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Bankruptcy Solutions 

The purpose of federal bankruptcy legislation, sometimes known as Title 11 of the United States Code or the “Bankruptcy Code,” is to provide an opportunity for financial reorganization or a fresh start for legitimate debtors who are unable to fulfill their obligations.

Foreclosure Solutions 

As you are undoubtedly aware, many homeowners are in arrears on their mortgages as a result of the 2020 recession brought on by the coronavirus. At first, most lenders had been understanding and would have granted a brief suspension of the late payments.

Debt Negotiations & Settlements 

Clients regularly hire the Law Office of Ronald D. Weiss, P.C. to represent them in negotiations with banks, mortgage holders, credit card issuers, auto financing providers, landlords, tax authorities, and other creditors.

Mortgage Loan Modifications 

The most common strategy used by our firm to prevent a house in severe mortgage arrears from going into foreclosure is a mortgage modification. Mortgage modification and other potential Retention Options are the potential goals of most homeowners in foreclosure because most people experiencing serious hardships with their mortgages are looking for “Retention Options

Credit Card Solutions 

For consumers, credit card debt and other unsecured personal loans are the most common types of debt. There are a few legal options for handling credit card debt, including the following: Litigation, bankruptcy, and/or negotiated settlements are the three options.

Debtor Litigation Defense 

Many of The Law Office of Ronald D. Weiss, P.C.’s clients face the possibility of litigation or collection activities from their creditors because they are accused of having debt that they are unable to pay or because they contest the existence, amount, or obligation of the debt.

Landlord Tenant Solutions

Landlord-Tenant Law is one of our firm’s areas of expertise; we defend landlords and tenants in a variety of legal proceedings before the Landlord-Tenant Court and the New York Supreme Court. When it comes to eviction and/or collecting large amounts of past due rent.

Distressed Real Estate 

A. Pre-Contract When a seller (the “Seller”) sells real estate to a buyer (the “Buyer”), there are usually a number of important steps involved. A seller will first list their property on the market for sale. A real estate broker is frequently hired by the seller to help locate possible buyers for their property.

Student Loan Solutions

In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes,” as Benjamin Franklin famously said. This phrase has recently been amended by popular opinion to include student loans. Since most jobs these days require a bachelor’s degree, the amount of debt that Americans owe on their student loans

Tax Debt Solutions 

Many people have trouble keeping up with their tax payments to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (“NYS”), which includes sales taxes, income taxes, payroll taxes, and other state taxes, as well as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), which includes individual income taxes.

Table of Contents

  • WELCOME: Brownsville

Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest, Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north, East New York to the east, Canarsie to the south, and East Flatbush to the west.

Spanning 1.163 square miles (3.01 km²), Brownsville had a population of 58,300 according to the 2010 United States Census, with an estimated population of 128,369 in 2019. Established in its current form in 1858, Brownsville was originally a settlement of Jewish factory workers. In the 1950s, the neighborhood experienced a significant demographic shift with an influx of African-American residents. Since the late 20th century, Brownsville has consistently had some of the highest poverty and crime rates in New York City.

  • History

Early development

The area now known as Brownsville was initially used by the Dutch for farming and manufacturing stone slabs and other construction materials. In 1823–1824, the Dutch established the New Lots Reformed Church in nearby New Lots, as the corresponding church in Flatbush was too far away. This church, which includes a cemetery built in 1841, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

In 1858, William Suydam divided the land into 262 lots, providing simple two- to four-room accommodations for workers. However, Suydam underestimated the area’s undesirability and ran out of funding in 1861. After failing to pay his mortgages, the land was auctioned off in 1866 to Charles S. Brown of Esopus, New York. Believing the area had development potential, Brown subdivided the land, named it “Brownsville,” and marketed its wide open spaces to Jews living in Lower Manhattan. By 1883, “Brown’s Village” had 250 houses, mostly occupied by factory workers commuting to Manhattan. The first houses were built by Charles R. Miller.

Jewish neighborhood (1880s-1950s)

Brownsville was predominantly Jewish from the 1880s until the 1950s. In 1887, businessman Elias Kaplan introduced the first Jewish residents to Brownsville, promoting it as a preferable alternative to the Lower East Side, which he criticized for the strong influence of labor unions. Kaplan built a factory and accommodations for his workers, and established a synagogue named Ohev Sholom within his factory. Over the next decade, other manufacturers producing low-tech goods like food, furniture, and metals followed suit, establishing their factories in Brownsville. This led to a significant increase in housing construction.

