Brooklyn Heights

Brooklyn Heights is a cozy neighborhood in the part of New York City called Brooklyn. It sits close to the famous Brooklyn Bridge and has many old, beautiful houses made of brownstone. People have lived there since the early 1800s when it was called Brooklyn Village. Today, it is known for its special historic area and quiet streets.

The area grew when ferry services began, making it easy for people to travel to Manhattan. Many streets there are named after the people who helped build the neighborhood. You can still see old churches and important places like Brooklyn’s first art gallery, which opened in 1958.

Brooklyn Heights is close to subway trains and ferries, so it is easy to reach from other parts of the city. One of its most famous streets, Columbia Heights, is known for its nice homes and views. The neighborhood is looked after by local police and fire stations to keep everyone safe.

History

Early settlement

Brooklyn Heights sits on a high area that rises sharply from the river. Before Dutch settlers arrived in the 1600s, the local Lenape people called this place "the high sandy bank."

Ferries across the East River started as early as 1642, helping farms in the area grow. The area became more fortified before the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War. After a tough battle, General George Washington led his troops safely away by crossing the East River.

Development

Brooklyn Heights started to grow after regular ferry service began in 1814, thanks to Robert Fulton. Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont, a major landowner, supported this and planned to sell his land to people from Manhattan. He built a mansion and helped create the street layout. By the mid-1800s, many houses were built, making Brooklyn Heights a popular place to live, especially after a yellow fever outbreak in Manhattan.

20th century

The Brooklyn Bridge, finished in 1883, made it easier to travel to Brooklyn Heights. Subways arrived in 1908, bringing more people but also changes to the neighborhood. Over time, many large homes were turned into smaller apartments.

In the 1940s and 1950s, a major highway was built, changing the area. Community groups worked together to create a beautiful walkway called the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, offering great views of the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan.

By the mid-1950s, people started restoring old houses, leading to the neighborhood being named a historic district in 1965. This helped make Brooklyn Heights a popular and attractive place to live.

21st century

Brooklyn Bridge Park began construction in 2008 along the East River. By 2018, it was almost finished and fully renovated by the time you read this. A special bridge to connect the park to Brooklyn Heights was built in 2013 but had to be torn down and replaced in 2020. Today, the neighborhood is home to many famous people.

Brooklyn Heights Within Pop Culture

Music

Bob Dylan wrote about Brooklyn Heights in his song "Tangled Up in Blue." He mentioned living on Montague street in the song.

Television

Brooklyn Heights has been a location in many TV shows and movies. Some well-known shows include CBS's FBI (2018), FBI Most Wanted (2020), and ABC's Gemini (2026).

Architecture and places of interest

Brooklyn Heights is known for its beautiful rowhouses and a few large homes. You can see many different styles of buildings there, like Greek Revival, Italianate, and Victorian Gothic. Most of these houses were built using brownstone or a special reddish-brown stone.

These rowhouses usually have three or four stories. The main floor is reached by a small set of stairs called a "stoop." The first floor has living rooms, the second floor has bedrooms, and the top floor was for servants. Many of these houses have private gardens in the back. Some very large homes, called mansions, can be found along certain streets.

Brooklyn Heights has many old houses, with over 600 built before the Civil War. This makes it feel like a friendly neighborhood. There are only a few tall buildings here, such as 75 Livingston Street and the Hotel St. George.

The area is also home to important places like Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Cathedral. Other notable spots include the First Unitarian Congregational Society and Packer Collegiate Institute.

Historic district

A large part of Brooklyn Heights is a historic district, recognized for its well-preserved buildings from the 1800s. It became a National Historic Landmark District in 1965 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Demographics

Based on data from the 2010 United States census, Brooklyn Heights had a population of 22,887 people. The neighborhood covers an area of 235.86 acres, with a population density of 97 people per acre.

The racial makeup was 75.2% White, 5.5% African American, 0.2% Native American, 8.8% Asian, and smaller percentages from other races and two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people made up 7.3% of the population.

The area is part of Community Board 2, which includes Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene. As of 2018, this board had 117,046 inhabitants, with an average life expectancy of 80.6 years. Most people here are middle-aged adults and younger, with fewer college-aged and elderly residents. In 2016, the median household income was $56,599, and in 2018, about 22% of residents lived in poverty. Rent burden was also lower compared to the rest of New York City.

Police and crime

Brooklyn Heights is watched over by the 84th Precinct of the NYPD, based at 301 Gold Street. In 2010, this area was considered the 60th-safest out of 69 areas in the city. By 2018, the number of serious crimes had dropped a lot compared to the 1990s.

In 2018, the area had fewer violent crimes than the city overall. Some types of crime, like stealing and breaking into places, were more common here.

Fire safety

Brooklyn Heights has two fire stations to keep the neighborhood safe. Engine Co. 205/Ladder Co. 118 is at 74 Middagh Street and helps the northern part of the neighborhood. Engine Co. 224 is at 274 Hicks Street and serves the southern part.

There is also a third fire station nearby in Fort Greene at 172 Tillary Street.

Health

Brooklyn Heights and nearby Fort Greene have fewer early births and fewer births to teenage mothers compared to the rest of New York City. The area also has a smaller number of residents without health insurance.

The air in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene has less harmful particles than the city average. Fewer people in this area smoke, and there are also lower rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure compared to citywide numbers. Most people in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene eat fruits and vegetables daily and feel their health is good or better.

Post offices and ZIP Code

Brooklyn Heights is part of ZIP Code 11201. The United States Post Office has two places nearby: the Cadman Plaza Station at 271 Cadman Plaza East, and the DUMBO Automated Postal Center at 84 Front Street.

Education

Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene have more people with college educations than most of New York City. About 64% of people there have gone to college or have even higher education. This is much higher than the rest of Brooklyn or the whole city.

