Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway
Eastern Parkway (Brooklyn)
Eastern Parkway is a major boulevard that runs through a portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The road begins at Grand Army Plaza and extends east, running parallel to Atlantic Avenue, along the crest of the moraine that separates northern from southern Long Island, to Ralph Avenue...
, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles (3 km) east-west.
Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill. It was a succession of hills running east and west from Utica Avenue to Classon Avenue, and south to Empire Boulevard and New York Avenue. The name was changed when Crown Street was cut through in 1916.
Crown Heights today is bounded by Washington Avenue (to the west), Atlantic Avenue
Atlantic Avenue (New York City)
Atlantic Avenue is an important street in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. It stretches from the Brooklyn waterfront on the East River all the way to Jamaica, Queens...
(to the north), Howard Avenue (to the east) and Empire Boulevard (to the south). It is about two miles (3 km) long and two miles (3 km) deep. These neighborhoods border Crown Heights: Prospect Heights
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east...
(to the west); Flatbush
Flatbush, Brooklyn
Flatbush is a community of the Borough of Brooklyn, a part of New York City, consisting of several neighborhoods.The name Flatbush is an Anglicization of the Dutch language Vlacke bos ....
(to the south); Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn, New York City.The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11212....
(to the southeast); and Bedford-Stuyvesant
Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3, Brooklyn Community Board 8 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st...
(to the north).
This neighborhood extends through much of Brooklyn Community Board 8
Brooklyn Community Board 8
Brooklyn Community Board 8 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, and Bedford-Stuyvesant...
and 9
Brooklyn Community Board 9
Brooklyn Community Board 9 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, and Wingate...
. It is under the jurisdiction of two precincts
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...
of the New York City Police Department
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
. The 77th precinct is part of Brooklyn North, which covers Crown Heights, Prospect Heights
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Prospect Heights is a neighborhood in the northwest of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The traditional boundaries are Flatbush Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Eastern Parkway to the south, and Washington Avenue to the east...
and Weeksville
Weeksville, Brooklyn
Weeksville is a neighborhood founded by African American freedmen in what is now Brooklyn, New York, United States, part of the present-day neighborhood of Crown Heights.-History:...
. The 71st precinct is part of Brooklyn South and covers the southern end of Crown Heights.
Early History
Although no known evidence remains in the Crown Heights vicinity, prior to the European colonization of the AmericasEuropean colonization of the Americas
The start of the European colonization of the Americas is typically dated to 1492. The first Europeans to reach the Americas were the Vikings during the 11th century, who established several colonies in Greenland and one short-lived settlement in present day Newfoundland...
large portions of what is now called Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
including present-day Brooklyn were occupied by the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
, (later renamed Delaware Indians by the European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
colonizers). The Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
lived in communities of bark- or grass-covered wigwam
Wigwam
A wigwam or wickiup is a domed room dwelling used by certain Native American tribes. The term wickiup is generally used to label these kinds of dwellings in American Southwest and West. Wigwam is usually applied to these structures in the American Northeast...
s, and in their larger settlements—typically located on high ground adjacent to fresh water, and occupied in the fall, winter, and spring—they fished, harvested shellfish, trapped animals, gathered wild fruits and vegetables, and cultivated corn, tobacco, beans, and other crops.
The first recorded contact between the indigenous people of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
region and Europeans
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
was with the explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524 when he anchored at the approximate location where the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay....
touches down in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
today. There he was visited by a canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
party of Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
. The next contact was in 1609 when the explorerer Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson was an English sea explorer and navigator in the early 17th century. Hudson made two attempts on behalf of English merchants to find a prospective Northeast Passage to Cathay via a route above the Arctic Circle...
arrived in what is now New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
aboard a Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
ship the Halve Maen
Halve Maen
The Halve Maen was a Dutch East India Company vlieboot which sailed into what is now New York harbor in September 1609. It was commissioned by the Dutch Republic to covertly find an eastern passage to China...
(Half Moon
Half Moon
Half Moon is a lunar phase coinciding with neap tides, which are often easier for seafarers than spring tides. This would apply to the first quarter and last quarter moon; in both cases, half of the moon's disk is lit...
) commissioned by the Dutch Republic
Dutch Republic
The Dutch Republic — officially known as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , the Republic of the United Netherlands, or the Republic of the Seven United Provinces — was a republic in Europe existing from 1581 to 1795, preceding the Batavian Republic and ultimately...
.
European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
habitation in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
area began in earnest with the founding of a Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
fur trading
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
settlement, later called "Nieuw Amsterdam" (New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
), on the southern tip of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in 1614.
