Flatlands is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

in the southeast part of the

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 ...

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 ...

. The current neighborhood borders are roughly defined by the Bay Ridge Branch to the north, Avenue U to the south, Ralph Avenue to the east, and

Flatbush Avenue Flatbush Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City Borough (New York City), Borough of Brooklyn. It runs from the Manhattan Bridge south-southeastward to Jamaica Bay, where it joins the Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge, which ...

to the southwest. Originally an independent town, Flatlands became part of the City of Brooklyn in 1896., p.79 Flatlands is part of Brooklyn Community District 18, and its primary ZIP Code is 11234. It is patrolled by the 63rd 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 ...

. 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 45th and 46th Districts.

History

Flatlands was originally known as Nieuw

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

, after the Dutch city of Amersfoort, and was established as a farming community in 1636 when Wolfert Gerritse Van Couwenhoven and Andries Hudde purchased 15,000 acres of land centered on what is now the intersection of Kings Highway and Flatbush Avenue. The land was ostensibly purchased from the Native

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 ...

people, who had lived near the fishing rich waters of Jamaica Bay for a thousand years. However, it is unlikely that the Lenape leaders, who did not practice the concept of land ownership, understood the agreement to which they were being conjoined. Rather, leaders such as Sachem Penhawitz more probably believed they were negotiating a treaty regarding the usage of the land. Wealthy Dutch land owners disagreed and within two generations, the once-powerful

Canarsee The Canarsee (also Canarse and Canarsie) were a band of Munsee-speaking Lenape who inhabited the westernmost end of Long Island at the time the Dutch colonized New Amsterdam in the 1620s and 1630s. They are credited with selling the island of M ...

tribe of the Lenape was brought to near extinction by bloody conflict with Europeans and other tribes, as well as the ravages of disease. Flatlands was given the right to local rule in 1661 by

Peter Stuyvesant Peter Stuyvesant ( – August 1672)Mooney, James E. "Stuyvesant, Peter" in p.1256 was a Dutch colonial administrator who served as the Directors of New Netherland, director-general of New Netherland from 1647 to 1664, when the colony was pro ...

as one of the five Dutch Towns on

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 ...

. The town's growth and development came late, largely due to the lack of a transit system or set of roads connecting it with other parts of Brooklyn. Flatlands was annexed by the

city of 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 ...

in 1896. At the time, it contained numerous small islands on Jamaica Bay, including Mill Island, Bergen Island, and Barren Island.

Land use

Crops typically grown in the area were beans, corn, marsh hay, squash, potato bean and tobacco. Oysters and clams were also farmed and harvested from

Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay (also known as Grassy Bay) is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lo ...

, surrounding marshes and basins. The land-controlling families of Nieuw Amersfoort also kept black slaves to work their farms until the state declared emancipation of all slaves in 1827, after which black laborers took up farming jobs, many times on the farms they worked on as slaves.

Historic buildings

Historic homes dated to the 18th century include the Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhaven House and Joost Van Nuyse House. Other historic structures are the Hendrick I. Lott House (East 36th Street between Fillmore Ave and Ave. S, built around 1720), which was a stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

, and the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church, founded by Pieter Clausen Wycoff.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the population of Flatlands was 64,762, a decrease of 1,964 (2.9%) from the 66,726 counted in 2000. 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 14, 2016. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 18.2% (11,793)

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 ...

, 66.3% (42,935)

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 ...

, 0.2% (158) Native American, 4.0% (2,577) Asian, 0.0% (16)

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 ...

, 0.5% (334) from other races, and 1.8% (1,196) 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 8.9% (5,753) 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 18, which comprises

Canarsie Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, East 108th Street, and Louisiana Avenue; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on th ...

and Flatlands, had 165,543 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.0 years. This is slightly higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 25% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 29% between 25 and 44, and 24% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 13% 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 18 was $76,647. In 2018, an estimated 15% of Community District 18 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 Community District 18, lower than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, , Community District 18 is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not

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

. 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 ...

showed that there were 40,000+ Black residents, the White and Hispanic populations were each between 5,000 and 9,999 residents, and the Asian residents were less than 5000.

Shopping district

The main shopping streets in Flatlands are

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 ...

, Avenue N, and Ralph Avenue. Residents also commonly shop at the nearby indoor mall, Kings Plaza, located at the border of Flatlands,

Marine Park A marine park is a designated park consisting of an area of sea (or lake) set aside to achieve ecological sustainability, promote marine awareness and understanding, enable marine recreational activities, and provide benefits for Indigenous peo ...

and Mill Basin. The mall is located in Mill Basin, just south of the subsection within the neighborhood called, Old Mill Basin.

Police and crime

Flatlands is patrolled by the

's 63rd Precinct. The precinct also covers Marine Park, Mill Basin, and Bergen Beach. The 63rd Precinct ranked 31st safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. , with a non-fatal assault rate of 46 per 100,000 people, Community District 18's rate 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 is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 380 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 63rd Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.7% between 1990 and 2022. The precinct reported 1 murder, 10 rapes, 114 robberies, 170 felony assaults, 119 burglaries, 537 grand larcenies, and 135 grand larcenies auto in 2022.

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)'s Engine Co. 309/Ladder Co. 159 is located at 1851 East 48th Street.

