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78-557: The Afropunk Festival began in 2005, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. By 2018, Afropunk Festivals had also been held in various major cities, including Atlanta, Paris, France, London, UK, Salvador, Brazil, Dakar, Senegal, and Johannesburg, South Africa. The festival was co-founded by James Spooner and Matthew Morgan, and grew out of the 2003 documentary titled Afro-Punk which studied black punks across America. The festival

156-521: A plateau on a high bluff that rises sharply from the river's edge and gradually recedes on the landward side. Before the Dutch settled on Long Island in the middle of the seventeenth century, this promontory was called Ihpetonga ("the high sandy bank") by the native Lenape American Indians . Ferries across the East River were running as early as 1642, serving the farms in the area. The most significant of

234-547: A "stoop", a word derived from Dutch. The basement is typically a half-flight down from the street, and was used as the work area for servants, including the kitchen. The first floor would be the location of the public rooms, bedrooms were on the second floor, and servants' quarters were on the top floor. The rear of the lot would feature a private garden. Aside from rowhouses, a number of houses, particularly along Pierrepont Street and Pierrepont Place, are authentic mansions . The concentration of over 600 pre-Civil War houses, one of

312-552: A 34-story condominium, which now contains the smaller library at its base. In the interim, the BPL branch moved to the temporary 109 Remsen Street location, until the new location was completed in 2022. Brooklyn Heights is serviced by numerous subway services, specifically the A and ​ C trains at High Street ; the A , ​ C ​, F , <F> ​​, N , R , and ​ W trains at Jay Street–MetroTech ;

390-420: A decade of work for Afropunk citing mistreatment and a corporate agenda he labeled "performative activism". Cancelled due to Hurricane Irene . 40°41′50″N 73°58′45″W  /  40.697104°N 73.979037°W  / 40.697104; -73.979037 Brooklyn Academy of Music The Brooklyn Academy of Music ( BAM )

468-544: A festival focusing on independent films . Katy Clark was president from 2015 and left the institution in 2021. Artists who have presented work at BAM include Philip Glass , Trisha Brown , Peter Brook , Pina Bausch , Merce Cunningham , Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Company, Laurie Anderson , Lee Breuer , ETHEL , Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan , Steve Reich , Seal , Mark Morris , Robert Wilson , Peter Sellars , BLACKstreet , Ingmar Bergman , David Van Tieghem , Michael Moschen , Twyla Tharp , Ralph Lemon , Ivo van Hove , and

546-425: A few 2/1/2-story late Federal houses from the early 19th century in the northern part of the neighborhood. Some houses were constructed of brick, but the dominant building material was brownstone or "Jersey freestone", a reddish-brown stone from Passaic County, New Jersey . A typical brownstone rowhouse was three or four stories tall, with the main floor above the street level and reached by stairs, referred to as

624-560: A firmly middle-class area, which became "one of New York City's most pleasant and attractive neighborhoods." Starting in 2008, Brooklyn Bridge Park was built along the shoreline of the East River. As of 2018 the park was 90% complete, and it is now completely renovated. The Squibb Park Bridge was constructed in 2013 to provide access between the park and the rest of Brooklyn Heights, but had to be demolished in 2019 due to various structural issues. A replacement bridge opened in 2020. By

702-673: A flexible event space which houses the BAMcafé, and the Hillman Attic Studio, a flexible rehearsal/performing space. The BAM Strong, an array of spaces, includes the 874-seat BAM Harvey Theater at 651 Fulton Street. Formerly known as the Majestic Theater, it was built in 1904 with 1,708 seats and eventually showed vaudeville and then feature films, and was named in Lichtenstein's honor in 1999. A renovation by architect Hugh Hardy left

780-523: A high base of gray granite , with cream colored brick trimmed in terracotta with some marble detail above. The Howard Gilman Opera House has 2,109 seats and BAM Rose Cinemas, which opened in 1998, comprises four screens, and primarily shows first-run, independent and repertory films and series. Also within the Peter Jay Sharp Building is the Lepercq Space, originally a ballroom and now

858-474: A high school education and 25% 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. The percentage of Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene students excelling in math rose from 27 percent in 2000 to 50 percent in 2011, and reading achievement rose from 34% to 41% during the same time period. Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene's rate of elementary school student absenteeism

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936-558: A meeting was held at the Polytechnic Institute to measure support for establishing "a hall adapted to Musical, Literary, Scientific and other occasional purposes, of sufficient size to meet the requirements of our large population and worth in style and appearance of our city." The group applied to the New York State Legislature for a charter in the name of Brooklyn Academy of Music. The New York Legislature passed