By 1630, Dutch and English colonists started moving into the western end of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. In 1637, Joris Jansen de Rapalje purchased about 335 acres (1.4 km²) around Wallabout Bay
Wallabout Bay
Wallabout Bay is small body of water in Upper New York Bay along the northwest shore of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, between the present Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges, opposite Corlear's Hook on Manhattan to the west, across the East River...
and over the following two years, Director Kieft of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
purchased title to nearly all the land in what is now Kings County
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and Queens County
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
from the indigenous inhabitants.
Finally, the areas around present-day Crown Heights saw its first European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
settlements starting in about 1661/1662 when several men each received, from Governor Pieter Stuyvesant and the Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
what was described as “a parcel of free (unoccupied) woodland there” on the condition that they situate their houses “within one of the other concentration, which would suit them best, but not to make a hamlet.”
Development in Early 1900s
Crown Heights had begun as a posh residential neighborhood, a "bedroom" for Manhattan's growing bourgeoisBourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
class. The area benefited by having its rapid transit in a subway configuration (the IRT line underneath Eastern Parkway
IRT Eastern Parkway Line
IRT Eastern Parkway Line and New Lots Line can refer to:* IRT Eastern Parkway Line* IRT New Lots Line...
), in contrast to many other Brooklyn neighborhoods that had elevated lines. Conversion to a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
also included tearing down the 19th century Kings County Penitentiary at Carroll Street and Nostrand Avenue.
Beginning in the early 1900s, many upper-class residences, including characteristic brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
buildings, were erected along Eastern Parkway. Away from the parkway were a mixture of lower middle-class residences. This development peaked in the 1920s. Before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Crown Heights was among New York City's premier neighborhoods, with tree-lined streets, an array of cultural institutions and parks, and numerous fraternal, social and community organizations.
Mid-20th Century
Population changes began in the 1920s with newcomers from Jamaica and the West Indies, as well as African Americans from the South.During the '40s, '50s and '60s, many middle class Jews lived in Crown Heights. In 1950, the neighborhood was 89 percent white, with a small but growing black population. Some 50- 60 percent of the white population, about 75,000 people, were Jewish. By 1957, there were about 25,000 blacks in Crown Heights, about one fourth of the population.
There were thirty-four large synagogues in the neighborhood, including the Bobov, Chovevei Torah, and 770 Eastern Parkway
770 Eastern Parkway
770 Eastern Parkway is the street address of the central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, in the United States of America...
, home of the worldwide Lubavitch movement.
There were also three prominent Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
elementary schools in the neighborhood, Crown Heights Yeshiva on Crown Street, the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway, on Eastern Parkway, and the Reines Talmud Torah.
The 1960s Through the Early 1990s
The 1960s and 1970s were a time of turbulent race relations. With increasing poverty in the city, racial conflicts plagued some New York neighborhoods. With its racially and culturally mixed populations, Crown Heights was mired in this strife. The neighborhood's relatively large population of Lubavitch Hasidim, at the request of their leader, the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel SchneersohnMenachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
stayed in the community after other whites left.
During the Johnson administration, Crown Heights was declared a primary poverty area due to a high unemployment rate, high juvenile and adult crime rate, poor nutrition for lack of family income, relative absence of job skills and readiness to work, and a relatively high concentration of elderly residents.
Violence has erupted in the neighborhood on more than one occasion, including during the New York City blackout of 1977
New York City blackout of 1977
The New York City blackout of 1977 was an electricity blackout affected most of New York City from July 13, 1977 to July 14, 1977. The only neighborhoods in New York City that were not affected were in southern Queens, and neighborhoods of the Rockaways, which are part of the Long Island Lighting...
. More than 75 stores were robbed in the area. Thieves used cars to pull down gates protecting stores. In 1991 there was an outbreak known as the Crown Heights Riot
Crown Heights Riot
The Crown Heights Riot was a three-day riot in the United States that occurred August 19–21, 1991. It took place in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
.
Through the 1990s, crime, racial conflict, and violence decreased in New York. Urban renewal and gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
began to take effect in NYC including Crown Heights.
The Crown Heights Riot
The Crown Heights RiotCrown Heights Riot
The Crown Heights Riot was a three-day riot in the United States that occurred August 19–21, 1991. It took place in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn....
was a three-day disturbance that occurred in August 1991 in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
borough
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. The community was and is majority West Indian and African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
and has a large minority of Jews. The riots began on August 19, 1991 after Gavin Cato, the son of two Guyanese immigrants, was accidentally struck and killed by an automobile in the motorcade of prominent Hasidic rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Menachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
. A Jewish ambulance known as Hatzolah came to the scene and removed the Jewish driver and placed him in the ambulance. The child was left pinned under the vehicle which had jumped onto the sidewalk of President Street and Utica Avenue. The police ordered the ambulance away, fearing the outrage that was being expressed by black bystanders. The rioting began very shortly after the Hatzolah left the scene. During the riot an Orthodox Jew, Yankel Rosenbaum, who was visiting Crown Heights from Australia, was murdered. The riot unveiled long-simmering tensions between Crown Heights' black and Jewish communities, had an impact on the 1993 mayoral race and ultimately led to a successful outreach program between black and Jewish leaders that somewhat helped improve race relations in the city.