The area bounded by present-day Dumont, Rockaway, and Liberty Avenues, and Junius Street quickly became densely populated with factories, workshops, and stores situated alongside residential housing. In 1892, local farmer John J. Vanderveer sold his farm, which was then subdivided into lots and allocated to Jewish settlers. Within three years, there were 10,000 Jews living in Brownsville. By 1904, the lots from the former Vanderveer farm were entirely owned by Jews, who were spread across four square miles (10 km²).

Late 20th century

In the early 20th century, large numbers of African Americans began moving into Brooklyn, with Bedford-Stuyvesant becoming the first significant African American community in the borough. By the 1930s, Brownsville also started to see an influx of African American residents, many of whom were poor and socially disadvantaged migrants from the racially discriminatory Jim Crow-era South. In 1940, African Americans comprised 6% of Brownsville’s population. The 1943 book “New York City Market Analysis” indicated that this small but growing African American population was concentrated in the central part of the neighborhood, while the majority of the area was still populated by Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Although there was some integration, racial tensions existed as well.

By 1950, the African American population had doubled, with most living in the neighborhood’s least desirable housing. Concurrently, new immigration quotas reduced the number of Russian Jews immigrating to the United States. Under urban planner Robert Moses, the city began replacing some of Brownsville’s old tenements with public housing blocks. Despite the racial segregation, there were more efforts in Brownsville to improve quality of life, encourage public mixing, and foster solidarity between black and Jewish residents than in most other neighborhoods. However, socioeconomic disparities hindered many of these efforts. Additionally, the newly arrived African American residents, primarily industrial workers, faced economic disadvantages as Brownsville’s factories were closing down, making them poorer than the Jewish residents who had historically lived there.

While both black and Jewish residents of Brownsville faced ethnic discrimination, African Americans experienced worse conditions. They were banned from certain public places where Jews were allowed, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) generally treated African Americans more harshly than Jews.

Improvement and current status

After a wave of arson throughout the 1970s devastated the low-income communities of New York City, many residential structures in Brownsville were seriously damaged or destroyed, leading to its association with urban decay. Even at the beginning of this arson wave, 29% of residents lived in poverty, a figure that increased in subsequent years. In response, the city began rehabilitating many abandoned tenement-style apartment buildings and designating them as low-income housing starting in the late 1970s.

Marcus Garvey Village, featuring townhouse-style three-story apartment buildings with front doors and gardens, was one such development intended to reduce crime and poverty. However, it instead became a base for a local gang, and poverty levels rose to 40%. Conversely, the East Brooklyn Congregations’ Nehemiah Housing, which also constructed buildings in East New York and Spring Creek, successfully helped residents find affordable housing with a good quality of life.

By the 1980s, the neighborhood’s crime rate had decreased somewhat. Many subsidized multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings were built on vacant lots across Brownsville’s 1,200-acre expanse. From 2000 to 2003, applications for residential construction in Brownsville increased sevenfold. By 2015, numerous community organizations had formed to improve the quality of life in parts of Brownsville, leading to the establishment of temporary markets and commercial developments in residential areas.

 

  • Geography and land use

Brownsville covers a total land area of 1.163 square miles (3.01 km²) and is within the ZIP Code 11212. Although it lacks official borders, Brownsville is generally defined by East New York Avenue to the north (bordering Ocean Hill); East 98th Street/Ralph Avenue to the west (adjacent to East Flatbush and Crown Heights); the freight rail Bay Ridge Branch of the Long Island Rail Road and Linden Boulevard to the south (near Canarsie); and Van Sinderen Avenue to the east (next to East New York). It is part of Brooklyn Community Board 16, which also includes Ocean Hill.

Residential development

As of 2008, Brownsville had a total of 28,298 housing units. The neighborhood is predominantly made up of various types of public housing developments, primarily concentrated in a small area bounded by Powell Street and Rockaway, Livonia, and Sutter Avenues. This area consists of multiple inward-facing developments located on six superblocks and represents the most densely concentrated area of public housing in the United States. NYCHA owns more housing units in Brownsville than any other neighborhood, with approximately one-third of the housing stock (around 10,000 units) spread across its 18 developments, which include over 100 buildings within 1 square mile (2.6 km²). In 2013, it was estimated that nearly 21,000 people lived in these housing developments. Many of these buildings, built in the mid-20th century, were deteriorating as of 2015. Some NYCHA developments are being converted into RAD PACT Section 8 Developments, where private developers partner with NYCHA to take over the developments and fund capital improvements. These conversions include Howard Avenue Houses, Seth Low Houses, Sutter Avenue-Union Houses, Tapscott Street Rehab Houses, Ralph Avenue Houses, 104-14 Tapscott Street Houses, and Lenox Road-Rockaway Parkway Houses.

