Midwood | |
|---|---|
_01_-_1601_Kings_Highway.jpg) Kings Highway and East 16th Street in Midwood | |
 Location in New York City | |
| Coordinates:40°37′23″N73°57′43″W / 40.623°N 73.962°W /40.623; -73.962 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New York |
| City |  New York City |
| Borough |  Brooklyn |
| Community District | Brooklyn 14[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.33 km2 (1.29 sq mi) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 54,637 |
| • Density | 16,400/km2 (42,500/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP Codes | 11210, 11230 |
| Area code | 718, 347, 929, and917 |
Midwood is aneighborhood in the south-central part of theNew York Cityborough ofBrooklyn. It is bounded on the north by theBay Ridge Branch tracks just above Avenue I and by theBrooklyn College campus of theCity University of New York, and on the south by Avenue P andKings Highway. The eastern border consists of parts ofNostrand Avenue,Flatbush Avenue, and Coney Island Avenue; parts ofMcDonald Avenue andOcean Parkway mark the western boundary.[2]
Midwood is part ofBrooklyn Community District 14, and its primaryZIP Codes are 11210 and 11230.[1] It is patrolled by the 70th Precinct of theNew York City Police Department.[3] Politically, Midwood is represented by theNew York City Council's 44th, 45th, and 48th districts.[4]
| New Netherland series |
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| Exploration |
| Fortifications: |
| Settlements: |
| The Patroon System |
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| People of New Netherland |
| Flushing Remonstrance |
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The name "Midwood" derives from theMiddle DutchMidwout (middle woods;Modern Dutch: Midwoud), the name the settlers ofNew Netherland called the area of dense woodland midway between the towns ofBoswyck (Bushwick) andBreukelen (Brooklyn). Jan Snedeker, Jan Stryker, andTomys Swartwout solicited fromDirector-General Stuyvesant the right of settling together on a level area of wilderness (vlacke bosch, the flat bush), adjacent to the outlying farms atBreukelen andNieuw Amersfoort. Through Swartwout's suggestion, the settlement was named the village of Midwout orMidwolde. In April 1655, Stuyvesant and the Council of New Netherland appointed Swartwout aschepen (magistrate), to serve with Snedeker and Adriaen Hegeman as the Court of Midwout.[5]
Later, it became part of old Flatbush, situated between the towns ofGravesend andFlatlands.[6]
Settlement was begun by the Dutch in 1652;[5][6] they later gave way to the English, who conquered it in 1664, but the area remained rural and undeveloped for the most part until its annexation to theCity of Brooklyn in the 1890s. It became more developed in the 1920s when largemiddle class housing tracts and apartment buildings were built.[7]
Many residents refer to Midwood as "Flatbush", or as being "part ofFlatbush", an older and more established neighborhood and former township, which in the 19th century included modern Midwood. The usage of Flatbush to mean Midwood dates to the period when the neighborhood was first formed, and known as South Greenfield.[8]
Many also consider the nearby neighborhood ofFiske Terrace/Midwood Gardens to be part of Midwood, but, as in many cities, neighborhood boundaries in Brooklyn are somewhat fluid and poorly defined.
Based on data from the2020 United States Census, the population of Midwood was 52,835. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 73.6%White, 11.8%Asian, 7.6%Hispanic/Latino, 4.6%Black and 2.4% Other. There were 16% of residents over the age of 65.[9]
The entirety of Community Board 14, which comprises Flatbush and Midwood, had 165,543 inhabitants as ofNYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.4 years.[10]: 2, 20 This is slightly higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[11]: 53 (PDF p. 84) [12] Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 25% are between the ages of 0–17, 29% between 25–44, and 24% between 45–64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 13% respectively.[10]: 2
As of 2016, the medianhousehold income in Community Board 14 was $56,599.[13] In 2018, an estimated 22% of Flatbush and Midwood residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 57% in Flatbush and Midwood, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Flatbush and Midwood are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and notgentrifying.[10]: 7
The main shopping streets in the area areKings Highway, Avenue J, Avenue M,Flatbush Avenue,Nostrand Avenue, andConey Island Avenue.