21st century renaissance
Crown Heights today has extreme contrasts between lovely architecture and vacant, run-down buildings. It contains a variety of people ranging from bearded, dark-suit wearing Hasidim, to vividly and brightly dressed Afro-Caribbean residents.In the spring of 2008 racial tension flared up in a few blocks; however, it never reached the level of tension that occurred during the Crown Heights Riot of the early 1990s. In some areas the increasing rents have caused the displacement of long-time residents. That being said, Crown Heights remains an overall ethnic and social melange where a wide variety of people from older residents to new immigrants and other groups continue to reside.
NYC.GOV statistics for 2007 revealed that the 77th precinct, which includes a significant part of Crown Heights, had experienced a year-to-date decline of 40% in the number of murders (a total of 9, down from 15), significantly impacted by local volunteer police patrols, and a decline of 20% in the number of rapes (12, down from 15). However, felonious assaults and burglaries had increased significantly in that period(16.8 and 24.8%, respectively)
According to the latest statistics, in 2010 stats showed an increase in the homicide rate for the 77th precinct which covers Crown Heights and Bed-stuy when it rose from 13 in 2009 to 20 in 2010. The 71st precinct which covers the southern portion of Crown Heights also recorded 10 homicides for the year.
Demographics
As of 1994, of the approximately 150,000 residents in Crown Heights, 90 percent were of African descent (70 percent from the Caribbean and 20 percent of American birth), 9 percent were Hasidic Jews, and less than 1 percent were Latino, Asian and other ethnic groups.
Labor Day Carnival
The Labor Day Parade , is an annual celebration held on American Labor Day , in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York....
. The boisterous and colorful event is the West Indian Carnival Parade, also known as "The Labor Day Parade." The vivid ostentation goes along Eastern Parkway, from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza. According to the West Indian-American Day Carnival Association, over 3.5 million people participate in the colorful parade each year.
It is also the location of the Worldwide Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch
Chabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
Hasidic
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
Jewish movement, at 770 Eastern Parkway
770 Eastern Parkway
770 Eastern Parkway is the street address of the central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, in the United States of America...
. A thriving Orthodox Jewish community has grown up around that location.
Political representation
In CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
government, Crown Heights is part of New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
Districts 35 and 36.
Crown Heights is represented in State government as part of the State Senate 19th District and the State Senate 20th District. In the New York State Assembly
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...
, Crown Heights is part of State Assembly District 43 and State Assembly District 57. Crown Heights is within the boundaries of New York's 11th congressional district
New York's 11th congressional district
New York's 11th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in Brooklyn. It includes the neighborhoods of Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Kensington, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens...
for the U. S. House of Representatives, currently represented by Yvette Clark
Transportation
Crown Heights is served by the IRT Eastern Parkway LineIRT Eastern Parkway Line
IRT Eastern Parkway Line and New Lots Line can refer to:* IRT Eastern Parkway Line* IRT New Lots Line...
/IRT New Lots Line
IRT New Lots Line
The New Lots Line or Livonia Avenue Line is one of the lines of the IRT division of the New York City Subway, consisting of an elevated structure that begins just east of Crown Heights – Utica Avenue, and continuing to New Lots Avenue in New Lots, Brooklyn.The line includes an unused trackway in...
, with major subway stations at Franklin, Nostrand, Kingston and Utica Avenues (IRT #3) and President Street (IRT #2). Several bus lines serve the station, including the B12, B14, B17, B43, B44 and B46. The B45, B15 and B65 run north of Eastern Parkway.
Landmarks
- Brooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope neighborhoods, the garden includes a number of specialty "gardens within the Garden," plant collections, and the Steinhardt Conservatory,...
- Brooklyn MuseumBrooklyn MuseumThe Brooklyn Museum is an encyclopedia art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At 560,000 square feet, the museum holds New York City's second largest art collection with roughly 1.5 million works....
- Brooklyn Children's MuseumBrooklyn Children's MuseumThe Brooklyn Children's Museum is a general purpose museum in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York City, USA. Founded in 1899, it was the first museum in the United States and some believe, the world, to cater specifically to children and is unique in its location, predominantly a residential area...