Empty lots

Many of Brownsville’s empty lots have been transformed into community gardens, which are also common in nearby East New York. These gardens are maintained by various community groups and often planted with vegetables to provide food for residents. Originally intended to be temporary, these gardens filled lots that would have otherwise remained unused. In the 1990s, after a failed attempt to sell several abandoned lots that would have destroyed some of these gardens, city residents founded the New York City Community Garden Coalition to protect them.

Between 2013 and 2015, NYCHA sold developers 54 lots in Brownsville, totaling 441,000 square feet (41,000 m²). Some of these lots included parks or parking lots. In December 2014, the HPD issued requests for qualifications to identify developers who could build new affordable housing on 91 empty HPD-owned lots in Brownsville. Controversy arose when it was revealed that some of these lots were garden sites. As a result, the HPD rescinded approval to build on 34 garden sites in Brownsville, while nine other garden sites in the area were approved for redevelopment.

Points of interest

The Loews Pitkin, an opulent 85-foot-high (26 m), 2,827-seat movie theater built in 1929, was one of 22 theaters in the area; the others have either been demolished or converted into stores. Named after theater entrepreneur Marcus Loew, the Loews Pitkin fell into disuse by the 1970s but was revitalized in the late 2000s. Its decaying interior had been used as a church and a furniture store before Poko Partners purchased the space in 2008. They redeveloped it into a charter school and retail space for $43 million, responding to residents’ requests for more retail space. The renovation included opening a charter school in 2012 along with 60,000 square feet (5,600 m²) of retail space.

The NYPD’s 65th Precinct (originally the 73rd Precinct), built in 1901, covered most of the area until its closure in the mid-1980s. The old 65th Precinct building at 1546 East New York Avenue was sold to a family named Chen. In 2004, the Chens sold the building to Family Services Network of New York, a nonprofit organization funded by the state government. Family Services borrowed $1.1 million but failed to pay the mortgage. Despite their grandiose $3.8 million plan to rehabilitate the 65th Precinct building into a community center, it remained derelict as of 2012, with graffiti on the walls, garbage inside, and intact jail cells.

 

  • Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States Census, Brownsville had a population of 58,300, which represented a decrease of 799 (1.4%) from the 59,099 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 750.44 acres (303.69 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 77.7 inhabitants per acre (49,700/sq mi; 19,200/km²).

In terms of racial makeup, 76.1% (44,364) of the population identified as African American, 0.8% (471) as White, 0.3% (165) as Native American, 0.7% (416) as Asian, 0.3% (180) as belonging to other races, and 1.2% (703) as of two or more races. Hispanic or Latino individuals of any race made up 20.6% (11,983) of the population.

Regarding educational attainment, 29.9% of the population were high school graduates, while 8.4% held a bachelor’s degree or higher.

The entirety of Community Board 16, which includes Brownsville, had 84,525 inhabitants as of NYC Health’s 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 75.1 years. This figure is lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. The demographic distribution indicates that most residents are middle-aged adults and youth: 28% are between the ages of 0–17, 27% between 25 and 44, and 23% between 45 and 64. The proportion of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 11% and 12% respectively.

  • Police and crime

The NYPD’s 73rd Precinct is situated at 1470 East New York Avenue. NYCHA property in the area is patrolled separately by Police Service Area #2 (P.S.A. 2).

Brownsville has long held the unfortunate distinction of being considered the murder capital of New York City, with the 73rd Precinct ranking as the least safe out of all city precincts for per-capita crime in 2009. During that year, there were 3 murders per 10,000 residents, the highest rate in any neighborhood, resulting in a total of 28 murders in Brownsville. Overall, the 73rd Precinct ranked as the 66th safest out of 69 neighborhoods for overall crime.

Despite a decline in crime rates between 1990 and 2005, with significant drops in reports of murder, robberies, and felony assaults, Brownsville continued to face challenges in addressing crime. While crime rates decreased, they were not as dramatic as in other parts of the city. Incarceration rates in Brownsville were notably high, three times the city average, with a non-fatal assault rate also ranking highest among all neighborhoods in the city.