1014-542: A number of historic buildings to house their staff, including the former Hotel Bossert , once the seasonal home of many Dodgers players, on Montague Street. In 2010, the organization announced plans to begin selling off its numerous properties in the Heights and nearby downtown Brooklyn, given that it plans to relocate itself in upstate New York. The executive offices of the Brooklyn Dodgers were, for many years, located in

1092-469: A relatively low population of residents who are uninsured , or who receive healthcare through Medicaid . In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 4%, which is lower than the citywide rate of 12%. However, this estimate was based on a small sample size. The concentration of fine particulate matter , the deadliest type of air pollutant , in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene

1170-413: A select neighborhood and circle of society." Where there had been only seven houses in the Heights in 1807, by 1860 there were over six hundred of them, and by 1890 the area was almost completely developed. The buildings were designed in a wide variety of styles; development started in the northern part, and moved southward, so the architecture general changes in that direction as the preferred style of

1248-478: A surveyor and submitted an alternative. In the end, the Hickses' plan was adopted north of Clark Street, and Pierrepont's, featuring 25-by-100-foot (8-by-30 meter) lots, south of it. Thanks to the influence of Pierrepont and other landowners, Brooklyn received a charter from the state as a village in 1816, which led to streets being laid out in a regular grid pattern, sidewalks being laid, water pumps being installed and

1326-412: Is 0.0088 milligrams per cubic metre (8.8 × 10  oz/cu ft), lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages. Eleven percent of Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene residents are smokers , which is slightly lower than the city average of 14% of residents being smokers. In Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, 24% of residents are obese , 6% are diabetic , and 25% have high blood pressure —compared to

1404-671: Is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn , New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 1859, presented its first show in 1861, and began operations in its present location in Fort Greene, Brooklyn , in 1908. The Academy is incorporated as a New York State not-for-profit corporation . It has 501(c)(3) status. Gina Duncan has served as president since April 2022. David Binder became artistic director in 2019. On October 21, 1858,

1482-402: Is about equal to the rest of New York City. In Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, 20% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year , the same as the citywide average. Additionally, 75% of high school students in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene graduate on time, equal to the citywide average. St. Ann's School , a K–12 school, is located in the neighborhood, with

1560-736: Is also easily accessible from Downtown Brooklyn. Columbia Heights, an upscale six-block-long street next to the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, is sometimes considered to be its own neighborhood. Brooklyn Heights is part of Brooklyn Community District 2 , and its primary ZIP Code is 11201. It is patrolled by the 84th Precinct of the New York City Police Department . The New York City Fire Department operates two fire stations near Brooklyn Heights: Engine Company 205/Ladder Company 118 at 74 Middagh Street, and Engine Company 224 at 274 Hicks Street. Brooklyn Heights occupies

1638-568: Is covered by ZIP Code 11201. The United States Post Office operates two locations nearby: the Cadman Plaza Station at 271 Cadman Plaza East, and the DUMBO Automated Postal Center at 84 Front Street. Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene generally have a higher ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018 . The majority of residents (64%) have a college education or higher, while 11% have less than

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1716-739: Is located at 74 Middagh Street, serving the northern part of the neighborhood, while Engine Co. 224 is located at 274 Hicks Street, serving the southern part of the neighborhood. A third fire station, Engine Co. 207/Ladder Co. 110/Satellite 6/Battalion 31/Division 11, is located at 172 Tillary Street in nearby Fort Greene . As of 2018 , preterm births and births to teenage mothers are less common in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene than in other places citywide. In Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, there were 74 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 11.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide). Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene have

1794-465: Is lower than that of the city as a whole. The 84th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 82.3% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 18 rapes, 147 robberies, 184 felony assaults, 126 burglaries, 650 grand larcenies, and 31 grand larcenies auto in 2018. Brooklyn Heights is served by two New York City Fire Department (FDNY) fire stations. Engine Co. 205/Ladder Co. 118

1872-690: Is part of the Brooklyn Cultural District. Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn . The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, and the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway or the East River on the west. Adjacent neighborhoods are Dumbo to

1950-548: The 2 and ​ 3 trains at Clark Street ; and the 2 , ​ 3 ​, 4 , ​ 5 ​, N , R , and ​ W trains at Borough Hall/Court Street . Although no bus routes actually stop in Brooklyn Heights, many MTA Regional Bus Operations bus routes are located nearby in Downtown Brooklyn. The B25 also stops in Dumbo/ Fulton Ferry , while