- Brooklyn Public LibraryBrooklyn Public LibraryThe Brooklyn Public Library is the public library system of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is the fifth largest public library system in the United States. Like the two other public library systems in New York City, it is an independent nonprofit organization that is funded by the...
(Eastern Parkway Branch) - George W. Wingate High SchoolGeorge W. Wingate High SchoolGeorge W. Wingate High School is a defunct comprehensive high school in the Prospect-Lefferts Gardens neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It was closed down in June 2000 due to poor academic performance. The school was then divided into four small schools. The school was named for George Wood...
- 770 Eastern Parkway770 Eastern Parkway770 Eastern Parkway is the street address of the central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, located on Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, in the United States of America...
(central headquarters of the Chabad-LubavitchChabad-LubavitchChabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
Hasidic movementHasidic JudaismHasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
) - Jewish Children's MuseumJewish Children's MuseumThe Jewish Children's Museum is the largest Jewish-themed children's museum in the United States. It aims for children of all faiths and backgrounds to gain a positive perspective and awareness of the Jewish heritage, fostering tolerance and understanding...
- Medgar Evers CollegeMedgar Evers CollegeMedgar Evers College is a senior college of The City University of New York.Medgar Evers College was officially established in 1970 through cooperation from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn...
- Ebbets Field ApartmentsEbbets FieldEbbets Field was a Major League Baseball park located in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York, USA, on a city block which is now considered to be part of the Crown Heights neighborhood. It was the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League. It was also a venue for professional football...
Notable natives and residents
- BuckshotBuckshot (rapper)Buckshot is an underground rapper, famous as the leader of Hip Hop supergroup Boot Camp Clik, and the group Black Moon. He has released one solo album, two with producer 9th Wonder, four albums with Black Moon and four albums with the Boot Camp Clik.- Biography :Born and raised in Brooklyn...
, rapper - Clive DavisClive DavisClive Davis is an American record producer and music industry executive. He has won five Grammy Awards and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a non-performer. From 1967 to 1973 he was the President of Columbia Records. He was the founder and president of Arista Records from 1975...
(born 1932), music industry executive - Avraham FriedAvraham FriedAvraham Shabshi Hakohen Friedman better known by his stage name, Avraham Fried, is a popular musical entertainer in the Orthodox Jewish community.-Career:...
(born 1959) Hassidic singer - Yosef JacobsonYosef JacobsonYosef Yitzchok Jacobson , an Orthodox Chabad rabbi, is the editor of the Algemeiner Journal, a Yiddish-English weekly newspaper-Life and career:Jacobson was born in Brooklyn, New York...
(born 1972) Rabbi, Orator - Simon JacobsonSimon JacobsonSimon Jacobson is the author of Toward a Meaningful Life , founder of and publisher of the Yiddish English weekly, The Algemeiner Journal.-Life and career:...
(born 1956) Rabbi, Author, Journalist - Jamie HectorJamie HectorJamie Hector is an Haitian-American actor who is known for his portrayal of Marlo Stanfield on the critically acclaimed HBO series The Wire.- Biography :...
(born 1975) Actor who is known for his portrayal of Marlo StanfieldMarlo StanfieldMarlo "Black" Stanfield is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Jamie Hector. Stanfield is a young, ruthless and ambitious player in the Baltimore drug trade who gains control of West Baltimore and is the head of his own drug crew.-Character background and plot...
on the critically acclaimed HBO series The WireThe WIREthe WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
. - Norman MailerNorman MailerNorman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
(1923–2007), novelist, journalist, author - Matisyahu MillerMatisyahuMatthew Paul Miller , better known by his Hebrew name and stage name Matisyahu, is an American Hasidic Jewish reggae and alternative rock musician....
(born 1979), reggae artist - Debi MazarDebi MazarDeborah "Debi" Mazar is an American actress, perhaps best known for her Jersey Girl-type roles; as sharp-tongued women in independent films; and for her recurring role as press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage.-Early life:...
(born 1964), actress - Dr. Susan McKinney Steward (1847–1918), first African American woman to earn medical degree in New York
- Stephanie MillsStephanie MillsStephanie Dorthea Mills is an American R&B and soul singer, and a former Broadway star.-Career:Mills began her career appearing in her first play at the age of nine. Two years later, Mills won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater a record six times...
, singer - Lemrick NelsonLemrick NelsonLemrick Nelson, Jr. is an African-American man who stabbed Hasidic student Yankel Rosenbaum to death during the racial unrest of the 1991 Crown Heights riot...