In the 1950s through the 1970s, Kings Highway hadDubrow's Cafeteria, a classic cafeteria where holes would be punched in patrons' printed tickets, which would total the cost of the meal. In his run for theWhite House,Democratic presidential candidateJohn F. Kennedy held a campaign rally just outside Dubrow's Cafeteria. Years later, his brother SenatorRobert F. Kennedy ("Bobby") held a similar campaign rally there for his run for President.
In the fall of 2008, the NYCDOT planned to implement an experimental congestion parking plan in the Kings Highway Business District, which would have raised parking meter rates from 75 cents to as much as $2.50 an hour. Specific streets were not then designated.[14]
Kings Highway is currently anchored by several chain stores and multiple ethnic food stores. Unique businesses include several high fashion outlets, jewelry stores, and sushi restaurants.
The first OriginalCrazy Eddie store was located on Kings Hwy., then moved to larger quarters just south of Kings Highway on Coney Island Avenue.
Nostrand Avenue was known for fashionable boutiques and took its place as one of New York's most upscale shopping destinations (even being the cover story of New York Magazine as a secret oasis for fashion). Once a distribution warehouse for a clothing line, Burton's started opening its doors to the public in 1956 for one-off sales events to reduce inventory. Seeing the success of Burtons, Bernie Greenstone and his wife Margarette decided to find a small retail space on the block, located between Avenues M and N to open the soon-to-be famous Children’s clothing store, "Greenstone's" which was first established in 1919 by Margarette's parents until their retirement. Using the same name Greenstone's opened in 1956 and operated at 2750 Nostrand Avenue for 37 years - expanding 3 times. Burtons decided to open 6 days a week (Mon-Sat) and Greenstone's followed suit. Shortly thereafter other stores opened, such as Edna Nelken's Jewelry, The Shirtbox, The Bounty Shop menswear and dozens of other high fashion stores.The block continued to flourish until Burton's - the largest of the stores - closed citing union labor costs. Burton's lay dormant until the Plaza Honda and Oldsmobile showroom opened. This automotive retail entry made parking virtually impossible for customers to find parking spaces and eventually stores closed and Plaza expanded by taking over virtually all retail space on both sides of the Avenue. Greenstone's closed, but Greenstones et Cie (Greenstones & Co.) still exists on Columbus Avenue and West 82nd Street in Manhattan - counting as one of New York City's longest operating children's clothing stores in New York ... from 1919 until today.
As retailers retired, the street changed and became known for its automobile showrooms. A U.S. Postal Service facility (Zip Code 11210) can be found on Nostrand Avenue between Avenues I and J.
Avenue J is a major business street in Midwood, with manykosher restaurants,deli, pizzerias, and butchers.
Avenue M, another one of the major business streets of Midwood, is a central location for kosher food and butchers. While in the past it was home to Cookie's, one of Brooklyn's best known restaurants and hang-outs (also popular with the NBC studio staff), today there are no fewer than ten kosher restaurants and three kosher bakeries. From the 1920s through the 1940s, theDorman Square Restaurant was popular with theVitagraph studios employees, as well as playing a role in a Vitagraph film or two.
Until the 1970s, Avenue M hadits own movie theater. One of Brooklyn's Italian restaurants, Restaurant Bonaparte, also catered to the actors and actresses working on Avenue M in the NBC studios at that time. Restaurant Bonaparte was known for its "Three Musketeers".[clarification needed] It also had a wishing well fountain in its lobby entrance, filled with customers' coins. The Avenue hasan elevated subway station. Near the end of June each year, the Midwood Development Corporation hosts the popular Midwood Mardi Gras Street Fair along the Avenue, from East 12th Street to Ocean Avenue.
Shoppers can find a municipal muni-meter parking lot on East 17th Street at Chestnut Avenue just north of Avenue M. Many of the retail businesses are closed on Jewish holidays.
On Coney Island Avenue in Midwood, primarily between Avenue H and Avenue P, are the U.S. Postal Service Midwood station (Zip Code 11230),The Kent Triplex Movie Theater, and other retailers.
Between Avenue O and Quentin Road areTurkish restaurants and ahookah bar.