Social problems associated with poverty, including crime and drug addiction, have persisted in the area for decades. Although violent crime has decreased compared to its peak during previous epidemics, gang-related gun violence remains a significant concern. Vacant lots and unused storefronts are common due to high crime rates, particularly within public housing developments. Playground maintenance is often inadequate, with reports of broken lights and unlocked gates, contributing to an environment where shootings are not uncommon.

To combat crime, the NYPD implemented a stop-and-frisk program in the early 2000s, which proved controversial, especially in Brownsville. The program led to a high rate of stops and frisks in the neighborhood, with 93% of residents in one area reportedly being subjected to such actions, compared to a citywide rate of 7%.

Despite these challenges, serious crime per resident has been decreasing, with a notable decline from 2000 to 2011.

  • Fire safety

The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) operates Engine Company 231/Ladder Company 120/Battalion 44 and Engine Company 283/Division 15 in Brownsville. Additionally, a new FDNY facility spanning 21,000 square feet and costing $32 million was completed at 1815 Sterling Place in 2019. This facility, designed by the Chicago-based architectural firm Studio Gang, serves as both an FDNY training center and the firehouse for Rescue Company 2. Construction on the project began in July 2016, following its announcement in December 2015. The new facility replaced Rescue 2’s former location at 1472 Bergen Street in Crown Heights, a small building dating back to the 1920s which had housed Rescue 2 since 1985.

  • Parks, open spaces, and recreation

Parks

Just east of the Crown Heights–Utica Avenue subway station, bordering Crown Heights, lies Lincoln Terrace Park, also known as Arthur S. Somers Park. This park spans 21 acres and slopes gently toward the southern Brooklyn coastline. The land for Lincoln Terrace was purchased by the city between 1895 and 1897. During World War I, turrets were installed in parts of the park to deter aircraft from flying through the area in 1918. Additional land was acquired for the park through 1935, including parcels purchased from the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in 1928. Some streets were closed to accommodate the expanded parkland. Originally named after Abraham Lincoln, the western section of the park (west of Rockaway Parkway) was renamed after activist Arthur S. Somers in 1932, following his death that year. The park and its playgrounds were refurbished around the same time.

Betsy Head Park is situated on the north side of Livonia Avenue, bounded by Strauss Street and Thomas S. Boyland Street. Established in 1915, it is named after Betsy Head, a wealthy Briton who passed away in 1907. In 1936, a new Olympic-size swimming pool, one of 11 across the city, was added to Betsy Head Park as part of a Works Progress Administration project. In 2008, the Betsy Head Play Center was designated as the first individual city landmark in Brownsville by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Recreation

Brownsville boasts its own recreation facility, the Brownsville Recreation Center, situated at the corner of Linden Boulevard, Mother Gaston Boulevard, and Christopher Avenue. This center features indoor swimming pools, outdoor athletic fields, and a playground. Access to the indoor pools requires a NYC Parks pool membership, consistent with other indoor pools in the city. Originally opened in 1953 as the Brownsville Boys’ Club, the facility began as a modest “one-room clubhouse” affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Over the following years, the club managed to raise $1.5 million in funds, leading to the city’s establishment of a new recreation facility. Subsequent improvements were made to the center in the late 1990s and 2000s, including general repairs in 1996, heat and air conditioning refurbishments in 1998, and a significant $1.5 million renovation in 2008. This renovation involved installing a new playground, enhancing amenities such as benches and lighting, and replacing the athletic field with artificial turf.

Additionally, Brownsville is home to the renowned “Soul in the Hole” basketball court, recognized for its vibrant street basketball scene. Located in the Brownsville Houses along Rockaway Avenue between Riverdale and Livonia Avenues, the court has gained a reputation for hosting some of Brooklyn’s toughest streetball competitions. Notable players, such as Fly Williams, have graced the court with their skills, contributing to its legendary status.

Other open spaces

The traffic triangle located at the intersection of Pitkin and East New York Avenues and Legion Street was originally named Vanderveer Park after Peter L. Vandeveer, the former owner of the land comprising the triangle. Vanderveer generously donated the land in 1896. However, in 1911, it was renamed Zion Park in honor of the Jewish community. The Zion Park War Memorial, an imposing wall based on a design by sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey and architect Henry Beaumont Herts, was erected in the triangle and dedicated in 1925. Despite suffering significant vandalism during the 1970s, the monument was restored and cleaned up by the 1990s. Notably, the monument features a prominent Star of David, and its bas relief sculptures are mounted on a limestone stele and side pylons.

