Park Slope Brooklyn

Early settlement

Though modern-day Brooklyn encompasses Kings County, it was not always this way. South Brooklyn, situated in central Kings County and extending to the former Brooklyn city line near the southern border of Green-Wood Cemetery, was originally inhabited by the Canarsee Indians, one of several indigenous Lenape peoples who engaged in farming and hunting on the land. The Lenape typically resided in wigwams and established larger fishing and hunting communities near freshwater sites on elevated terrain. Numerous Lenape roads traversed the landscape, which were later expanded into “ferry roads” by 17th-century Dutch settlers to facilitate transportation to the waterfront. Among these roads was the Flatbush Road, running approximately north–south to the east of present-day Flatbush Avenue, and the Jamaica Road, located just north of modern-day Park Slope and extending east to Jamaica, Queens, along what is now Fulton Street.

The first European settlement in the area occurred between 1637 and 1639 when Willem Kieft, the director of the Dutch West India Company, acquired nearly all the land in present-day Brooklyn and Queens. Over the subsequent two centuries, the area was predominantly utilized for farmland.

19th century

During the 1880s and 1890s, many grand Victorian mansions were constructed along Prospect Park West, a stretch famously referred to as the Gold Coast, to capitalize on the picturesque views of the park. Initially, the neighborhood went by various colloquial names such as “Prospect Heights” (later assigned to the area north of Prospect Park), “Prospect Hill”, and “Park Hill Side”, before residents ultimately settled on the name Park Slope.

With the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, Park Slope experienced a surge in growth, as subsequent construction of brick and brownstone buildings expanded the neighborhood’s boundaries. The 1890 census indicated that Park Slope was the wealthiest community in the United States. Realtors and community members attributed this prosperity to the neighborhood’s serene setting and quality of life. As described by the New York Tribune in 1899, “Nature placed the park in its current location, and man has enhanced her efforts by creating expansive lawns and artificial lakes, assembling menageries, constructing conservatories, developing roads and driveways, and undertaking various initiatives to transform the area into a delightful recreational area and a charming retreat.”

20th century to present

Following Brooklyn’s incorporation into the City of Greater New York in 1898 and intensifying during the 1910s, affluent and upper-middle-class families began to depart for suburban living. Initially, they relocated to outlying Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods like nearby Flatbush, and later ventured to more distant areas in Westchester County, Nassau County, and New Jersey, facilitated by the rise of automobiles. Manhattan gained increasing economic and cultural dominance within the consolidated city, aided by transportation enhancements such as the subway, which brought a more diverse population to Brooklyn. Existing families adapted by moving to exclusive districts in other boroughs, notably the Upper East Side. Consequently, Park Slope gradually transformed into a more working-class neighborhood as the expansive Victorian-era homes were subdivided into apartments and rooming houses.

These socioeconomic shifts were somewhat slowed by the ongoing construction of upscale apartment buildings on Prospect Park West and Plaza Street, as well as the development of middle-class housing throughout the neighborhood. However, only a portion of the area, primarily centered in the traditional Gold Coast district and adjacent blocks, retained affluent and upper-middle-class residents into the 1940s. One notable development, the Emery Roth-designed 35 Prospect Park West, intended to rival upscale Manhattan residences, opened in 1929 just before the Great Depression. While initially attracting wealthy tenants, it failed to catalyze similar upscale developments in the neighborhood.

By the 1950s, the neighborhood was predominantly inhabited by working-class Italian-American and Irish-American populations. However, demographic shifts occurred in the 1970s as the black and Latino population increased, and white ethnic residents began to relocate amid the postwar suburbanization trend. Additionally, the area near Flatbush and Washington Avenues between Prospect Park and Atlantic Avenue began to attract a population mainly composed of African-American and West Indian-American residents, leading to the emergence of Prospect Heights as a distinct neighborhood.

However, not all residents welcomed these demographic changes. Instances of racial tension and violence occurred, such as attempts to exclude African-Americans from participating in after-school programs and incidents of street fights between different ethnic groups. These events reflected broader social tensions and challenges during this period of demographic transition in Park Slope.

On December 16, 1960, a tragic event unfolded above Staten Island when two airliners collided, resulting in the deaths of 134 individuals in what was then the deadliest aviation disaster in the United States. One of the planes involved, a Douglas DC-8 operated by United Airlines, managed to stay airborne briefly before crashing near the intersection of Sterling Place and Seventh Avenue. Tragically, all occupants on board perished, with the exception of an 11-year-old boy named Stephen Baltz, who passed away the following night at New York Methodist Hospital. Additionally, six individuals on the ground lost their lives in the incident.

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a significant transformation took place in the neighborhood, catalyzed by the renovation of a brownstone along Berkeley Place, which cost approximately $4.8 million. This renovation initiative sparked a trend that led to the restoration of other brownstones in the area, gradually diminishing the neighborhood’s gritty reputation. Young professionals seized the opportunity to purchase and renovate these brownstones, which were relatively affordable at the time, typically priced between $15,000 and $35,000. Many of these properties were converted from rooming houses into single or two-family homes.

The efforts of preservationists played a crucial role in securing landmark status for numerous blocks featuring historic row houses, brownstones, and various architectural styles such as Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival, and Romanesque mansions. Following the establishment of the landmark district primarily above 7th Avenue in 1973, the pace of gentrification accelerated significantly. Throughout the 1970s, the neighborhood experienced an influx of young professional couples seeking to establish roots in this revitalized and historically rich community.