The United States' largest kosher supermarket opened at the corner of Avenue L and Coney Island Avenue in August 2008.[15]
Ocean Parkway is a major tree-lined[16] Brooklynboulevard, largely featuring apartment houses. It is not a shopping district. Local one-way traffic lanes are separated from the main roadway by bicycle lanes and running paths.[17] Most avenues continue from one side to the other; Avenue K doesn't. Ryder Avenue and Roder do neither: Though they are the same one-way road, their names differ by one letter. Ryder begins at McDonald Avenue, reaches Ocean Parkway, disappears on the opposite for one short block, then continues as Roder, ending at Coney Island Avenue.[18]
Midwood had several movie theaters, now mostly closed:
The Avalon Theater opened on January 25, 1928, and was located on Kings Highway at the southwest corner of East 18th Street. Originally built by a local Brooklyn company as the Piccadilly, it was sold prior to opening toLoews Theaters, which changed the name to Avalon. Designed by Samuel Cohen, the combined auditoriums (the main or lobby floor and the upstairs or balcony) seated 2,119 which included on the lobby floor a separate seating for children. It also featured aRobert Morton theatre pipe organ. Within a year of opening, it became part of the Century Theatres chain.
_01_-_Former_Avalon_Theater_(1720_Kings_Highway).jpg)
The theater closed in 1982, and the building now houses aWalgreens on the ground floor, and offices on the upper floors.[22]
The area east of Ocean Avenue is also known as "East Midwood". The volunteer ambulance service serving Midwood is Flatbush Hatzoloh. The nearest hospitals are Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital (formerly New York Community Hospital) and Mount Sinai Brooklyn, both on Kings Highway. Both are certified "9-1-1 FDNY-EMS" receiving emergency facilities. One of Brooklyn's last remaining farms was located on the site of the apartment complex at 1279 East 17th St. (just north of Ave. M) until it was torn down in the mid-1960s.
Parks include Kolbert Park and the Rachel Haber Cohen Playground and adjacent handball andbasketball courts,[23] nearEdward R. Murrow High School, and the track andplaying fields ofBrooklyn College andMidwood High School.
Friends Field at East Second Street and Avenue L features baseball diamonds and tennis courts. Just opposite the field is theErasmus Hall High School football field (closed to the public when not in use).
The sprawling square block-longMidwood High School Field (East 16th–17th Street at Avenues K-L) features handball courts, tennis courts, a runners track and a field used for football, rugby and soccer. On June 2, 1958, aMaccabiah event was held at the field, at which Olympic weightlifting championIsaac Berger, U.S. racewalking championHenry Laskau, and Olympic hammer throw competitorMarty Engel gave exhibitions.[24] Students from adjacentEdward R. Murrow High School also use the field during school hours.
There are two public pedestrian plazas in Midwood:
Midwood is patrolled by the 70th Precinct of theNYPD, located at 154 Lawrence Avenue.[3] The 70th Precinct ranked 30th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[33] As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 42 per 100,000 people, Flatbush and Midwood's rate ofviolent crimes per capita was less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 372 per 100,000 people was lower than that of the city as a whole.[10]: 8
The 70th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 89.1% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 27 rapes, 162 robberies, 273 felony assaults, 173 burglaries, 527 grand larcenies, and 75 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[34]
TheNew York City Fire Department (FDNY)'s Engine Co. 276/Ladder Co. 156/Battalion 33, which serves Midwood, is located at 1635 East 14th Street.[35][36]
As of 2018[update],preterm births are more common in Flatbush and Midwood than in other places citywide, though births to teenage mothers are less common. In Flatbush and Midwood, there were 99 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 17.1 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[10]: 11 Flatbush and Midwood has a relatively high population of residents who areuninsured, or who receive healthcare throughMedicaid.[37] In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 16%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[10]: 14
The concentration offine particulate matter, the deadliest type ofair pollutant, in Flatbush and Midwood is 0.0077 milligrams per cubic metre (7.7×10−9 oz/cu ft), lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages.[10]: 9 Ten percent of Flatbush and Midwood residents aresmokers, which is slightly lower than the city average of 14%.[10]: 13 In Flatbush and Midwood, 28% of residents areobese, 13% arediabetic, and 31% havehigh blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.[10]: 16 21% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[10]: 12
Eighty percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 77% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", slightly less than the city's average of 78%.[10]: 13 For every supermarket in Flatbush and Midwood, there are 21bodegas.[10]: 10
Hospitals in Midwood includeMount Sinai Brooklyn andNew York Community Hospital. Additionally,SUNY Downstate Medical Center is located in nearby Flatbush.[37]
Midwood is covered by twoZIP Codes: 11230 west of East 21st Street and 11210 east of East 21st Street.[38] TheUnited States Postal Service operates three post offices nearby:
Midwood is a diverse multi-ethnic and multi-religious neighborhood; however, the neighborhood is predominantly Jewish.