On the other hand, the Wyckoff Triangle, situated at the junction of New Lots, Riverdale, and Van Siclen Avenues, bears the name of local property owner Hendrick Wyckoff. Wyckoff played a role as a spy for the colonists during the American Revolutionary War. Through the 1920s, Wyckoff’s family maintained the park. Presently, it is privately maintained due to its small size, rendering it ineligible to be a public space under NYC Parks jurisdiction.

 

  • Politics and government

Brownsville is a staunchly Democratic area, with President Barack Obama winning what was nearly a unanimous vote in the neighborhood during the 2012 presidential campaign. The neighborhood falls within New York’s 9th congressional district, represented by Democrat Yvette Clarke since 2013. It is also part of the 20th State Senate district, represented by Democrat Zellnor Myrie, and the 55th State Assembly district, represented by Democrat Latrice Walker. At the city level, Brownsville is situated in New York’s 41st City Council district, represented by Democrat Darlene Mealy.

During the 2016 Democratic presidential primary, Hillary Rodham Clinton received 4,889 votes, representing 73.9% of the vote, while Bernie Sanders received 1,729 votes, or 26.1%. In contrast, Brownsville had very few Republican primary voters, with just 40 individuals casting ballots in the 2016 Republican primary.

  • Health care

Brownsville faces significant health disparities compared to the rest of New York City. In 2006, it had the highest infant mortality rate in the city, double the overall city rate. Preterm births and births to teenage mothers were also more common in Brownsville than citywide averages. Additionally, Brownsville had the lowest average lifespan in the city in 2015, with the average life expectancy remaining significantly below the city’s median lifespan in 2018.

The neighborhood has a high population of uninsured residents or those covered by Medicaid. Air pollution levels in Brownsville exceed citywide averages, and a notable percentage of residents are smokers. Rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure are higher in Brownsville than citywide averages, with childhood obesity rates also surpassing the city average.

While a significant portion of Brownsville residents consume fruits and vegetables daily, access to supermarkets is limited, with an abundance of bodegas instead. Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, located in the neighborhood, has faced issues of violence against hospital workers, leading to citations for failure to protect employees.

Moreover, Brownsville has one of the highest rates of psychiatric hospitalization in the city, along with a history of childhood lead exposure due to environmental lead, particularly from lead-based paint in deteriorating housing stock. These health challenges underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions and resources to address the complex health disparities faced by the Brownsville community.

  • Education

Brownsville grapples with significantly high dropout rates in its schools, alongside one of the highest concentrations of “persistently violent” schools in New York State. Five such schools were identified in Brownsville and East New York in the 2015–2016 list of most dangerous schools. To enhance security, students are required to pass through metal detectors and swipe ID cards to enter school buildings, a measure implemented following school shootings in East New York in 1991–1992.

Local schools also face challenges such as low test scores, with a large proportion of students scoring below grade level on state tests. Moreover, Brownsville exhibits a lower ratio of college-educated residents compared to the rest of the city. Although there has been an increase in the percentage of students excelling in reading and math over time, student homelessness rates in Brownsville are notably high, and the neighborhood has the highest rate of elementary school student absenteeism in New York City. Additionally, the on-time graduation rate for high school students in Brownsville is lower than the citywide average.

These educational disparities contribute to lower average educational attainment rates in Brownsville compared to the rest of the city, with fewer students continuing on to college. Addressing these challenges requires concerted efforts to improve school safety, academic performance, and support systems for students and families in the Brownsville community.

Schools

The New York City Department of Education oversees public schools in Brownsville, which serves a high population density. There are a total of 39 public and charter schools catering to elementary and middle school students in the area.

Among these are several numbered public primary schools, including P.S. 150 Christopher, P.S. 156 Waverly, P.S. 165 Ida Posner, P.S. 184 Newport, P.S. 189 Lincoln Terrace, P.S. 219 Kennedy-King, P.S. 284 Lew Wallace, P.S. 298, P.S. 327 Dr. Rose B English, P.S. 332 Charles H Houston School, I.S. 392, P.S. 396 Special Education School, P.S. 398 Walter Weaver, P.S. 41 Francis White, P.S. 770 New American Academy, and P.S/I.S. 323 Elementary School. Notably, until 2008, the neighborhood was also served by P.S. 183, the Daniel Chappie James Elementary School.

