For Several Decades, Brooklyn Was a City That Looked Backward With
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Fillmore Real Estate Brooklyn Decades ago, Brooklyn was a city that looked with nostalgia to the glory days of Coney Island, the Victorian Gold Coast, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. Some even gave up on their neighborhoods and moved away. But others―committed residents, nonprofit community development groups, artists, and a few hearty pioneers― refused to budge and stayed behind to rebuild. Their work was reinforced by innovative New York City policies, the Community Reinvestment Act, which encouraged bank lending, and housing tax credits, which encouraged new development. Then the private sector came along, liked what it saw, and the result has been one of the hottest real estate booms in the country. Brooklyn’s optimistic business community, elected officials, and local residents are a special breed. They believe in the potential of all people in the borough and continue to work to ensure that everyone benefits from its renaissance. They also recognize the strength of Brooklyn’s diversity and appreciate hardworking newcomers who unpack their dreams here as millions have done before them. As a result, Brooklyn today is a city that is looking forward, and there is much to look forward to. • The waterfront, vibrant until the 1950s when the rise of the interstate highway system robbed the maritime industry of its monopoly on moving goods, is being restored to its 19th Century glory as a destination for tourists, parks, housing, and even cruise lines; • Luxury condominiums are replacing vacant lots in formerly forlorn areas; • The City is changing zoning laws to preserve the character of residential neighborhoods, but is encouraging higher rise development along commercial corridors and in downtown Brooklyn; • A minor league baseball team, the Cyclones, draws thousands of fans to Coney Island each season; • Brooklyn’s beaches bring millions to the shore every year; • Residents can see sublime performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the finest art at the Brooklyn Museum; • Prospect Park has been restored to its 19th Century grandeur, offering along with the Parade Grounds and other parks in Brooklyn, Little League ball fields, soccer fields, tennis courts, swimming pools, and a skating rink, proving that the city is a terrific place to raise kids; • The Dyker Heights and Marine Park golf courses, easily reachable by public transportation, erase thoughts of suburban country clubs; • Large retail chains such Target, Home Depot, and Lowes have realized the potential of the Brooklyn market and have established a presence; and • Brooklyn may have its first major league team since the 1950s, the Brooklyn Nets, when the soon to be Brooklyn basketball team gets its own arena on Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues. The world has fallen in love with Brooklyn again, and as with any first love, one thinks the other 2.5 million residents couldn’t possibly be more devoted suitors. But the beauty of Brooklyn is that old timers as well as greenhorns are always discovering nuggets of the borough’s rich history as well as uncovering its great potential. Business Information Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, 25 Elm Place, Suite 200, Brooklyn, NY 11201, 718-875-1000, www.ibrooklyn.com Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation (BEDC), 175 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, 718-522-4600, www.bedc.org Brooklyn Business Library, 280 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn, NY 11201, 718-623- 7000, www.biz.brooklynpubliclibrary.org Political and Community Contacts Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, 718-802-3700 Source: NYC Department of City Planning; NYC Districting Commission, NYPIRG CMAP Brooklyn Demographics 2000 Census Report for Brooklyn. Total Population 2,465,326 100 percent Race/Ethnicity (one race) White 1,015,728 41.2 percent Black 898,350 36.4 percent Native American or Alaska Native 10,117 0.4 percent Asian 185,818 7.5 percent Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 10,117 0.4 percent Hispanic (any race) 487,878 19.8 percent Sex (Total Population) Male 1,156,446 46.9 percent Female 1,308,880 53.1 percent Age (Total Population) Age 0 to 4 182,599 7.4 percent 5 to 9 189,677 7.7 percent 10 to 14 182,866 7.4 percent 15 to 19 177,281 7.2 percent 20 to 24 183,217 7.4 percent 25 to 34 389,714 15.8 percent 35 to 44 368,600 15.0 percent 45 to 54 307,200 12.5 percent 55 to 59 106,000 4.3 percent 60 to 64 95,514 3.9 percent 65 to 74 149,665 6.1 percent 75 to 84 97,486 4.0 percent 85 and over 35,507 1.4 percent Households by Type Households with individuals under 18 years 336,478 38.2 percent Households with individuals 65 years and over 215,080 24.4 percent Owner-occupied housing units 238,367 27.1 percent Renter-occupied housing units 642,360 72.9 