East Flatbush, Brooklyn

East Flatbush is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. East Flatbush is bounded by Crown Heights and Empire Boulevard to the north; Brownsville and East 98th Street to the east; Flatlands, Canarsie and the Long Island Rail Road's Bay Ridge Branch to the south; and the neighborhood of Flatbush and New York Avenue to the west. East Flatbush is a predominantly black neighborhood of African American and Afro-Caribbeans and has a population of 135,619 as of the 2010 United States census.

East Flatbush is part of Brooklyn Community District 17, and its primary ZIP Code is 11203.<ref name="NYCPlanning"/> It is patrolled by the 67th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.<ref name="NYPD 67th Precinct"/> Politically it is represented by the New York City Council's 40th, 41st, and 45th Districts.<ref>"Current City Council Districts for Kings County", New York City. Accessed May 5, 2017.</ref>

Geography

As with many neighborhoods in Brooklyn, the borders of East Flatbush are subjective/porous, but its northern border is roughly at Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue east of East 91st Street, its southern border is in the vicinity of the Long Island Rail Road Bay Ridge Branch, its eastern border is roughly at East 98th Street and its western border is roughly at Nostrand/New York Avenues.

East Flatbush is split up into three subsections. From west to east they are Erasmus, Farragut, and Remsen Village/Rugby.<ref name=NTAs/><ref name=NG>How East Flatbush Got Its Name. By Norm Goldstein, Brooklyn Reporter.com. Accessed 11 December 2024.</ref>

Farragut

The central section of East Flatbush is called Farragut.<ref name="NYDaily-EFlatbush-Feb2003">Template:Cite news</ref> Farragut is roughly bounded by Cortelyou Road and Holy Cross Cemetery to the north, Kings Highway to the east, Brooklyn Avenue on the west, and the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch to the south.<ref name=EncNYC>Template:Cite enc-nyc2</ref> Farragut was originally part of the colonial Town of Flatbush,<ref name="NYDaily-EFlatbush-Feb2003"/><ref name="EncNYC" /><ref name="NYCPks-PaerdegatPk">Template:Cite web</ref> and was named for American Civil War Admiral David Farragut.<ref name=EncNYC/><ref name="NYCPks-PaerdegatPk"/> The area was largely populated by Jews and Italians before 1950. By the 1990s, African Americans became a majority, along with many immigrants from the West Indies.<ref name=EncNYC/>

Farragut is adjacent to Paerdegat Woods, a formerly wooded area near Paerdegat Basin where real-estate developer Fred Trump constructed housing in the 1940s.<ref name="NYCPks-PaerdegatPk"/><ref name="NYTimes-Paerdegat-Trump-1940">Template:Cite news</ref> Farragut also contains Flatbush Gardens (formerly named Vanderveer Estates),<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a 59-building complex erected in 1949.<ref name="NYDaily-EFlatbush-Feb2003"/><ref name="EncNYC" /><ref name="NYCPks-PaerdegatPk"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vanderveer Estates was built on the site of the old Flatbush Water Works.<ref name="Newman Brick 2004">Template:Cite web</ref> The complex is one of the largest privately held working-class housing complexes in New York City, and owned in part by David Bistricer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Notable people who once lived in Vanderveer Estates include Barbra Streisand<ref name="Newman Brick 2004" /> and Michael K. Williams.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Remsen Village

Remsen Village has been described as a "subsection of the larger East Flatbush neighborhood,"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with an estimated 60,000 residents.<ref name=Pop60>Template:Cite web</ref> but is also sometimes considered its own neighborhood<ref name="NYTimes-GirlKilled-2001">Template:Cite news</ref> and also as "Rugby-Remsen Village".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The origin of using the name Remsen Village seems to be in the mid-1990s.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Remsen Village's population<ref name=Pop60/> is over one third of that of Brooklyn Community Board 17, which consists entirely of East Flatbush and its subsections.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The name "Rugby" was described in 2016 by the New York Times as "the old name for the area." It persists as the name of a road in East Flatbush, as well as a library branch in eastern East Flatbush.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The name "Rugby" was chosen by developers in the 1890s.<ref name=NG />