Additionally, there are three high schools in Brownsville. Two of these are housed in the same building at 226 Bristol Street. Teachers Preparatory School, which opened in September 2001, serves 6th through 12th graders, boasting a 99% minority enrollment. It received an “A” grade on both its middle school and high school report cards for 2008. Frederick Douglass Academy VII, which opened in September 2004, serves 9th through 12th grades with a similar 99% minority enrollment.

The third high school, Brownsville Academy, is a Diploma Plus transfer school catering to 10th through 12th grades and also has a 100% minority enrollment. It received a “Well Developed” score for 2008–2009 and a B grade on its 2007–2008 report card. Brownsville Academy, located at 1150 East New York Avenue, is relatively small, with 205 students as of 2016–2017.

Libraries

Brownsville is served by two branches of the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL). The Brownsville branch, situated at 61 Glenmore Avenue near Watkins Street, has been serving the community since 1905. Initially, it operated from a second-floor space in another building before moving to its current location in 1908. The branch spans 10,550 square feet and provides a variety of library services and resources to the neighborhood.

Another branch, the Stone Avenue branch, is located at 581 Mother Gaston Boulevard. Originally opened in 1914 as the Brownsville Children’s Library, it was one of the world’s first children’s libraries and one of the last Carnegie libraries built in Brooklyn. In 2014, the branch underwent renovation to enhance its facilities and services, continuing its legacy of providing valuable resources and programming to the Brownsville community.

  • Transportation

Public transportation

Brownsville benefits from robust public transportation options. The New York City Subway serves the neighborhood via the IRT New Lots Line (2, 3, 4, and 5 trains) and the BMT Canarsie Line (L train). The New Lots Line, running from Saratoga Avenue to Junius Street, falls squarely within Brownsville. Additionally, stations like Sutter Avenue–Rutland Road on the New Lots Line and those from Atlantic Avenue to New Lots Avenue on the Canarsie Line lie on the borders of Brownsville with East Flatbush and East New York, respectively.

However, a free transit connection between these lines doesn’t exist due to their origins under different subway companies. To address this, there are proposals to create a pedestrian bridge linking the Livonia Avenue station on the Canarsie Line to Junius Street station on the New Lots Line. This connection would offer a seamless transfer between the two lines, crucial for the neighborhood’s growing ridership and planned housing developments. Funds have been allocated in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 2015–2019 Capital Program for this project, which would also involve upgrading stations to comply with accessibility guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

Streets

The street grid in Brownsville generally aligns with the East New York street grid, characterized by north-south running streets. However, due to the slight diagonal orientation of the Canarsie street grid, ten streets extend into Brownsville. Notably, East 98th Street serves as a terminus for several main thoroughfares in central Brooklyn, including Church Avenue, Kings Highway, and Sutter Avenues.

Reflecting its Jewish heritage, the western portion of Brownsville features streets named after prominent figures in the Jewish community. For instance, Ames Street was renamed Herzl Street in 1913 in honor of Theodor Herzl, a notable writer and Zionist leader. This makes Herzl Street one of the few streets outside Israel named after Herzl. Nearby, Strauss Street, named after Nathan and Isidor Straus, former co-owners of Macy’s, commemorates Isidor’s tragic death on the RMS Titanic.

Pitkin Avenue, one of Brownsville’s main thoroughfares, derives its name from businessman John R. Pitkin of Connecticut, who played a significant role in developing East New York from 1835 onwards.

Originally named after Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Hopkinson Street was renamed in honor of State Assemblyman Thomas S. Boyland, who served the neighborhood until his passing in 1982. Various places in Brownsville, including schools and housing developments, are named after Boyland and his family members, who were prominent figures in local politics and represented the area in different levels of government.

  • In popular culture

The 1934 novel “Call It Sleep” by Henry Roth centers around the Schearl family’s relocation from Brownsville back to the Lower East Side. The protagonist, young David Schearl, grapples with the challenges of poverty in the Lower East Side, contrasting it with the perceived improvement of life in Brownsville. Roth’s portrayal highlights the stark realities of urban life and the struggles faced by immigrant families.

Similarly, Alfred Kazin delves into the atmosphere of 1920s-era Brownsville in his memoir “A Walker in the City.” Through his narrative, Kazin provides insights into the cultural and social dynamics of the neighborhood during that period, offering a glimpse into the lived experiences of its residents.

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