Midwood is a neighborhood in the south central part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is within Community District 14 and patrolled by the 61, 66th and 70th precincts of the New York City Police Department.
It is bounded on the north by the Bay Ridge Branch freight line tracks just above Avenue I and Brooklyn College campus of the City University of New York, and on the south by Avenue P and Kings Highway. The eastern border is Nostrand Avenue or Flatbush Avenue and Coney Island Avenue, McDonald Avenue or Ocean Parkway to the west is the other boundary.[1]
Contents |
| New Netherland series | |
|---|---|
| Exploration | |
| Fortifications: | |
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• De Wal |
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| Settlements: | |
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• Wiltwyck • Bergen • Pavonia |
• Rustdorp • Midwout • Boswyck |
| The Patroon System | |
| Directors of New Netherland:
Cornelius Jacobsen May (1620-25) Willem Verhulst (1625-26) Peter Minuit (1626-32) Sebastiaen Jansen Krol (1632-33) Wouter van Twiller (1633-38) Willem Kieft (1638-47) Peter Stuyvesant (1647-64) |
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| People of New Netherland | |
| Flushing Remonstrance |
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The name, Midwood, derives from the Dutch word, "Midwout" (middle woods), the name the settlers of New Netherland called the area of dense woodland midway between the towns of Boswyck (Bushwick) and Breuckelen (Brooklyn). Later, it became part of old Flatbush, situated between the towns of Gravesend and Flatlands.[2]
Settlement was begun by the Dutch in 1652,[2] and they later gave way to the English (who conquered it in 1664), but the area remained rural and undeveloped for the most part until its annexation to the City of Brooklyn. It became more developed in the 1920s when large middle-class housing tracts and apartment buildings were built.
Many Midwood residents moved to the suburbs in the 1970s, and the neighborhood and its commercial districts declined. Drawn by its quiet middle-class ambiance, new residents began pouring into Midwood during the 1980s; many of them were recently-landed immigrants from all over the world. The largest group were from the Soviet Union, but substantial numbers also arrived from Jamaica, Haiti, Mexico, Guyana, and elsewhere in South America; from Ireland, Italy, Poland, the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), and elsewhere in eastern Europe; and from Greece, Turkey, Israel, Syria, the Persian Gulf states, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, and Korea. So, in a short time, Midwood was transformed, from a predominantly Jewish neighborhood with a smattering of Irish-Americans and German-Americans, to a remarkably polyglot section of the borough of Brooklyn.
Many people erroneously refer to Midwood as being "part of Flatbush", an older and more established neighborhood and former township which in the 19th century included modern Midwood. Many also consider the nearby neighborhood of Fiske Terrace/Midwood Gardens to be part of Midwood, but, as in many cities, neighborhood boundaries in Brooklyn are somewhat fluid and poorly-defined.
Educational facilities:
Midwood has long played a part in both film and television production. The film industry established itself in the neighborhood in 1907, when the Vitagraph company occupied a studio at Avenue M and East 14th Street. Scenes from films like "Hey Pop" and "Buzzin’ Around," starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, were filmed on streets in Midwood.[3] Warner Bros. purchased the studio in the 1920s, using it for short subjects, and moved the studio operation to Hollywood in 1939. The building is now home to the Shulamith Yeshiva School for Girls,[1] but a large smokestack bearing the name Vitagraph is still on the property, visible from the BMT Subway line, as are two brick walls from the original studio. Many Vitagraph Employees resided within the community. After Warner Bros. vacated the land (in the late 1960s-early 1970s), Yeshiva University purchased it for Brooklyn Torah Academy, the Brooklyn branch of their high school. The Shulamith School purchased the property years later, when it merged BTA into Manhattan Torah Academy. Present day, many within the community have no clue that the Shulamith School building's and property were once a film studio in its heyday. The Brooklyn Historical Society and the Museum Of The Moving Image (Astoria, New York) have a collection on The Vitagraph Studios. One private present-day longtime resident possesses a small but "private" collection (and wealth of history) on the Vitagraph Studios. An Old Vintage aerial photograph of The Vitagraph Complex (and its streets) hangs today on a wall in the Offices of the 'Midwood Development Corporation.'
