Flatlands, Brooklyn

Schenck-Crooke House, Flatlands, built 1675, formerly at Avenue U and East 63rd Street.

New Netherland series
Exploration
Fortifications:
Fort Amsterdam Fort Nassau (North) Fort Orange Fort Nassau (South) Fort Goede Hoop De Wal Fort Casimir Fort Altena Fort Wilhelmus Fort Beversreede Fort Nya Korsholm De Rondout
Settlements:
Noten Eylandt Nieuw Amsterdam Rensselaerswijck Nieuw Haarlem Beverwijck Wiltwijk Bergen Pavonia Vriessendael Achter Col Vlissingen Oude Dorpe Colen Donck Greenwich Heemstede Rustdorp Gravesende Breuckelen Nieuw Amersfoort Midwout Nieuw Utrecht Boswijk Swaanendael Nieuw Amstel Nieuw Dorp
The Patroon System
Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions
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)
People of New Netherland
New Netherlander Twelve Men Eight Men Nine Men
Flushing Remonstrance
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Flatlands is a neighborhood in the southeast part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18.^[1]

History

Originally inhabited by the Lenape Native Americans and settled in 1623^{[citation needed]} by French Walloons in an attempt to escape puritan oppression, Flatlands was given the right to local rule in 1661 by Peter Stuyvesant as one of the five Dutch Towns on Long Island.

Prior to British rule, Flatlands was known as Nieuw Amersfoort (named after the Dutch city of Amersfoort) and was established as a farming community when, in 1636, Andreas Hudde and Wolphert Gerretse bought 15,000 acres of land centered around what is now the intersection of Kings Highway and Flatbush Avenue. 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, surrounding marshes and basins. The amount of farming done in the area also made Niew Amersfoort a slave town by necessity 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.^[2] Historic homes dated to the 18th century include the Stoothoff-Baxter-Kouwenhaven House and Joost Van Nuyse House.^[3] 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, and the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church.

The town’s growth and development came late because of a lack of a transit system or set of roads connecting it with other parts of Brooklyn and the population decreased until the creation of The Junction at Flatbush Avenue and Nostrand Avenue and the creation of a subway system (2 and 5 trains) which replaced the town center and made it easier to get to and from Flatlands.^[2]

Flatlands is also home to the Gemini Lounge, which Roy DeMeo of the Gambino Mafia Family frequented during the late 1970s-early 1980s. However, the Gemini was converted to a church.^[4]

The neighborhood borders are roughly defined by Avenue H to the north, Avenue U to the south, Ralph Avenue to the east, Flatbush Avenue to the southwest and Nostrand Avenue to the northwest.^[5]

Transportation

A bus stop on the corner of Flatbush and Utica avenues

No subway service runs into Flatlands. However, many residents live within walking distance of the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line (2 5) which terminates at the junction of Flatbush and Nostrand Avenues; others use buses to get to the BMT Brighton Line (B Q) or the BMT Canarsie Line (L). Most however use local and express buses as a means of travel in and around the area. As of June 2013, the buses that serve Flatlands are the B2, B3, B6, B7, B9, B41, B44, B46, B47, B82, B100, B103, BM1, BM2, and Q35.^[6]

Demographics

The total population of Flatlands is roughly 64,762 people as of the year 2010.^[7] Household income is $75,949,^[8] almost thirteen thousand dollars higher than the average total income for Brooklyn.^[9]

Architectural reference to colonial origins

Notable residents

• Peter Stuyvesant (1612-1672)
• Chris Mullin (born 1963), former NBA basketball player, was born and raised in Flatlands.
• Roy DeMeo (1942-1983), Gambino Crime Family member
• Steven Van Voorhees (1600-1684), magistrate, first Voorhees in America

References

External links

• New York Times article on Flatlands
• Wyckoff House Museum website
• History of Flatlands including early Dutch settlers

• The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn, ISBN 0-300-07752-1
• Guide to New York City Landmarks, ISBN 0-471-18289-3

v t e Neighborhoods in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn Barren Island Bath Beach Bay Ridge Bedford Bedford-Stuyvesant Bensonhurst Bergen Beach Beverley Square BoCoCa Boerum Hill Borough Park Brighton Beach Brooklyn Chinatown Brooklyn Heights Brownsville Bushwick Canarsie Carroll Gardens City Line Clinton Hill Cobble Hill Coney Island Crown Heights Cypress Hills Ditmas Park Downtown Dumbo Dyker Heights East Flatbush East New York East Williamsburg Farragut Fiske Terrace Flatbush Flatlands Fort Greene Fort Hamilton Fulton Ferry Georgetown Gerritsen Beach Gowanus Gravesend Greenpoint Greenwood Heights Highland Park Homecrest Kensington Lapskaus Boulevard Madison Manhattan Beach Mapleton Marine Park Midwood Mill Basin Navy Yard New Lots New Utrecht Ocean Hill Ocean Parkway Park Slope Plumb Beach Prospect Heights Prospect Lefferts Gardens Prospect Park South Red Hook Sea Gate Sheepshead Bay South Slope Starrett City Stuyvesant Heights Sunset Park The Hole Victorian Flatbush Vinegar Hill Wallabout Weeksville White Sands Williamsburg Windsor Terrace Wingate Wyckoff Heights Community Boards: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 See also: History of Brooklyn

Coordinates: 40°37′16″N 73°56′07″W / 40.62111°N 73.93528°W / 40.62111; -73.93528