FIT FOR KINGS
old neighborhoods got their names?
COURIER LIFE, SEPTEMBER 24-30, 2021 5
Dutch roots, and the
remnants of slaveholders
The name Brooklyn itself
comes from Breukelen, the
Dutch village in the Netherlands.
And continuing in that
vain, more than one Brooklyn
neighborhood was named by
the Dutch, only to be anglicized
once the British took over.
Flatbush, one of the original
towns that were consolidated
into the City of Brooklyn,
was named V’Lacke Bos
by Dutch settlers, meaning ‘a
plain with woods.’ When the
British took over, they changed
the name to Flatbush — which
sounds similar to the Dutch
name when said out loud.
Bushwick, another of the
original towns, was dubbed
Boswijck by New Amsterdam
director-general Peter Stuyvesant
in 1661, meaning ‘neighborhood
in the woods.’
Coney Island was christened
Conyne Eylandt, translating
to ‘rabbit island’ for its
large population of rabbits.
The town of New Utrecht,
named for the Dutch city of
Utrecht, was renamed Bensonhurst
in the late 19th century
after landowner and politician
Egbert Benson.
Stuyvesant’s name has
been immortalized in Bedford
Stuyvesant, making the
neighborhood one of the many
New York City neighborhoods
and streets named after slaveholders
— including Gerritsen
Beach, Boerum Hill,
and Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
Bergen Beach was named
for Dutch settler Hans Hansen
Bergen, who oversaw the
earliest Tobacco plantation in
Manhattan before decamping
to Brooklyn.
The English leave their
mark
Brooklyn’s neighborhood
names refl ect the occupation
of the British just as closely as
the Dutch, with ‘Kings County’
perhaps the most prominent
example.
Gravesend, founded as a
colony of English settlers by
Lady Deborah Moody fl eeing
religious persecution, is
thought either to be named
for the English port of Gravesend,
or for the Dutch word
for ‘groves end.’
Nearby Bath Beach,
founded as a seaside resort
is said to be named for Bath,
Somerset. Brighton Beach
was similarly named for the
English seaside town of Brighton.
Other neighborhoods were
named out of developers’ desire
to attract a sophisticated
crowd. Kensington was
named after the London neighborhood
when it was developed
in the late 19th century, which
the developers fi gured would
give the neighborhood a cosmopolitan
reputation. The developers
of Windsor Terrace
followed the same logic.
Canarsie
One of the only New York
City neighborhoods named
for its original inhabitants,
Canarsie was once one of the
main villages of the Canarsee
Indians, who fi shed its shorelines
for oysters and grew
corn on its fl at plains. As late
as the 1930’s immense heaps of
oyster shells could be found at
the historic site of the village.
Keep it simple
Plenty of Brooklyn neighborhoods
were named for their
geography, their geographical
features, or nearby landmarks.
Flatlands is obvious enough
— it’s a fl at plane, while Bay
Ridge is seated atop a high
ridge above the water.
Mill Basin, once called
Mill Island, was once home to
the Mill of Martensen, while
Sheepshead Bay is named
for its abutting body of water,
which was once rich with the
fi sh called Sheepshead.
Sunset Park was named
for the park of the same name,
where elevated views of New
York Harbor and Manhattan
make for one of the best places
to see the sunset in the city,
while Marine Park also takes
its name from its prized park.
Borough Park was named
in 1902, though the reasoning is
unclear.
Crown Heights, once
known as Crow Hill, changed
its name once Crown Street
was christened.
Perhaps the most simple
of Brooklyn’s neighborhood
names, East New York was
named by merchant John Pitkin
to signify it as the eastern
end of New York City.
‘The Hill’ gets its due
What is now Fort Greene
Park was once the site of Fort
Putnam, later renamed Fort
Greene for General Nathaneal
Greene who supervised
the construction of the fort.
During peacetime in the 19th
century, locals, led by then
Brooklyn Daily Eagle editor
Walt Whitman led a successful
campaign to have the fort
offi cially turned into parkland.
Clinton Hill, once lumped
in with Fort Greene in an area
known as ‘The Hill’ was named
for Clinton Avenue, which is
in turn named for New York
Gov. Dewitt Clinton.
Williamsburg/Greenpoint
Once part of the town of
Bushwick, Williamsburg
was named for its surveyor,
Colonel Jonathan Williams.
Richard Woodhull, who owned
much of the land that made up
the northern neighborhood.
Brooklyn’s northernmost
neighborhood, Greenpoint,
was named for its leafy appearance.
In one’s own honor
Before it came to be known
as Brownsville, it was known
as Brown’s Village, where developer
Charles S. Brown purchased
land and took the liberty
to name it after himself.
The developer marketed the
neighborhood to Jews on the
overcrowded Lower East Side
as a neighborhood with open
space and fresh air.
A map of Brooklyn in 1897. Photo by WikiMedia Commons
The Gowanus Canal in 1956. Brooklyn Public Library