The Vitagraph Studios were later featured in a New York Times Article (2007), and in the PBS, WNET-13 TV Special 'A Walk Through Brooklyn,' hosted by David Hartman and historian Barry Lewis. Old historic photographs of the studio show that part of it also existed across the Brighton line subway tracks where Edward R. Murrow High School now stands.
"The Leading Male" Men's attire, which was once located at the corner of Kings Highway and East 12th Street, was the source for the disco attire that John Travolta and the other male cast members wore in the film Saturday Night Fever. A duplicate of the white suit Travolta wore in the film was at that time displayed in one of the showcase windows.
"Midwood, Brooklyn, A Community From Which Great Television Entertainment Has Emanated ... from Perry Como to the '60s Hip Hullabaloo to 'The Cosby Show' to CBS daytime's 'As The World Turns'!"
In 1952, NBC Television purchased part of the Vitagraph Studios, which then became known as NBC Brooklyn. Studio 1 is along Locust Avenue. A new larger studio known as Color Studio 2 is at 1268 East 14th Street, on the northwest corner of its intersection with Avenue M. Programs such as The Perry Como Variety Show, TV's adaptation of Broadway's Peter Pan with Mary Martin, The Sammy Davis, Jr. Variety Show, the nighttime version of the quiz show Tic Tac Dough, Sing Along With Mitch Miller (And His "Sing-Along Gang") (1961–1964) which featured a then-young singer named Leslie Uggams, who years later became best known for her role in the historic TV epic Roots, were all taped there for later broadcast. Old NBC press releases show that two of the earliest shows to emanate from there (both then considered early NBC "Big Specials") were The Esther Williams Aqua Special (10/29/1956), and Satins & Spurs (10/12/1954). The same Brooklyn studios were used in more recent decades to broadcast the soap opera Another World, Another World "spin-off" soap drama Somerset (1971–1976), the situation comedy The Cosby Show, and three 1975 episodes of Saturday Night Live. There was also an NBC News NASA Apollo Space Mission Special taped here, a short-lived mystery detective drama, and a weekly circus variety show (the later two for another network). Bill Cosby and crew after a period of time relocated the show to their new home at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in Astoria, Queens. The "second" NBC Cosby Show that followed (co-starring the late comedic actress Madeline Kahn, most notably of Mel Brooks hit comedy films Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein) was also taped at Kaufman Astoria Studios.
In 1965–66, the studios were also home to Hullabaloo, a popular weekly NBC prime-time musical variety series, produced by Gary Smith and Dwight Hemion (Smith being best known for producing Barbra Streisand TV specials). Hullabaloo first aired on NBC on the evening of 1/12/1965, and its final episode was aired on 4/11/66. The program featured bands at the top of the music charts, singers and other celebrity entertainers of the period such as Sonny & Cher and Tina Sinatra, and many performers from the so-called British Invasion, like The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, The Dave Clark Five, Petula Clark, Marianne Faithfull, The Moody Blues, and Donovan. It first originated from the NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and its premiere was hosted by Jack Jones. After a brief period of time the program was moved east to NBC Color Studio 2 in Midwood. Who can forget The Hip 'Hullabaloo' "A-GO-GO" Dancers featuring Lada Edmund, Jr.? During its New York heyday a few episodes were also recorded at NBC's headquarters studios in Rockefeller Center. Brian Epstein, manager of The Beatles, also hosted a Hullabaloo program from London. Neither The Beatles nor Elvis Presley were ever a guest or host of the aforementioned variety shows, however.