In the 1980s and 1990s, a wave ofOrthodox Jews moved into the area fromBorough Park, attracted by Midwood's large homes and tree-lined streets. Today, in addition toAshkenazicOrthodox Jews, the area is home to a burgeoningSephardic population. Along Kings Highway from Coney Island to McDonald Avenues are many Middle Eastern style restaurants and take-out food shops.
TheEast Midwood Jewish Center, a Conservative synagogue, was founded in 1924. The building, located onOcean Avenue, is a 1929Renaissance revival structure with a capacity of 950 in the main sanctuary. It was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 2006.[42][43] TheKingsway Jewish Center is an historic synagogue from the 1950s on Nostrand Avenue. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.[44]
There are several branches ofTouro College there, a college that was started in 1970. Midwood is also home to several large orthodox synagogues, including Congregation Beth Torah,[45] the Young Israel of Midwood,[46] Agudas Yisroel Bais Binyomin of Avenue L,[47] Congregation Talmud Torah of Flatbush,[48] Beis Medrash Ahavas Dovid Apsha under the leadership of Rabbi Shmuel Dovid Beck Shlita - The Apsha Rav, the minyan factory[49] known asLandau's Shul (offeringminyanim every 15 minutes on an average day[50]), RabbiAvraham Schorr's former synagogue, known as Khal Tiferes Yaakov on East 15th Street and Avenue L, theBostoner Rebbe on Avenue J, Steinwurtzels, the Young Israel of Avenue J,[51] the Agudah of Midwood, and several Syrian Orthodox synagogues.[52] Synagogues based out of homes, calledshtiebelach, are also common.
In November 2009, theMetropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, a beneficiary agency of theUJA-Federation of New York, partnered withMasbia to open akoshersoup kitchen onConey Island Avenue.[53]
There are manyyeshivos in Midwood. These include theMirrer Yeshiva,Yeshiva Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin,Yeshiva Toras Emes Kaminetz,Mosdos Veretzky, Yeshiva of Brooklyn, Yeshiva Ohr Naftali, Yeshiva Tiferes Shmuel, Yeshivas Ohr Yisrael, Yeshivas Vyelipol, Yeshiva Ateret Torah, Yeshivat Mikdash Melech, andYeshivas Beis Yosef Novardok.
St. Brendan's Parish andOur Lady Help of Christians are twoRoman Catholic Church congregations located in Midwood. TheChurch of the Three HierarchsGreek Orthodox serves the Greek residents of the community. TheEpiscopalChurch of the Epiphany also serves the community.
The area around Newkirk Avenue has one of the largest mosques in Brooklyn, theMuslim Community Center of Brooklyn, also known as Makki Masjid.[54]
Flatbush and Midwood generally has a similar ratio of college-educated residents to the rest of the city as of 2018[update]. Though 43% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 18% have less than a high school education and 39% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher.[10]: 6 The percentage of Flatbush and Midwood students excelling in math rose from 43 percent in 2000 to 68 percent in 2011, though reading achievement remained steady at 48% during the same time period.[55]
Flatbush and Midwood's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is about equal to the rest of New York City. In Flatbush and Midwood, 18% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days perschool year, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students.[11]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [10]: 6 Additionally, 75% of high school students in Flatbush and Midwood graduate on time, equal to the citywide average of 75% of students.[10]: 6
Midwood contains the following public schools operated by theNew York City Department of Education:[56]
Private schools include:[56]
Colleges include:
TheBrooklyn Public Library (BPL) has two branches in Midwood. The Midwood branch is located at 975 East 16th Street near Avenue J. It was founded in 1912 and relocated several times before moving to its current location. The branch was rebuilt in the 1950s and again in 1998, and a public plaza was built in 2013.[64]
The Kings Highway branch is located at 2115 Ocean Avenue near Kings Highway. It was founded in 1910 and initially occupied several storefronts. When it moved to its current location in 1954, it became the first BPL branch library to be built by the New York City government. The library was renovated in 2009 and now contains a reading room in the basement and a passport office.[65]
The area is served by theNew York City Subway'sBMT Brighton Line (B and Q trains),IND Culver Line (F and <F> trains), and theIRT Nostrand Avenue Line (2 and 5 trains).[66]
MTA New York City Transit routes serving the community include theQ35,B2,B6,B7,B9,B11,B31,B41,B44,B44 SBS,B49,B68,B82,B82 SBS,B100 andB103 local buses and theBM1,BM3 andBM4 express buses.[67]
Midwood has long played a part in both film and television production. Thefilm industry established itself in the neighborhood in 1907, when theVitagraph company occupied studios at 1277 East 14th near Avenue M. Scenes from films likeHey Pop andBuzzin' Around, starringFatty Arbuckle, were filmed on streets in Midwood.[68]Warner Bros. purchased the studio in the 1920s, using it for short subjects, and moved the studio operation toHollywood in 1939.[69] A large smokestack bearing the name "Vitagraph" is still on the property, visible from theBMT Brighton Line. Many Vitagraph employees resided within the community.
