic dynasty, dynasty in Hasidic Judaism. Belonging to the Haredi Judaism, Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) branch of Orthodox Judaism, it is one of the world's best-known Hasi ...

rabbi and author * Diana Richardson (born 1983), politician who served as a member of the

from 2015 to 2022 * Kendall Schmidt (born 1990), television actor (''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

'') and singer *

(1902–1994), the seventh Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement and one of the most influential Jewish leaders of the 20th century * Meyer Seewald (born 1988) community activist, founder of the Jewish Community Watch, an organization whose mission is the prevention of child sex abuses in the Orthodox community * Allie Sherman (1923–2015), National Football League player and head coach * Sholom Shuchat (born 1984), Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, dayan and

posek In Jewish law, a ''posek'' ( , pl. ''poskim'', ) is a legal scholar who determines the application of ''halakha'', the Jewish religious laws derived from the written and Oral Torah, in cases of Jewish law where previous authorities are incon ...

Shyne Moses Michael Levi Barrow (born Jamal Michael Barrow; November 8, 1978), best known by his stage name Shyne, is a Belizean politician and former rapper. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Belize House of Representatives, and the lead ...

(born 1978 as Jamal Barrow), rapper and politician * Carl Sigman (1909–2000), songwriter *

Beverly Sills Beverly Sills (born Belle Miriam Silverman; May 25, 1929July 2, 2007) was an American operatic soprano whose career peak was between the 1950s and 1970s. Although she sang a repertoire from Handel and Mozart to Puccini, Massenet and Verd ...

(1929–2007), opera singer and administrator *

Mighty Sparrow Slinger Francisco Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, ORTT Chaconia Medal, CM Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 9 July 1935), better known as Mighty Sparrow, is a Trinidadian Calypso music, calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitar ...

(born 1935), Calypso musician from Trinidad/West Indies * Susan McKinney Steward (1847–1918), first African-American woman to earn a medical degree in New York *

Aaron Swartz Aaron Hillel Swartz (; November 8, 1986January 11, 2013), also known as AaronSw, was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivism, hacktivist. As a programmer, Swartz helped develop the we ...

(1986–2013), computer programmer, writer, archivist, political organizer, and internet activist * William L. Taylor (1931–2010), attorney and civil rights advocate * Simcha Weinstein (born 1975), author and rabbi * Mendy Werdyger (born 1959), Hasidic Jewish singer, songwriter, and record store owner * Yoni Z (born Yoni Zigelboum in 1991), Jewish recording artist, songwriter and entertainer

In popular culture

Film

* '' Project 2x1'', a 2013 documentary shot with

Google Glass Google Glass, or simply Glass, is a discontinued brand of smart glasses developed by Google's X Development (formerly Google X), with a mission of producing a ubiquitous computer. Google Glass displays information to the wearer using a head-u ...

, features scenes shot by the Caribbean and Hasidic residents.Sharp, Sonja. Crown Heights Documentary Claims to be First Ever Shot With Google Glass. ''DNAInfo.com''. Oct 7, 2013.
* ''Crown Heights'' (2004), a television film by

Jeremy Kagan Jeremy Paul Kagan (born December 14, 1945) is an American Film director, film and television director, screenwriter, and television producer. Early life Born as the son of a rabbi into a Jewish family in Mount Vernon, New York. Kagan received hi ...

for Showtime. * ''Crown Heights'' (2017) * ''

Brooklyn Babylon ''Brooklyn Babylon'' is a 2001 film written and directed by Marc Levin, and a modern retelling of the Song of Songs, Song of Solomon, set against the backdrop of the Crown Heights riot, starring Black Thought of The Roots. Plot summary In Brookl ...

Television

* Location for 4th season of ''High Maintenance'' (2016-2020)

Music

* The 2004 song "King Without a Crown" by ''

Matisyahu Matthew Paul Miller (born June 30, 1979), known by his stage name Matisyahu (; ), is an American singer, rapper, beatboxer, and musician. Known for blending spiritual themes with reggae, rock and hip hop beatboxing sounds, Matisyahu's 2005 sin ...

'' * The song "Act Like U Want It" by ''Black Moon'' references Franklin Avenue * The video "Moshpit" by Baby Keem