The Sammy Davis, Jr. show was taped in the much smaller Studio 1 located along Locust Ave. The audience entrance was on the northernmost part of East 13th, opposite the outdoor scenic storage yard. In the early 1970s the NBC TV variety show Kraft Music Hall was taped in Studio 2. Ed McMahon, country music star Eddy Arnold, and John Davidson were frequent hosts. Guests included Johnny Cash, Simon & Garfunkel, Woody Allen, Wayne Newton, Bill Dana, Alan King, Bobby Darin, Dionne Warwick, her sister Dee Dee Warwick, Mitzi Gaynor, Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Evans, and many others. Desi Arnaz hosted one episode. His ex-wife actress/TV icon comedienne Lucille Ball and her kids specifically flew in from Hollywood to cheer him on, on this his return to TV. One memorable episode of the Kraft Music Hall program was hosted by comedian Don Rickles, which featured him walking off a Coney Island–bound Brighton Line subway train at the Avenue M station, then speaking about old Brooklyn memories, old childhood street games of the past while walking the avenue, then playing a game of "Kick-the-Can" and New York-style stickball, all actually filmed on location on E. 15th Street between Avenue M and the old Vitagraph Studios building at Chestnut Avenue.
Many of the noted variety shows (with the exception of Mitch Miller) had a live studio audience for both rehearsals and/or actual show recording. Often NBC Guest Relations staff could be found standing on the street outside the studio offering free tickets to the dress rehearsals and/or the actual taping of those 1960s programs, and sometimes even The Cosby Show. The only exception to that was the brief Saturday Night Live stint at the studio (which was pre-filled to capacity) as well as "big name" guest or host show tapings (e.g. The Rolling Stones or Desi Arnaz, especially with the presence of Lucille Ball at the studio to cheer on Arnaz). NBC Guest Relations operated a charter bus to/from their Rockefeller Center headquarters to the Brooklyn studio for pre-ticketed 1960s audience members, so that they did not have to travel by car or subway. They also did so for The Cosby Show. Fans in the know could always be found outside the studio entrance waiting to greet their favorite celebrity, many of whom in turn were happy to stop and chat, sign an autograph, pose for a photo, all without the hassle of present day out-of-control paparazzi. From the 1950s through the original Cosby Show years, the NBC Brooklyn studio presence in Midwood basically transformed the community's Avenue M into Brooklyn's own versions of Broadway and Hollywood. Fond memories of the great many "A-List" celebrities that had performed inside the former NBC Studios and walked the local streets still exist today. Now, many within the community, and visitors alike, do not even know that a television production studio exists at the location, nor that the adjacent present-day Shulamith School property was once an early major silent film studio. A few old classic episodes of Perry Como, Hullabaloo, and Kraft Music Hall (taped at the studio) can be found on VHS and DVD, as well as on YouTube. The Museum of Television and Radio (New York and Los Angeles) has a collection on the noted television programs.
NBC sold the studio in 2000. The facility is now known as JC Studios. The CBS soap opera As the World Turns was taped here from January 2000 until June 2010. The series was cancelled after 54 years. The final episode aired on September 17, 2010.
When NBC Brooklyn Color Studio 2 was built, the studio was at the time said to be "the largest color TV production studio in America", rivalling Pinewood Studios just west of London.
According to the NYC Mayor's Office Of Film, Television and Theater, the present JC Studios building consists of Stage 1, which is 11,200 sq ft (163' × 70', w/a 24-foot (7.3 m) ceiling height), and Stage 2 which is 9,700 sq ft (130' × 75', with a 38'-10" ceiling height).[4] There are 31 dressing rooms, two control rooms, hair, makeup and dressing areas, and one edit suite. Two very large and visible NBC 'N' logo signs were placed on the East 13th and 14th Street upper parts of the big Red Brick Studio 2 Building on Avenue M until The Cosby Show years. To the dismay of many remaining long-time residents, both were taken down when NBC vacated the premises, prior to the studios being sold to JC Studios.
The nearby Edward R. Murrow High School offers its students classes in television production and had its own student-produced local Public-access television program on BCAT called T.E.R.M. Many of its former students are currently employed in some form of television production, including news at WNBC and Fox 5 WNYW.