2028-805: The William Tell Overture which opened part 2 of the concert. Founded in 1861, the first BAM facility at 176–194 Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights was conceived as the home of the Philharmonic Society of Brooklyn . The building, designed by architect Leopold Eidlitz , housed a large theater seating 2,109, a smaller concert hall, dressing and chorus rooms, and a vast "baronial" kitchen. BAM presented amateur and professional music and theater productions, including performers such as Ellen Terry , Edwin Booth , and Fritz Kreisler . On her lecture tour of

2106-451: The B61 and B63 serve Cobble Hill. In June 2017, NYC Ferry 's South Brooklyn route started stopping at Brooklyn Bridge Park Piers 1 and 6 in Brooklyn Heights. Many of the streets in Brooklyn Heights are named after people who figured prominently in the neighborhood's history. Concerning the "fruit streets" in Brooklyn Heights – Cranberry , Orange and Pineapple Streets –

2184-712: The Brooklyn Arts Gallery , was opened in Brooklyn Heights in 1958. In 1965, a large part of Brooklyn Heights was protected from unchecked development by the creation of the Brooklyn Heights Historic District , the first such district in New York City. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. Directly across the East River from Manhattan and connected to it by subways and regular ferry service, Brooklyn Heights

2262-731: The Long Island Historical Society , Packer Collegiate Institute , and St. Ann's and the Holy Trinity Church , among other historically notable buildings. A number of bank buildings are concentrated on Montague Street, including the Brooklyn Trust Company Building , the People's Trust Building , and the National Title Guaranty Building . Based on data from the 2010 United States Census ,

2340-644: The Mariinsky Theater , directed and conducted by Valery Gergiev , among others. American punk band Hole recorded their live album MTV Unplugged at the Academy on February 14, 1995. Alice in Chains also recorded their live album Unplugged at the Academy on April 10, 1996 at the Majestic Theater (now the Harvey Theater) for MTV Unplugged . Alanis Morissette also recorded her live album MTV Unplugged at

2418-483: The NYPD , located at 301 Gold Street. The 84th Precinct ranked 60th-safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010. This was attributed to a high rate of property crimes in the neighborhood. As of 2018 , with a non-fatal assault rate of 40 per 100,000 people, Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene's rate of violent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 401 per 100,000 people

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2496-559: The Underground Railroad ". To dramatize the plight of those held in captivity, Beecher once brought a female slave to the church and held an auction, with the highest bidder purchasing not the slave, but her freedom. Beecher also raised money to buy other slaves out of captivity, and shipped rifles to abolitionists in Kansas and Nebraska in crates labelled "Bibles", which gave the rifles the nickname " Beecher's Bibles ". The completion of

2574-623: The WPA Guide to New York City reports that before the Civil War, these streets, along with Poplar and Willow Streets , were named after prominent families, but that a member of the Middagh family expressed her dislike of these families by replacing the street signs with botanical names. The city would restore the proper names, and Middagh would put back her own signs. Several iterations of this game ended when Middagh's new names were given official status by

2652-687: The Academy on September 18, 1999. The Peter Jay Sharp Building in the Fort Greene Historic District houses the Howard Gilman Opera House and the BAM Rose Cinemas (formerly the Carey Playhouse). It was designed by the firm Herts & Tallant in 1908, in the renaissance revival style. It is a U-shaped building with an open court in the center of the lot between two theater wings above the first story. The building has

2730-464: The Brooklyn Heights branch shared the site with the Business & Career Library. In 2013, BPL announced its intent to sell 280 Cadman Plaza West, and as part of this announcement, the Business and Career Library's functions were relocated to BPL's Central Branch . BPL then sold the Brooklyn Heights branch to developer Hudson Companies. Hudson Companies then demolished the structure and replaced it with

2808-477: The Creator . Attendees have also critiqued the values of Afropunk's organizers surrounding LGBTQ concerns, treatment of employees, and its corporate leanings. Some attendees critique the festival for appealing to white audiences, including an instance of attendees being removed from an area of the festival for wearing a homemade t-shirt critical of the event. In August 2018, Afropunk's Editor-In-Chief resigned after over

2886-509: The East River, and to this end he became a prominent investor in Robert Fulton 's New York and Brooklyn Steam Ferry Boat Company, using his influence on Fulton's behalf; he eventually became a part owner and a director of the company. Fulton's ferry began running in 1814, and Brooklyn received a charter as a village from the state of New York in 1816, thanks to the influence of Pierrepont and other prominent landowners. The city then prepared for

2964-401: The Heights could leave the office at three o'clock, have dinner at home at four o'clock, and still have time for a "leisurely drive to the outskirts of town", a "middle class paradise". The community's development was helped by the yellow fever epidemic of 1822, when many of the rich from the city abandoned it for an area that was advertised as "elevated and perfectly healthy at all seasons ...