percent Bath Beach Afternoon by the Sea (Gravesend Bay), a pastel by William Merritt Chase, ca 1888. Like Brooklyn’s other shore front neighborhoods, New York’s elite were attracted to Bath Beach in the late 19th Century because its seaside location on Gravesend Bay made it an excellent spot for a summer resort. Soon they were building opulent villas and yacht clubs on its shores, and mansions with generous lawns. From 1893 to 1899, Bath Beach even had its own amusement park featuring rides, a dance hall, and swimming. The affluent era came to an end, however, with the stock market crash of 1929 when mansions were abandoned and new housing was developed to accommodate residents of more modest means. More than a decade before the crash, Jewish and Italian families had begun relocating to Bath Beach from the Lower East Side after the subway system expanded. Additional residential development followed the opening of the Belt Parkway in 1939 with the Shore Haven Apartments opening in 1949 at 21st Street near the Belt Parkway and the three high rise apartment buildings in the Contello Towers complex opening in 1960, 1963, and 1967. The community features an ample amount of green space for recreation with its 19-acre Bensonhurst Park, 73-acre Dreier-Offerman Park, and next door in Dyker Heights, the 242- acre Dyker Beach Park, and the Dyker Beach Heights Golf Course. Sources: The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn, Yale University Press; Old Brooklyn in Early Photographs 1865- 1929 by William Lee Younger, Dover Publications, New York, NY. Political and Community Contacts Community Board 13, 2900 West 8th Street, Brooklyn, NY 718-266-3001 New York City Council 47, Domenic M. Recchia Jr. 718-373-9673 [email protected] NYS Assembly 47, William Colton, 718-236-1598, [email protected] NYS Senate 22, Martin J. Golden, 718-238-6044, [email protected] US Congress 13, Vito Fossella, 718-346-8400, [email protected] Source: NYC Department of City Planning; NYC Districting Commission, NYPIRG CMAP Location The boundaries for Bath Beach are roughly 14th Avenue, Bay Parkway, 86th Street to Gravesend Bay. Bath Beach Demographics 2000 Census Report within a .70 mile radius as noted in the map above. Total Population 65,634 100 percent Race/Ethnicity (Total Population) White 44,830 68.3 percent Black 261 0.4 percent Native American 58 0.1 percent Asian 13,008 19.8 percent Other 2,153 3.3 percent Hispanic (any race) 5,324 8.1 percent Sex (Total Population) Male 31,649 48.2 percent Female 33,985 51.8 percent Age (Total Population) Age 0 to 4 3,413 5.2 percent 5 to 9 3,239 4.9 percent 10 to 20 9,054 13.8 percent 21 to 29 8,100 12.3 percent 30 to 39 9,994 15.2 percent 40 to 49 9,875 15.0 percent 50 to 59 6,980 10.6 percent 60 to 64 3,181 4.8 percent Age 65+ 11,798 18.0 percent Education (Population Age 25+) Total population age 25+ 46,559 100 percent Less than 9th grade 7,070 15.2 percent 9-12 Grade 7,703 15.2 percent High School 13,718 29.5 percent Some College 5,626 12.1 percent Associate Degree 2,929 6.3 percent Bachelor Degree 6,420 13.8 percent Graduate Degree 3,723 8.0 percent Employment Status (Population Age 16+) Total population age 16+ 53,740 100 percent Not in labor force 26,109 48.6 percent Labor force 27,634 51.4 percent Labor Force Status Total Labor Force Age 16+ 27,634 100 percent Armed Forces 11 0.0 percent Civilian 25,457 92.1 percent Unemployed 2,166 7.8 percent Employed Civilian Occupation Total employed civilians, Age 16+ 25,457 100 percent Agriculture 11 0.0 percent Construction 1,481 5.8 percent Education 2,061 8.1 percent Entertainment 1,908 7.5 percent F.I.R.E. 3,149 12.4 percent Health 2,907 11.4 percent Manufacturing 2,624 10.3 percent Mining 0 0.0 percent Other services 1,390 5.5 percent Prof/Tech/Science 2,586 10.6 percent Public Administration 960 3.8 percent Retail 2,695 10.6 percent Trans./Warehouse 1,827 7.2 percent Wholesale 813 3.2 percent Households Total households 25,042 100 percent Family households 17,312 69.1 percent Income (Total Household) Under $10,000 3,867 15.4 percent $10,000-20,000 4,364 17.4 percent $20,000-30,000 2,859 11.4 percent $30,000-40,000 2,872 11.5 percent $40,000-50,000 2,402 9.6 percent $50,000-60,000 2,003 8.0 percent $60,000-75,000 2,197 8.8 percent $75,000-100,000 2,104 8.4 percent $100,000-150,000 1,756 7.0 percent $150,000-200,000 316 1.3 percent Over $200,000 302 1.2 percent Occupied Housing Total Occupied Housing 24,993 100 percent Owner Occupied 7,701 30.8 percent Renter Occupied 17,292 69.2 percent Household Size (Total Occupied) 1 person 6,786 27.2 percent 2 person 7,509 30.0 percent 3 person 4,496 18.0 percent 4 person 3,488 14.0 percent 5 person 1,483 5.9 percent 6 person 702 2.8 percent Over 7 person 529 2.1 percent Bay Ridge In the mid to late 19th Century, prosperous industrialists and businessmen seeking refuge from the summer heat flocked to Bay Ridge and built elaborate summer villas on the bluffs along Shore Road overlooking New York Bay.