Among movies and TV shows that have been filmed in Midwood are:
The area is served by the New York City Subway's BMT Brighton Line (B Q) at Avenue H, Avenue J, Avenue M, and Kings Highway, IND Culver Line with stations at Avenue I, Bay Parkway, Avenue N,Avenue P and Kings Highway, and the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line at Brooklyn College - Flatbush Avenue.
New York City buses serving the community include the B2, B6, B7, B9, B11, B31, B41, B44, B49, B68, B82, B100, B6, B41, B44, B49, B103 Limited-Stop Buses and the BM2, BM3, and BM4 Express Buses.
The main shopping streets in the area are Kings Highway, Avenue J, Avenue M, Flatbush Avenue, Nostrand Avenue, and Coney Island Avenue.
In the 1960s and the early 1970s, Nostrand Avenue between Avenues M and N was considered one of New York's best streets for shopping by New York magazine. The street was known for fashionable boutiques such as "Edna Nelkin's Jewelry," America's finest children's wear boutique, "Greenstone's" (now located on both Columbus and Madison Avenues in Manhattan), "Burton's", "Shirtland", and "The Shoe Box". As retailers retired, the street changed and became known for its automobile showrooms, including Plaza Honda. A U.S. Postal Service Facility (Zip Code 11210) can be found on Nostrand Ave. between Ave. I-J.
In its heyday, Kings Highway had Dubrow's Cafeteria, a classic cafeteria where holes would be punched in patrons' printed tickets, which would total the cost of the meal. It was a popular place to eat and "schmooze". Also "Levine's" was the king of the bar mitzvah suit trade, and "Jimmy's" catered to high fashion customers. Kings Hwy. was "Home" to the now famed Crazy Eddie Electronics Empire. The first Original Crazy Eddie store was located on Kings Hwy., then moved to larger quarters just South Of Kings Hwy. On Coney Island Ave. A branch of the Brooklyn Public Library can be found on the east side of Ocean Avenue just south of Kings Highway. In its heyday there were also two popular movie theaters on Kings Hwy. and they were the "Kingsway", and the "Avalon" (it closed in 1982). Visitors to Kings Hwy. are amused by the pro-colored holiday-style lights that are strung across above the street and feature a lighted gold "Kings Crown" at a few intersections. In the fall of 2008, NYC DOT plans to implement an experimental "Congestion Parking Plan" along the Kings Hwy. Biz District, which may raise parking meter rates from 75 Cents, to as much as $2.50 an hour. Specific streets not designated yet.
Avenue M, which is "The Heart of Midwood", was home to "Cookie's", one of Brooklyn's best known restaurants and "hang-outs" (also popular with the NBC studio crowd) Back in the 1920s through the 1940s, the "Dorman Square Restaurant" was popular with the Vitagraph studios crowd, as well as played a role in a vitagraph film or two. And one of Brooklyn's most legendary Italian restaurants, "Restaurant Bonaparte," and it as well catered to the actors and actresses working on Avenue M in the NBC studio at that time. Restaurant Bonaparte was known for its "Three Musketeers." It also had a wishing well fountain in its lobby entrance, filled with customers coins. The Avenue has an elevated subway station. Up until the 1970s, Avenue M had its own movie theater, The Century "Elm" (now the "Emigrant Savings Bank"). Nearest the end of each June, the 'Midwood Development Corporation' Hosts the Popular 'Midwood Mardi Gras' Street Fair Along The Avenue, from East 12th St. to Ocean Avenue. Shoppers can find a municipal muni-meter parking lot on East 17th Street at Chestnut Ave. just north of Avenue M. Many of the retail businesses are closed due to the Jewish Sabbath and Higher Holy Days. Notable exceptions are 7–11, Pete's Pizza, Dunkin' Donuts, Chock Full O' Nuts, as well as some other non- Jewish owned establishments like Chinese restaurants, Russian bakeries, grocers, fruit markets and newsstands.
