Flatlands, Brooklyn
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Flatlands is a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.
One of the original five Dutch towns on Long Island (given the right to local rule by Pieter Stuyvesant in 1661), this neighborhood was originally known as Nieuw Amersfoort, after the Dutch city of Amersfoort, but the name was changed to "Flatlands" after the British took over Brooklyn (Breukelen) from the Dutch in 1664. The area may have been settled by French Walloons as early as 1623, and by native Lenni-Lenape indians long before that.
Flatlands was originally a farming community where tobacco, corn, squash, and beans were grown, and oysters and clams were harvested from Jamaica Bay.
The neighborhood borders are roughly delineated by Flatlands Avenue on the North, Avenue U to the South, Ralph Avenue to the East, & Flatbush Avenue to the West (other sources say Ave. H-Ave T. / Ralph Ave. - Nostrand Ave. -- again, N/S/E/W).
Flatlands is one of the few Brooklyn neighborhoods not served by subway service (the nearest station is the "L" line in the adjacent neighborhood of Canarsie); city and private bus lines serve the neighborhood.
According to the 2000 census, combined population of Canarsie & Flatlands is roughly 194,653 people (total Brooklyn residents: about 2,465,286).
There are several historical structures in Flatlands, including the Hendricks Lott House (36th Street between Fillmore Ave and Ave. S, built around 1720), which was a stop on the Underground Railroad, the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church (Kings Highway and East 40th Street), first built in 1654, and rebuilt twice since (the current church on the site was built in 1848) and the Wyckoff House Museum, the oldest building still standing in New York, which is maintained as a Dutch colonial farmhouse with living history participants, at 5816 Clarendon Road.
The Town of Flatlands was annexed by the City of Brooklyn in 1896.
Sources and More Info
- New York Times article on Flatlands (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/01/realestate/01LIVI.html?pagewanted=print&position=)
- Wyckoff House Museum website (http://www.wyckoffassociation.org/)
- History of Flatlands including early Dutch settlers (http://www.brooklynonline.com/history/hubbard.html)
- The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn, ISBN 0300077521
- Guide to New York City Landmarks, ISBN 0471182893