Williamsburg Brooklyn

Williamsburg’s subdivisions offer a diverse tapestry of communities. “South Williamsburg” is predominantly occupied by Yiddish-speaking Hasidim, notably the Satmar Hasidim, alongside a sizable Puerto Rican population. Just north of this area, divided by Division Street or Broadway, lies “Los Sures,” predominantly inhabited by Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. Further north, the “North Side” has traditionally been home to Polish and Italian residents. East Williamsburg, characterized by its industrial spaces, is a predominantly Italian American, African American, and Hispanic area situated between Williamsburg and Bushwick. Notably, South Williamsburg, the South Side, the North Side, Greenpoint, and East Williamsburg all fall within Brooklyn Community Board 1’s jurisdiction.

Ethnic communities
Hasidic Jewish community

Williamsburg is home to a significant population of Hasidic Jews, numbering around 57,000, with the headquarters of one faction of the Satmar Hasidic group located in the neighborhood. The presence of Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg dates back to the years preceding World War II when they, along with other religious and non-religious Jews, sought refuge from the challenging living conditions of Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Following the war, the area experienced an influx of Holocaust survivors, many of whom were Hasidic Jews from rural parts of Hungary and Romania.

Leaders such as the Rebbe of Satmar, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum, exerted considerable influence over the community, leading to the departure of many non-Hasidim, particularly non-Satmars. In the late 1990s, Jewish developers revitalized old warehouses and factories, converting them into housing units. This renovation effort led to the approval of more than 500 apartments in the years following 1997, with an area near Williamsburg’s border with Bedford-Stuyvesant being rezoned for affordable housing. Despite these developments, poverty rates remain high within the Jewish community in Williamsburg, prompting initiatives such as the opening of a kosher soup kitchen in 2009.

The Hasidic community in Williamsburg has a notably high birthrate, with families averaging around eight children. Economic opportunities are limited, with few individuals pursuing college degrees, and a significant portion of the community relies on public assistance programs like Section 8 housing vouchers. In fact, Williamsburg’s Jewish community has seen a surge in Section 8 housing voucher applications, raising questions about the legality of some of these applications. Despite these challenges, Williamsburg’s real estate market has become one of the most expensive in the city, fueled in part by substantial tax abatements provided by the City of New York to developers.

Italian-American community and Our Lady of Mount Carmel

A notable segment of the Italian community in Williamsburg, particularly on the North Side and East Side, consisted of immigrants from the city of Nola near Naples. These residents brought with them the tradition of celebrating the “Festa dei Gigli” (Feast of Lilies) every summer in honor of St. Paulinus of Nola, the fifth-century bishop of Nola. The festivities typically last for two weeks and revolve around Our Lady of Mount Carmel church, situated on Havemeyer and North 8th Streets. During this time, the surrounding streets come alive with vibrant celebrations of Italian culture.

Puerto Rican and Dominican community

On Williamsburg’s Southside, also referred to as “Los Sures” in Spanish, which encompasses the area south of Grand Street, there is a significant Puerto Rican and Dominican presence. Puerto Ricans began migrating to the area as early as the 1940s and 1950s, while Dominicans started arriving in the 1970s and 1980s. Many Puerto Ricans settled here after World War II, attracted by job opportunities at the nearby Brooklyn Navy Yard. Presently, the neighborhood still maintains a 27% Hispanic or Latino population, with Graham Avenue, stretching from Grand Street to Broadway, earning the moniker of the “Avenue of Puerto Rico.” Havemeyer Street is adorned with Hispanic-owned bodegas and barber shops. Despite the Southside hosting the highest concentration of Hispanics in Williamsburg, this population is spread throughout the neighborhood, reaching as far north as the Williamsburg-Greenpoint border.

Ethnic and inter-cultural tensions

Around 2 o’clock on November 7, 1854, a riot erupted between sheriffs and “some Irishmen” at the polling place of the First District, located at the corner of 2nd and North 6th streets, in Williamsburg. The conflict initiated when a deputy approached a citizen, sparking a physical altercation. Subsequently, eight or ten deputies began using clubs on a group of “about one hundred Irishmen,” leading to a half-hour-long melee and numerous injuries.