Avenue J is a low-key commercial strip, with many kosher restaurants, deli, pizzerias, and butchers. DiFara's Pizza (at E. 15th St.) is cited by the recently released 2008 Zagat Survey as "The Best Pizza in NYC." At $5.00 for a regurlar slice, DiFara's Pizza is the only non-Kosher pizzeria on Ave J, likely only thriving due to its high quality pizza, and there is usually a waiting line outside to get in. Others specialize more narrowly, such as one bakery concentrating on Russian bread. Ostrovitsky's Bakery sells gourmet cookies and cakes. A number of large fruit grocers such as Fruit Palace and Blue Ribbon offer high quality produce at competitive prices. A large selection of exotic dried fruits and nuts can be found at "Oh Nuts!" There was also once a "Cookie's" restaurant on the corner of East 16th St. & Ave. J (and even Ave. U as well). A branch of the Brooklyn Public Library can be found on E. 16th. St. just North Of The Avenue. The Avenue had its own movie theater simply named The "Midwood" Theater (closed in the early 1980s). But Avenue J can also be hectic during weekdays. Much foot and vehicle traffic, and finding a parking spot is a big problem. A branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is located on E. 16th St. just north Of Ave. J. Many of the retail businesses are closed due to the Jewish Sabbath and Higher Holy Days. Notable exceptions are Duane Reade, Walgreens, Associated Supermarkets and grocers or newsstands serving the Muslim community.
On Coney Island Avenue in Midwood, primarily between Avenue H and Avenue P, are the U.S. Postal Service Midwood station (Zip Code 11230), The "Kent Triplex Movie Theater", and other assorted retailers. Between Avenue O and Quentin Road are Turkish restaurants and a hookah bar. Near Avenue L what was believed to be the largest all-kosher supermarket in the United States opened in August 2008.[5] The 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m2) Pomegranate was "also hoping to lure customers who don't keep kosher with its array of organic meats and chemical-free produce."[6]
In the 1980s and 1990s, a wave of Orthodox Jews moved into the area from Borough Park, attracted by Midwood's large homes and tree-lined streets. Today, in addition to European Orthodox Jews, the area is home to a burgeoning Sephardic population. Along Kings Highway from Coney Island to McDonald Avenues you will find Middle Eastern restaurants and take-out food shops.
East Of Ocean Avenue the community is also known as "East Midwood" and/or "Nottingham". The area between Ocean Parkway and McDonald Avenue is referred to as "West Midwood". A number of residential blocks within the community are patrolled by volunteers from groups such as the Nottingham Assn. Patrol, the Flatbush Shomrim Safety Patrol, and 24/7/365 private armed security response personnel on some streets. Alternate side parking rules(for street cleaning) exist within the community on designated days, so do read the signs. Two volunteer ambulance services serve Midwood, and they are Flatbush Hatzoloh, and the East Midwood Volunteer Ambulance Corps. The nearest hospital's are New York Presbyterian Community Hospital, and 'Beth Israel King Highway.' Both are certified "9-1-1 FDNY-EMS" Receiving emergency facilities. Presently many residential homes within the community are valued at about $500,000.00 to a million plus. One of Brooklyn's last remaining (then intact) old Farms was located on the site of a present day apartment complex at 1279 East 17th St. (just north of Ave. M) up until it was torn down in the mid 1960s. The ELM is the community's official tree (one local street is named Elm Avenue as a result).
In his run for the White House, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy held a massive campaign rally just outside Dubrow's Cafeteria. A massive crowd of people turned out to hear this popular political icon speak. The crowd he drew stretched for blocks in all directions. Years later his brother Senator Robert F. Kennedy ("Bobby") held a similar campaign rally there for his run for President, with a similarly large audience. The community has long been known for being a Democratic stronghold.