Demographics

East Flatbush is divided into three neighborhood tabulation areas (Erasmus, Farragut, and Remsen Village), which collectively comprise the population of the area.<ref name=NTAs>New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.</ref> Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the combined population of East Flatbush's neighborhood tabulation areas was 135,619, a change of -9,740 (-7.2%) from the 145,359 counted in 2000. Covering an area of Template:Convert, the neighborhood had a population density of Template:Convert.<ref name=PLP5>Table PL-P5 NTA: Total Population and Persons Per Acre - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, February 2012. Accessed June 16, 2016.</ref>

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 1.3% (1,816) White, 88.7% (120,231) African American, 0.3% (366) Native American, 1.1% (1,480) Asian, 0% (45) Pacific Islander, 0.4% (523) from other races, and 1.6% (2,140) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.6% (9,018) of the population.<ref name=PLP3A>Table PL-P3A NTA: Total Population by Mutually Exclusive Race and Hispanic Origin - New York City Neighborhood Tabulation Areas*, 2010, Population Division - New York City Department of City Planning, March 29, 2011. Accessed June 14, 2016.</ref>

The entirety of Community Board 17 had 154,575 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.6 years.<ref name="CHP2018">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.<ref name=":21">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Rp<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 21% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 28% between 25 and 44, and 28% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 15% respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp

As of 2016, the median household income in Community District 17 was $49,349.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2018, an estimated 19% of East Flatbush residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 54% in East Flatbush, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, Template:As of, East Flatbush is considered to be high-income and not gentrifying, relative to the rest of the city.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp

Ethnic groups and subsections

East Flatbush generally is very similar in nature to neighboring Flatbush, as both are predominantly West Indian and working class; however, Flatbush has a higher percentage of White and Asian residents than East Flatbush. The area was populated after World War II predominantly by immigrant Jews and Italians, then in the 1960s by African Americans, but most recently has seen many West Indian immigrants such as Guyanese, Haitians, Jamaicans, Saint Lucians, Trinidadians, Grenadians, Vincentians, Bajans, Panamanians and Dominicans groups coming to the area. Within its confines is the Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, which is located at 3620 Tilden Avenue. While some residents are affluent, East Flatbush is mostly populated by working and middle-class Brooklynites. Similar to other eastern Brooklyn neighborhoods, Blacks predominate East Flatbush. The area is 91.4% Black or African-American <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and 51% foreign born,<ref>"Community Health Profiles: The Health of Flatbush, Brooklyn" Template:Webarchive, nyc.gov</ref> the majority of whom are from the Caribbean. Considering this data, East Flatbush has been noted as being the single largest West Indian neighborhood in all of New York City and America as a whole.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

According to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, East Flatbush has been given three different names for three different sections, which are East Flatbush Erasmus to the west, East Flatbush Farragut to the east, and East Flatbush Rugby to the north. The Erasmus portion had between 30,000 and 39,999 Black residents and between 5,000 and 9,999 Hispanic residents, meanwhile each the White and Asian populations were under 5000 residents. The Rugby portion had 30,000 to 39,999 Black residents while each the Hispanic, White, and Asian populations were all under 5000 residents. The Farragut portion had 20,000 to 29,999 Black residents while each the Hispanic, White, and Asian population were also all under 5000 residents.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Little Caribbean and Little Haiti

Since the 1960s and especially through the 1970s, Caribbean immigrants have largely settled into East Flatbush, as well as in other surrounding areas such as Flatbush, and Crown Heights. Since 2017, the areas surrounding Nostrand and Church Avenues have been given the nickname, Little Caribbean.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In addition to Little Caribbean, the south tip of the neighborhood has been given the name Little Haiti due to the high concentration of Haitians.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Additionally, the Newkirk Avenue–Little Haiti station of the New York City Subway's Template:NYCS trains was formally renamed from Newkirk Avenue in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Police and crime