Before Williamsburg underwent corporatization in the new millennium, the district frequently experienced tension between its Hasidic community and its black and Hispanic populations. In response to the escalating crime rates in the area, the Hasidim established a volunteer patrol organization known as “Shomrim” (“guardians” in Hebrew) to conduct citizens’ arrests and monitor criminal activities. However, over time, the Shomrim have faced accusations of racism and brutality toward black and Hispanic individuals. In 2009, Yakov Horowitz, a member of Shomrim, was charged with assault for allegedly striking a Latino adolescent on the nose with his Walkie Talkie. Additionally, in 2014, five members of the Hasidic community, including at least two Shomrim members, were arrested in connection with the December 2013 “gang assault” of a black gay man.

Arts community
Visual arts and interdisciplinary culture

In the 1970s, the first wave of artists migrated to Williamsburg, attracted by its affordable rents, spacious floor plans, and accessible transportation. This trend continued into the 1980s and gained momentum in the 1990s as previously affordable neighborhoods like SoHo and the East Village became gentrified by wealthier residents. During the 1990s, a new wave of artists, known as the Brooklyn Immersionists, emerged, focusing on blending art and music in the streets, rooftops, and industrial warehouses near the waterfront in Williamsburg.

The social and environmental activism of the Immersionists garnered attention from major arts publications and media outlets, including The Drama Review, Flash Art, Wired, The New York Times, The New Yorker, Domus, The Guggenheim Museum CyberAtlas, Die Zeit, Newsweek, and Fuji Television. Several significant art history books have also documented the work of artists associated with the Immersionist movement.

Musical community

Williamsburg has emerged as a vibrant hub for live music, serving as a breeding ground for new bands and artists. From the late 1980s through the late 1990s, numerous unlicensed performance spaces, theaters, and music venues thrived in abandoned industrial buildings and other unconventional locations throughout the neighborhood. These venues became focal points for a diverse mix of artists, musicians, and urban underground culture, hosting late-night music, dance, and performance events.

The area surrounding the Bedford Avenue subway station became particularly renowned for its vibrant cultural scene. However, these venues often faced challenges, with occasional interruptions and temporary closures by the fire department due to safety concerns. Despite these hurdles, the music and arts culture in Williamsburg continued to flourish, attracting both local and international talent.

Theatre and cinema

In the 1990s, Williamsburg witnessed the emergence of numerous experimental media groups and street theater troupes that intentionally integrated their screens and interactive performances into social and physical environments. These Immersionist groups included the Floating Cinema, Fake Shop, Nerve Circle, The Outpost, Ocularis, The Pedestrian Project, and Hit and Run Theater. Galapagos Art Space, established in Williamsburg in 1996, served as a venue for the Ocularis media collective’s roof screenings and played a significant role in showcasing New Burlesque theater. Additionally, Williamsburg is home to indie theater spaces like the Brick Theater. The Williamsburg Independent Film Festival, founded in 2010, further highlights the neighborhood’s vibrant arts scene. Moreover, Williamsburg boasts the Williamsburg Cinemas, a first-run multiplex theater that opened its doors on December 19, 2012.

Effects of corporate subsidization

The landscape of Williamsburg changed dramatically in the late 1990s as the City of New York began rezoning the area in favor of large developers, marking a significant shift from the era of low rents that initially attracted artists to the neighborhood. This transformation was further facilitated by the city’s provision of billions of dollars in tax abatements to developers. Russ Buettner and Ray Rivera highlighted in the New York Times that Mayor Michael Bloomberg played a pivotal role in this process, loosening the reins on development across the boroughs since 2001. Buettner and Rivera noted that Bloomberg’s administration allocated a staggering $16 billion in financing to foster commercial development. Comptroller William C. Thompson criticized the mayor’s approach, emphasizing the focus on large developments that benefited favored builders through wasteful subsidies. The controversial example of the new Yankee Stadium was cited during debates, with Thompson denouncing it as yet another instance of the mayor’s giveaway to his developer allies in the city.