TheBrooklyn Historical Society and the Museum of the Moving Image (Astoria, New York) have collections on the Vitagraph Studios. An old vintage aerial photograph of the Vitagraph complex (and its streets) hangs today on a wall in the offices of the Midwood Development Corporation.
The Vitagraph Studios were later featured in aNew York Times Article (2007), and in thePBS,WNET-13 TV Special 'A Walk Through Brooklyn,' hosted byDavid Hartman and historian Barry Lewis. Old historic photographs of the studio show that part of it also existed across theBrighton line subway tracks whereEdward R. Murrow High School now stands.
AfterWarner Bros. vacated the land (in the late 1960s-early 1970s),Yeshiva University purchased it for Brooklyn Torah Academy, the Brooklyn branch of their high school. The Shulamith School purchased the property some years later, when it merged BTA into Manhattan Torah Academy. Until 2015 the building was home to the ShulamithYeshiva School for Girls,[2] which moved to Manhattan Beach. Present day, many within the community were unaware that the Shulamith School buildings and property were once a film studio. In 2018, the yeshiva was replaced with an eight-story, 302-unit apartment building.
The Leading Male men's attire store, once located at the corner of Kings Highway and East 12th Street, was the source for thedisco attire thatJohn Travolta and the other male cast members wore in the filmSaturday Night Fever.[citation needed] A duplicate of the white suit Travolta wore in the film was at that time displayed in one of the showcase windows.
In 1952,NBC Television purchased part of theVitagraph Studios, which then became known as NBC Brooklyn. Studio 1 along Locust Avenue. A new larger studio known as Color Studio 2 at 1268 East 14th Street, on the northwest corner of Avenue M. Many programs were taped here.
When it was dedicated in 1954, it was said to be the world's largest color TV production studio.[70]
NBC sold the studio in 2000,[71] and the facility becameJC Studios. The facility was also used by CBS. In 2014, JC Studios closed, ending 60 years of TV history.
In 2015,OHEL Children's Home and Family Services created offices in the former Studio 1 on Locust Avenue, part of the original Vitagraph Studios. Studio 2, built by NBC, became a self-storage facility.
Famous people who grew up in, formerly lived in, or attended or graduated from a school in Midwood include:
{{cite web}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)[On the studio lot in Brooklyn, located adjacent to the Brighton railroad, in what is now Midwood, called South Greenfield at the time]: William Shea, among the first actors in the Big V's stock company, recalled the Brighton's role after filming began in 1905:After the building of the Flatbush studio, interior scenes were taken at the Nassau Street address and exterior scenes at Flatbush. In a picture that had both interior and exterior scenes it was a case of collecting all necessary wardrobe and props and moving to Flatbush. It must have been a sight to see fifteen or twenty people get off a train, some carrying bundles and boxes with a sword or spear sticking out, a little bit of a fellow struggling along with a suit of armor, and various other bulky properties distributed among members of the party, but it was part of the game. Very few of the actors kicked and the populace became used to seeing us doing all kinds of stunts.
1209 Quentin Road
Among those killed were Corporal Clifford Wiltshire, a nice quiet boy who was married to
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)(2015) There is a tie for the honor of smallest park: Sgt. Joyce Kilmer Triangle in Midwood, Brooklyn, and Luke J. Lang Square in Maspeth, Queens