The NYPD's 67th Precinct (known internally by NYPD officers as Fort Jah<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) is located at 2820 Snyder Avenue.<ref name="NYPD 67th Precinct">Template:Cite web</ref> The 67th Precinct ranked 40th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.<ref name=":18">Template:Cite web</ref> Template:As of, with a non-fatal assault rate of 80 per 100,000 people, East Flatbush's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 597 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp The Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 79.9% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 43 rapes, 246 robberies, 601 felony assaults, 225 burglaries, 586 grand larcenies, and 98 grand larcenies auto in 2018.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A drug epidemic ravaged East Flatbush during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, mostly in Vanderveer Estates. The intersection of Foster Avenue and Nostrand Avenues was nicknamed "the Front Page" because of media attention to drug murders there. The intersection of Foster between New York Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue area to the south was called "the Back Page" because its many murders went unnoticed.<ref>Vitullo-Martin, Julia. "A Once-Troubled Housing Complex Seeks Change: Flatbush Gardens", The New York Sun, March 15, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2016. "A criminologist and professor of anthropology at John Jay College who produced a report on crime for the Brooklyn district attorney in 2003, Ric Curtis, said Vanderveer residents nicknamed the intersection of Foster and Nostrand avenues 'the Front Page' because the drug murders there often ended up on the front pages of local papers."</ref> The area around the Nostrand playground had various gangs: Crips, Gangster Disciples, Jamaicans (Shower Posse), Trinidadians and Grenadians particularly notorious for turf wars, shootouts, and pitbull fights. Crime is still somewhat of a problem in the neighborhood today as well.Template:Citation needed

Fire safety

The firehouse for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY)'s Engine Co. 310/Ladder Co. 174 is located at 5105 Snyder Avenue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite FDNY locations</ref>

Health

File:Univ Hosp Bklyn Lenox jeh.JPG

SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Template:As of, preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in East Flatbush than in other places citywide. In East Flatbush, there were 126 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 20.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp East Flatbush has a high population of residents who are uninsured, or who receive healthcare through Medicaid.<ref name=":14">New York City Health Provider Partnership Brooklyn Community Needs Assessment: Final Report, New York Academy of Medicine (October 3, 2014).</ref> In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 15%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp

The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in East Flatbush is Template:Convert, lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Eight percent of East Flatbush residents are smokers, which is lower the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp In East Flatbush, 34% of residents are obese, 15% are diabetic, and 36% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp In addition, 22% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp

Eighty percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 83% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", higher than the city's average of 78%.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp For every supermarket in East Flatbush, there are 21 bodegas.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp

East Flatbush is home to three major hospitals, Kings County Hospital, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.<ref name=":14"/>

Transportation

East Flatbush does not have as much access to the New York City Subway as Flatbush. However, the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line (Template:NYCS trains) has some stops located near the western border of East Flatbush, particularly Newkirk Avenue–Little Haiti, Beverly Road, and Church Avenue.<ref>Template:NYCS const</ref> Additionally, along the neighborhood's eastern border with Brownsville, the IRT New Lots Line (Template:NYCS trains) has a station at the intersection of Sutter Avenue, Rutland Road, and East 98th Street.

MTA Regional Bus Operations' Template:NYC bus link routes run north–south through East Flatbush, while the Template:NYC bus link run east–west. The B12 bus takes a serpentine route at the north end of the neighborhood as well as the B43, and the Template:NYC bus link runs on Kings Highway at the southeast edge of East Flatbush.<ref>Template:Cite NYC bus map</ref> The B6 runs via Bay Pkwy, Avenue J, and Flatlands Av and although passing through several neighborhoods, makes a few stops in East Flatbush. The Template:NYC bus link also makes a few stops in the area on Avenue H, by the border with Flatlands.