Children in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene are doing well in school. More students are getting better at math and reading than before. Most high school students finish their studies on time, just like the rest of the city.

Schools

Some well-known schools in Brooklyn Heights include St. Ann's School and Packer Collegiate Institute. There is also Public School 8, known as The Emily Warren Roebling School, where students learn math, reading, social studies, science, and enjoy arts classes. St. Francis College is a college with students from many countries, and Brooklyn Law School is also located here.

Libraries

The Brooklyn Public Library has a branch in Brooklyn Heights. The library has moved a few times over the years but is now in a new building. The first library in Brooklyn Heights opened a long time ago in 1857.

Transportation

Brooklyn Heights has many subway services. You can take the A and C trains at High Street, the A, C, F, N, R, and W trains at Jay Street–MetroTech, and several other trains at Clark Street and Borough Hall/Court Street.

Though no buses stop directly in Brooklyn Heights, many bus routes are close by in Downtown Brooklyn. The NYC Ferry began stopping at Brooklyn Bridge Park in June 2017, at Piers 1 and 6 in Brooklyn Heights.

Street names

Many streets in Brooklyn Heights are named after important people from the neighborhood's past.

Some streets are named for U.S. presidents, like Adams Street for John Adams and Monroe Place for James Monroe. Others honor local leaders and families, such as Clinton Street for DeWitt Clinton and Pierrepont Street for Hezekiah Pierrepont, who helped establish the area.

There are also streets with interesting stories behind their names. For example, Fulton Street and Old Fulton Street honor Robert Fulton, who started steam ferry service to Manhattan. Some streets, like the "fruit streets" — Cranberry, Orange, and Pineapple Streets — had their names changed more than once over time.

Notable people

Brooklyn Heights has been home to many famous people over the years. Some well-known residents include:

• W. H. Auden (1907–1973), a famous poet
• Haley Bennett (born 1988), an actress, singer, and dancer
• Matthew Barney (born 1967), an artist
• John R. Bartels (1897–1997), a judge
• Henry Ward Beecher (1813–1887), a clergyman and social reformer
• Edet Belzberg, a documentary filmmaker
• Paul Bettany (born 1971), an actor
• Björk (born 1965), a musician
• Alexis Bledel (born 1981), an actress
• Emily Blunt (born 1983), an actress
• Lee Breuer (1937–2021), a playwright and theater director
• Benjamin Britten (1913–1976), a composer
• Joseph Brodsky (1940–1996), a poet and Nobel Prize winner
• Gabriel Byrne (born 1950), an actor
• Truman Capote (1924–1984), an author
• Ron Chernow (born 1949), a Pulitzer prize-winning author and historian
• Jennifer Connelly (born 1970), an actress
• Barbara Cooney (1917–2000), a writer and illustrator
• Matt Damon (born 1970), an actor
• Adam Driver (born 1983), an actor known for Star Wars
• W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963), a sociologist and civil rights activist
• Lena Dunham (born 1986), an actress, writer, and director
• William Everdell (born 1941), a historian and author
• Elizabeth Gaffney (born 1966), a novelist
• Paul Giamatti (born 1967), an actor
• Hetty Green (1834–1916), a businesswoman
• Lucas Hedges (born 1996), an actor
• Peter Hedges (born 1962), a novelist and filmmaker
• Alice Recknagel Ireys (1911–2000), a landscape architect
• John Krasinski (born 1979), an actor
• Philip Levine (1928–2015), a poet
• Joe Lhota (born 1954), a public servant and former politician
• Philip Livingston (1716–1778), a lawyer and one of New York's signers of the Declaration of Independence
• H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937), a writer
• James Lyons (1960–2007), a film editor and actor
• Norman Mailer (1923–2007), a novelist
• Carson McCullers (1917–1967), a writer
• Arthur Miller (1915–2005), a playwright
• Henry Miller (1891–1980), an author
• Mary Tyler Moore (1936–2017), an actress
• Errol Morris (born 1948), a film director
• Mary-Louise Parker (born 1964), an actress and writer
• Joseph Pennell (1857–1926), a painter
• Suzanne Pleshette (1937–2008), an actress
• John Podhoretz (born 1961), a commentator
• Ernest Poole (1880–1950), a novelist
• James Purdy (1914–2009), a novelist and poet
• Marky Ramone (born 1952), a musician and former drummer of the Ramones
• John A. Roebling II (1867–1952), an engineer and philanthropist
• Keri Russell (born 1976), an actress
• Amy Ryan (born 1968), an actress
• Mia Sara (born 1967), an actress
• Amy Schumer (born 1981), a comedian and actress
• Louis Sheaffer (1912–1993), a journalist and author
• Oliver Smith (1918–1984), a stage designer
• Dan Stevens (born 1982), an actor
• Sigrid Undset (1882–1949), a Norwegian author
• John Utendahl (born 1962), an investment banker
• Andrew VanWyngarden (born 1983), a musician with MGMT
• Walt Whitman (1819–1892), a poet
• Michelle Williams (born 1980), an actress
• Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), a novelist
• Adam Yauch (1964–2012), a founding member of the Beastie Boys
• Louis Zukofsky (1904–1978), a poet

In popular culture

The neighborhood of Brooklyn Heights has been featured in many TV shows and movies. The 1960s TV show The Patty Duke Show mentioned Brooklyn Heights in its theme song. The 1975 movie Three Days of the Condor, starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway, had a character living there. The 1977 horror film The Sentinel showed scenes from the area. Brooklyn Heights was also the home of the Huxtable family in The Cosby Show, and was the setting for the 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck. Canadian drag queen Brooke Lynn Hytes took part of his name from this neighborhood.