Parks consist of Kolbert Park and the Rachel Haber Cohen Playground and adjacent handball and basketball courts,[7] near Edward R. Murrow High School, and the track and playing fields of Brooklyn College and Midwood High School. Local Yeshiva boys often play basketball during lunch breaks at Kolbert Park. Kolbert is also very popular with many Russian male Seniors who can be seen heavily engaged in daily board games such as Chess. Long-time and past residents alike still refer to Kolbert Park as simply "Avenue L Park." Another park is "Friends Field" at East Second Street and Avenue L. The park is popular with baseball-playing Yeshiva boys on Friday afternoons. "Friends Field" features Baseball Diamonds and Tennis Courts. Just opposite Friends Field along McDonald Avenue is the Erasmus Hall High School Football Field (Closed to the public when not in use). The Sprawling Square block-long Midwood High School Field (East 16th–17th Street at Avenues K-L) features handball courts, tennis courts, a runners track and a field used for football, rugby and soccer. It is quite visible to passengers on the adjacent BMT Subway line. NYPD-FDNY Charity Sporting Games, as well as NY-based Daytime TV "Soap Opera" Cast Baseball Games are often held there- (The studios used for CBS TV's "As The World Turns" is nearby). Annual NYC Public School JV Varsity Football Championship and Playoff Games are held there as well. Students from adjacent Edward R. Murrow High School also use the field during school hours. For historical purposes, in 1977, Current Borough President Marty Markowitz ("Mr. Brooklyn"), (then known as State Senator Markowitz), and other pols began the Annual "Midwood Field Concerts" Series at the Midwood High School Field. The concert series was later moved to its present home at Asser Levy Park (along Sea Breeze Avenue) in Brighton Beach (opposite the NY Aquarium), and is these days is known as the "Seaside Summer Concert Series" (held Thursday evening's July and August of each year).
There are two popular public pedestrian "rest" spots within the community. The first is 'Corporal Wiltshire Square', named in Honor of Corporal Clifford T. Wiltshire, located at the intersection of Ocean Avenue where it merges with Ave. 'P' and Kings Highway. The other is 'Sgt. Joyce Kilmer Triangle', located at the crossroads of Kings Highway and Quentin Road (E. 12th–13th Streets), so named in honor of American journalist and poet Sgt. Joyce Kilmer (1866–1918). Kilmer is a second cousin of American Actor Val Kilmer.
Midwood is a heavily Jewish neighborhood. There are several branches of Touro College there, and Midwood is also home to several large orthodox synagogues, including the Young Israel of Midwood, Agudas Yisroel Bais Binyomin of Avenue L, The 'minyan factory' known as Landau's Shul, offering minyanim every 15 minutes on an average day, plus several Syrian Orthodox synagogues.[8] Synagogues based out of homes, called Shtiebelach, are also common.
In November 2009 the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, a beneficiary agency of the UJA-Federation of New York, partnered with Masbia in the opening of a kosher soup kitchen on Coney Island Avenue.[9]
The East Midwood Jewish Center is a Renaissance revival[10] building listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.[11] The Kingsway Jewish Center was listed in 2010.[12]
On November 12, 2011, four cars were torched, many KKK, Nazi Swastikas and other hate symbols were spraypainted on benches and other items. The following day, state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, state Sen. Eric Adams and civil rights attorney Normal Siegal joined a protest march the against the hate crime. A reward of $30,000 was raised for any information leading to those who committed this hate crime.[13]
The area between Avenue I and Newkirk Avenue is heavily populated by Muslims. Most of the Muslims are from Azad Kashmir and Pakistan. This area also has the largest Mosque in Brooklyn, the Muslim Community Center of Brooklyn Inc.; (also known as Makki Masjid).
St. Brendan's Parish and Our Lady Help of Christians are two Roman Catholic Church congregations located in Midwood. The Church of 'The Three Hierachs' Greek Orthodox serves the Greek residents of the community. The Episcopal 'Church of the Epiphany' also serves the community.
Famous people who grew up, formerly lived, attended or Graduated From A School in Midwood include:
Michelle Tratchenberg - actress attended PS.99(avenue k and east 10th)
Barry Manilow, award-winning pop singer and songwriter.