(born 1975), convicted of violating Yankel Rosenbaum's civil rights in his murder during the 1991 Crown Heights riotCrown Heights riotThe Crown Heights Riot was a three-day riot in the United States that occurred August 19–21, 1991. It took place in the Crown Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.... - Noel PointerNoel PointerNoel Pointer was an American jazz violinist and record producer.He was nominated for a Grammy award in 1981. Pointer's reputation as an outstanding jazz musician and literary advocate garnered him honorary citizenship in cities across the United States...
, jazz violinist - RatatatRatatatRatatat is a New York City electronic music duo consisting of Mike Stroud and producer Evan Mast .-History:Evan Mast and Mike Stroud first met as students at Skidmore College, but they did not work together until 2001, when they recorded several songs under the name "Cherry"...
, indietronic act - Kendall SchmidtKendall SchmidtKendall Francis Schmidt is an American actor and singer-songwriter; he is best known for playing Kendall Knight in Big Time Rush and has played small roles on different TV shows such as ER, Without a Trace, Phil of the Future, Ghost Whisperer, and Frasier...
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) and singer - Menachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel SchneersonMenachem Mendel Schneerson , known as the Lubavitcher Rebbe or just the Rebbe among his followers, was a prominent Hasidic rabbi who was the seventh and last Rebbe of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement. He was fifth in a direct paternal line to the third Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Mendel...
(1902–1994), the Rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch - Beverly SillsBeverly SillsBeverly Sills was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s. In her prime she was the only real rival to Joan Sutherland as the leading bel canto stylist...
(1929–2007), opera singer and administrator - Mighty SparrowMighty SparrowMighty Sparrow or Birdie is a calypso singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Known as the "Calypso King of the World," he is one of the most well-known and successful calypsonians...
(born 1935), Calypso musician from Trinidad/West Indies - William L. TaylorWilliam L. TaylorWilliam Lewis Taylor was an American attorney and lobbyist who advocated on behalf of African Americans during the civil rights era and played a major role in drafting civil rights legislation....
(1931–2010), attorney and civil rights advocate - Shimon WaronkerShimon WaronkerShimon Waronker is the headmaster of The New American Academy, PS 770, an innovative new public school in Brooklyn, NY. He is a doctoral student in the Urban Superintendents Program at Harvard where he developed the idea for the new school's approach to education. He is the former Principal of the...
, School Principal at New American Academy in Crown Heights - aka Public School 770 - Eliyahu FedermanEliyahu FedermanEliyahu "Eli" Federman is an American lawyer and the Vice President of the large deal website 1SaleADay. In 2010 he worked on behalf of 1SaleADay to win a protracted international trademark dispute with an Australian company...
, advocated for equal voting rights, sexual abuse awareness and better police-community relations in Crown Heights.
See also
- Brooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic GardenBrooklyn Botanic Garden is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, and Park Slope neighborhoods, the garden includes a number of specialty "gardens within the Garden," plant collections, and the Steinhardt Conservatory,...
- Chabad-LubavitchChabad-LubavitchChabad-Lubavitch is a Chasidic movement in Orthodox Judaism. One of the world's larger and best-known Chasidic movements, its official headquarters is in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York...
- Eastern Parkway
- Medgar Evers CollegeMedgar Evers CollegeMedgar Evers College is a senior college of The City University of New York.Medgar Evers College was officially established in 1970 through cooperation from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn...
- St. Johns Place LineSt. Johns Place LineThe St. Johns Place Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York, mainly along Atlantic Avenue, Washington Avenue, Sterling Place, and St. Johns Place between Downtown Brooklyn and Crown Heights...
- West Indian CarnivalLabor Day CarnivalThe Labor Day Parade , is an annual celebration held on American Labor Day , in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York....
Further reading
External links
- "Strolls Upon Old Lines: Crow Hill and Some of Its Suggestions" from the Brooklyn EagleBrooklyn EagleThe Brooklyn Daily Bulletin began publishing when the original Eagle folded in 1955. In 1996 it merged with a newly revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and now publishes a morning paper five days a week under the Brooklyn Daily Eagle name...
9 December 1888 - Crown Heights History
- A Walk Through Crown Heights
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden
- West Indian-American Day Carnival Association
- Medgar Evers College
- Brooklynian Kings County Message Boards: Crown Heights and Prospect Lefferts Gardens
- The Crow Hill Community Association
- Crown Heights North Association
- Crown Heights Blog
- Landmarking of Crown Heights North as a NYC historic district (pdf)
- "Crown Heights News/Chabad News" for & about Crown Height's Hasidic Jewish Community and ChabadChabadChabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
around the world