Education

East Flatbush generally has a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city Template:As of. While 30% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 15% have less than a high school education and 55% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp The percentage of East Flatbush students excelling in math has been increasing, with math achievement rising from 32 percent in 2000 to 51 percent in 2011, though reading achievement within the same time period stayed steady at 42%.<ref name=":17">Template:Cite web</ref>

East Flatbush's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is slightly higher than the rest of New York City. In East Flatbush, 23% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students.<ref name=":21" />Template:Rp<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp Additionally, 78% of high school students in East Flatbush graduate on time, higher than the citywide average of 75% of students.<ref name="CHP2018" />Template:Rp

Schools

Schools located in East Flatbush include:

• Cristo Rey High School, a Catholic college preparatory high school located at East 37 Street and Foster Avenue
• Cultural Academy for the Arts and Sciences (CAAS)
• Kurt Hahn Expeditionary Learning School
• It Takes A Village Academy (ITAVA)
• Nazareth Regional High School, a co-educational private Catholic high school located at East 57th Street and Avenue D
• St. Francis of Assisi School
• The School for Human Rights
• The School for Democracy and Leadership
• High School for Public Service: Heroes of Tomorrow
• P.S. 208K (Elsa Ebeling School), a public elementary school, located at East 48th Street and Avenue D
• St. Catherine of Genoa/St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Academy
• Meyer Levin Junior High School
• SUNY Downstate Medical Center
• PS 135 Sheldon A Brookner

The neighborhood was the home of the former General George W. Wingate and Gov. Samuel J. Tilden High Schools.

Libraries

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has two branches in East Flatbush. The Rugby branch is located at 1000 Utica Avenue and opened in 1957.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was closed for renovations in 2017<ref name="Blau Sandoval 2019 g460">Template:Cite web</ref> and reopened in 2021.<ref name="Brachfeld 2021 z046">Template:Cite web</ref>

The East Flatbush Library is located at 9612 Church Avenue, between East 96th Street and Rockaway Parkway, and was opened in 1945. In September 2018, this library was also closed for renovations;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> it reopened in June 2023.<ref name="Schillaci 2023 q794">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Ginsburg 2023 i247">Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable places

In summer 2006, the New York City Department of Transportation co-named a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street in East Flatbush as "Bob Marley Boulevard".<ref>Mooney, Jake. "Drum Roll for a Sign With a Reggae Beat", The New York Times, May 21, 2006. Accessed October 11, 2007. "On May 10, the City Council approved a plan to hang Bob Marley Boulevard signs beneath the Church Avenue ones along an eight-block section, from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street."</ref><ref>Brooklyn Street Renamed Bob Marley Boulevard Template:Webarchive, NY1. Accessed October 11, 2007.</ref>

The former Congregation Beth Israel, now known as Mt. Zion Church of God 7th Day, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.<ref name="nris">Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

