Marine Park is a neighborhood located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, that lies between Mill Basin and Gerritsen Beach. The neighborhood is mostly squared off in area by Gerritsen Avenue, Flatbush Avenue, Avenue U and Kings Highway. It partly surrounds the eponymous park. The neighborhood is largely made up of ethnic groups such as Italian, Irish, Greek, and Jewish. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18.[1] As of 2007, Marine Park had a population of 86,253.[2]
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The neighborhood is situated around Gerritsen Inlet, the westernmost inlet of Jamaica Bay. During the last 5,000 years strips of sand were deposited by ocean currents. These beach strips form a surf-barrier and allow salt marshes to "...grow in the calm water on their protected bay side..."
Native Americans living in the nearby Keshawchqueten village favored the creek for hunting and fishing. Food preparation pits dating from, 800 to 1400 A.D. were revealed by archaeological excavations in Marine Park. The pits contained deer and turtle bones, oyster shells, and sturgeon scales. The area was originally a Dutch settlement which had the first tide mill in North America. Dutch settlers found the salt marshes and coastal plain-land of southern Brooklyn similar to Holland's landscape. Their food comprised farm-produced livestock, game, and harvests of oysters and clams, which were easily obtainable in this natural setting. Years passed, and city plans were elaborated to make a port out of Jamaica Bay. A Real estate boom was anticipated, and land was bought by private owners.
In 1939, over 789 acres (3.2 km2) of land were donated to New York City, and Marine Park (the park itself) was created. Many of the houses in the neighborhood were also built around the same time. These houses are referred as Marine Park Neighborhood. A couple of additional land transactions took place. For example, 1,024 acres (4 km2) of park were transferred to the National Park Service, and now it is Saltmarsh Nature Center.
Marine Park is mostly made up of middle class ethnic residents, including mostly Irish, then Italian and Greek heritage. It is a middle class neighborhood that enjoys many Irish Catholic traditional festivals, along with being a very patriotic American community.