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 are more common in Community District 18 than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Community District 18, there were 89 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 11.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Community District 18 has a relatively low 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 ...

. In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 21%, which is higher than 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 ...

, in Community District 18 is , lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages. Fifteen percent of Community District 18 residents are smokers, which is slightly higher than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Community District 18, 30% 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 ...

, 14% 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 37% 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. In addition, 21% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 77% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly less than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Community District 18, there are 9 bodegas.

Post offices and ZIP Code

Flatlands is covered by ZIP Code 11234. The

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

's Canarsie Station is located at 10201 Flatlands Avenue, while the Ryder Station is located at 2222 Flatbush Avenue.

Education

Community District 22 generally has a similar ratio of college-educated residents to the rest of the city . Though 40% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 13% 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. Community District 22's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is slightly lower than the rest of New York City.

Schools

Flatlands contains the following public elementary schools that serve grades PK-5 unless otherwise indicated: * PS 119 Amersfort * PS 203 Floyd Bennett * PS 251 Paerdegat * PS 326 (grades PK-2) The following schools are located nearby: * PS 207 Elizabeth G Leary (grades PK-8), in Marine Park * PS 222 Katherine R Snyder (grades PK-5), in Marine Park * PS 236 Mill Basin (grades PK-5), in Mill Basin * PS 312 Bergen Beach (grades PK-5), in Bergen Beach * JHS 78 Roy H Mann (grades 6–8), in Bergen Beach *South Shore High School Education Complex *S.J. Tilden High School Education Campus * * * Brooklyn Theatre Arts High School (grades 9–12), in Canarsie

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 two branches in Flatlands. The Flatlands branch is located at 2065 Flatbush Avenue near Avenue P. It was opened in a former Prudential Savings Bank branch in 1949, and moved to its current space in 1955. The Paerdegat branch is located at 850 East 59th Street near Paerdegat Avenue South. It opened in 1950 and moved to its current building in 1959.

Transportation

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 ...

service runs into Flatlands. Many residents live within walking distance of 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 ...

(), however, which terminates at the junction of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues; others use buses to get to the BMT Brighton Line () or the

BMT Canarsie Line The BMT Canarsie Line (sometimes referred to as the 14th Street–Eastern Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division (New York City Subway), B Division of the New York City Subway system, named after its terminus in the Canarsie, Brooklyn, ...

(). Local and express buses are also used as a means of travel in and around the area. , the buses that serve Flatlands are the .

Notable residents

Neil Bogart Neil E. Bogart (born Neil Scott Bogatz, February 3, 1943 – May 8, 1982) was an American record executive. He was the founder of Casablanca Records, which later became Casablanca Record and Filmworks. Life and career Born Neil Scott Bogatz i ...

(1943–1982), founder of

Casablanca Records Casablanca Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Republic Records. Under its founder Neil Bogart, Casablanca was most successful during the disco era of the mid to late 1970s. The label focuses ...

, was raised in the Glenwood Houses project in Flatlands *

Roy DeMeo Roy Albert DeMeo (; September 7, 1940 – January 10, 1983) was an American mobster in the Gambino crime family in New York City. He headed a group known as the "DeMeo crew", which consisted of approximately twenty associates involved in murder ...

(1942–1983),

Gambino crime family The Gambino crime family (pronounced ) is an Italian American Mafia crime family and one of the "Five Families" that dominate organized crime activities in New York City, within the nationwide criminal phenomenon known as the American Mafia. ...

member *

Leonard DiMaria Leonard "Lenny" DiMaria (born October 10, 1941), also known as "Prateek" and "the Conductor", is an American mobster and member of the Gambino crime family of New York. He is considered by law enforcement to be a close associate of Nicholas Coroz ...

(born 1941), mobster and

Caporegime A ''caporegime'' or ''capodecina'', usually shortened to ''capo'' or informally referred to as "captain", "skipper" or "lieutenant", is a leadership position in the Mafia (both the Sicilian Mafia and Italian-American Mafia). A ''capo'' is a "made m ...

in the

* Abner Louima (born 1966), Haitian immigrant and father, brutally assaulted by NYPD *

Chris Mullin Christopher Paul Mullin (born July 30, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player, executive and coach. He is a five time NBA All-Star and four time All-NBA Team member. He is also two-time Olympic Gold medalist and a two-time ...

(born 1963), former

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

basketball player, was born and raised in Flatlands. Anderson, Dave
"Sports Of The Times; The Mullins Live A Family Fantasy"
, ''

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 ...

'', March 16, 1985. Accessed August 13, 2019. "It's known as basketball, but it's really rimball. That's what the players shoot at - a rim, not a basket. Chris Mullin learned to shoot by aiming at the rim on the garage in the driveway of his Brooklyn home.... A rim is a rim is a rim - 18 inches in diameter. But the battered old rim on the Mullin garage is now a shrine in the Flatlands neighborhood." * Steven Van Voorhees (1600–1684), magistrate, first Voorhees in America * Wolfert Gerritse Van Couwenhoven (1579–1662), New Netherland colonist and the original patentee.

References

Notes Further reading
''New York Times'' article on Flatlands
*Manbeck, John B. and Jackson, Kenneth T. ''The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn''. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. *

External links

* {{Former towns of New York City Neighborhoods in Brooklyn Former towns in New York City 1623 establishments in the Dutch Empire