Notable current and former residents of East Flatbush include: Template:Div col

• Roosevelt Chapman (born 1962), basketball player<ref>Archdeacon, Tom. "Archdeacon: Hall-of-Fame bound Flyers legend Roosevelt Chapman trades in basketball for billiards", Dayton Daily News, May 17, 2019. Accessed April 6, 2021. "It would seem to be an unlikely kinship for a close-knit Midwestern fan base and a kid who came of age, he said, in a 'tough Hispanic/ black neighborhood' in the Bedford Stuyvesant area before moving to East Flatbush."</ref>
• Edwidge Danticat (born 1969), writer<ref>Pierre-Pierre, Garry. "At Home With Edwidge Danticat; Haitian Tales, Flatbush Scenes", The New York Times, January 26, 1995. Accessed April 6, 2021. "So Ms. Danticat (her name is pronounced ed-WEEDJ dahn-tee-CAH), the author of "Breath, Eyes, Memory," her first novel, which was published by Soho Press last spring and received respectful reviews, set small flowered, ceramic cups on a coffee table. She settled into a plastic-covered velour chair in the beige-carpeted living room of her parents' attached brick home in East Flatbush and explained that the cannelles, or cinnamon sticks, had been bought just blocks away, from Haitian street vendors."</ref>
• Flatbush Zombies, hip-hop group
• Fu-Schnickens, hip-hop group
• Rudy Giuliani (born 1944), former mayor of New York City<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Ira Glasser (born 1938), civil liberties defender and author<ref>Weber, Bruce. "50 Years Later, and Robinson Is Undimmed", The New York Times, April 15, 1997. Accessed April 6, 2021. "'The way he danced off third base became a metaphor for the struggle against injustice,' Mr. Glasser said, remembering that when he was growing up in East Flatbush it was Robinson, not Carl Furillo or Pee Wee Reese, that he and all of his friends would imitate in their sandlot ball games."</ref>
• Jamie Hector (born 1975), actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Jidenna (born 1985), "Wondaland Records" rapper/singer<ref>Josephs, Brian. "Jidenna Wants You to Know What Really Makes a Classic Man", Spin, February 23, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2021. "The scenes where he's staving off police officers and tutoring young men parallel those of his home community of East Flatbush, where neighborhood civilians handled mild controversies like car accidents before calling the police."</ref>
• Joey Badass (born 1995), rapper<ref>Tempey, Nathan. "Interview: Joey Badass Is Not Excited About Gentrification", Gothamist, June 6, 2015. Accessed April 6, 2021. "So you grew up in Bed-Stuy and East Flatbush and I was wondering how you've seen the neighborhoods change over the years since you were a kid."</ref>
• Ivan Lee (born 1981), Olympic saber fencer<ref>Williams, Lena. "Fencing; Around the World With Saber in Hand", The New York Times, May 17,2001. Accessed December 25, 2023. "Other saber practitioners may be bigger and stronger, but Lee, who is 5 feet 11 inches and 160-pounds, relies on the street smarts he used as a child to evade drug dealers in his old East Flatbush neighborhood."</ref>
• MC Lyte (born 1970), rapper<ref>Coleman, Brian. Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies, p. 257. Random House Publishing Group, 2009. Template:ISBN. Accessed May 10, 2016. "But it was true: East Flatbush, Brooklyn's MC Lyte (Lana Moorer) had just roped in her learner's permit when she sagely opined about the woes of both crack and fickle male love."</ref>
• Romona Moore, murdered college student<ref>Dewan, Shaila mmb K. 'Body Discovered in Brooklyn Is Identified as Hunter Student", The New York Times, May 13, 2003. Accessed October 11, 2007. "A body found wrapped in a blanket behind a boarded-up house on Saturday was identified by the police yesterday as that of Ramona Moore, a 21-year-old Hunter College student who lived at home with her parents in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, until she disappeared in April."</ref>
• James P. O'Neill (born 1958), NYC Police Commissioner<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Rowdy Rebel (born 1991), rapper<ref>Smith, Rachel Holliday. "Hearing Dates Set for Trials of Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel" Template:Webarchive, DNAinfo.com, April 22, 2015. Accessed May 10, 2016. "A Manhattan judge set hearing dates for the trials of rappers Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel, who were indicted in December on gun, drug and shooting charges in connection to an East Flatbush gang."</ref>
• Busta Rhymes (born 1972), rapper<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• Bobby Shmurda (born 1994), rapper<ref>Calhoun, Ada. "Bobby Shmurda Speaks Out About His Gang-Related Charges: 'That Shit Is Bullshit'", Billboard (magazine), February 13, 2015. Accessed May 10, 2016. "Today he was just another young man before the judge, one of 13 reputed members of the East Flatbush, Brooklyn, alleged gang GS9 ("God's Sons") to have his case called."</ref>
• Shyne (born 1978 as Jamal Michael Barrow), rapper and politician<ref>Brinn, David. "Taking a Shyne to Judaism", The Jerusalem Post, November 12, 2010. Accessed May 10, 2016. "Later the family moved to East Flatbush, where Shyne's mother cleaned houses and took care of children to make ends meet."</ref>
• Barbra Streisand (born 1942), singer and actress<ref name="Newman Brick 2004"/>
• The Underachievers, rappers
• Unlocking the Truth, heavy metal group <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Michael K. Williams (born 1966), actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>