3042-608: The Heights, near the intersection of Montague and Court Streets. A plaque on the office building that replaced the Dodgers' old headquarters at 215 Montague Street identifies it as the site where Jackie Robinson signed his major league contract. Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims and Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Cathedral are located in Brooklyn Heights, as are the First Unitarian Congregational Society ,

3120-540: The Livingston estate, plus the Benson, De Bevoise and Reemsen farms – on what was then called "Clover Hill", now Brooklyn Heights, and built a mansion there. Pierrepont purchased and expanded Philip Livingston 's gin distillery on the East River at what is now Joralemon Street, where he produced Anchor Gin. Wishing to sub-divide and develop his property, Pierrepont realized the need for regularly scheduled ferry service across

3198-651: The Pierrepont (1928), among others – were constructed. By the beginning of the Great Depression , most of the middle class had left the area. Boarding houses had become rooming houses, and the neighborhood began to have the appearance of a slum. During the 1940s and 1950s, the building of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) badly affected the neighborhood, as it took away the neighborhood's northwest corner, destroying whole rows of brownstones . At about

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3276-687: The United States in 1889-1890, Egyptologist and founder of the Egypt Exploration Society Amelia Edwards gave her first and last lectures here, in November and March, respectively. After the building burned to the ground on November 30, 1903, BAM made plans to relocate to a new facility in Fort Greene, Brooklyn . Herts & Tallant designed the new building. The cornerstone was laid at 30 Lafayette Avenue on May 25, 1907. A series of opening events were held in November 1908;

3354-413: The annual Next Wave Festival in 1983, featuring performances by international and American artists. The Chelsea Theater Center was in residence from 1967 to 1977. From 1999 to 2015, Karen Brooks Hopkins was president, and Joseph V. Melillo was executive producer through 2018. 30 Lafayette Avenue's facade was restored for $ 8.6 million in 2004. A regular event as of 2012 was BAMcinemaFest,

3432-453: The area's major landowners. Pierrepont had accumulated 60 acres of land, including 800 feet which directly overlooked the harbor, all of which he planned to sub-divide. Since his intention was to sell to merchants and bankers who lived in Manhattan, he needed easy access between Brooklyn Heights and New York City, which Fulton's company provided. Pierrepont bought 60 acres (24 ha) – part of

3510-539: The bill to incorporate the Brooklyn Academy of Music on February 16, 1859. The group raised $ 60,000 by November 22 and another $ 90,000 by March 16, 1859. The Brooklyn Academy of Music opened on January 15, 1861. At the inaugural address on the opening, the management announced that no dramatic performance should ever be held within its walls. The first concert opened with the overture to Der Freischütz , followed by arias and excerpts from various operas, including

3588-508: The citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively. In addition, 14% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%. Eighty-eight percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 86% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", more than the city's average of 78%. For every supermarket in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, there are 12 bodegas . Brooklyn Heights

3666-563: The compromise plan despite strong opposition from the preservation community, including the North Heights Community Group. As a result, 1,200 residents were removed from their houses and apartments in late 1961 and early 1962 as construction began on the modified plan. One positive development came about when community groups – prominently the Brooklyn Heights Association, founded in 1910 – joined with Moses in

3744-682: The creation of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade , also called the Esplanade, which was cantilevered over the BQE. It became a favorite spot among locals, offering magnificent vistas of the Statue of Liberty , the Manhattan skyline across the East River , the Brooklyn Bridge , the Manhattan Bridge , and spectacular fireworks displays over the East River. Moses originally proposed to build the BQE through

3822-524: The difficulty of building there. They later sold part of their land to John Jackson, who created the Vinegar Hill community, much of which later became the Brooklyn Navy Yard . Brooklyn Heights began to develop once Robert Fulton 's New York and Brooklyn Steam Ferry Boat Company began regularly scheduled steam ferry service in 1814, with the financial backing of Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont , one of

3900-485: The early 2020s, increasing numbers of celebrities were moving to the neighborhood. Brooklyn Heights was the first neighborhood protected by the 1965 Landmarks Preservation Law of New York City . The neighborhood is largely composed of blocks of picturesque rowhouses and a few mansions. A great range of architectural styles is represented, including Greek Revival , Italianate , Second Empire , Victorian Gothic , Romanesque , Neo-Grec , and Classical Revival , as well as

3978-477: The establishment of a street grid, although there were competing plans for the size of the lots. John and Jacob Hicks, who also owned property on Brooklyn Heights, north of Pierrepont's, favored smaller lots, as they were pitching their land to tradesman and artisans already living in Brooklyn, not attempting to lure merchants and bankers from Manhattan as Pierrepont was. To counter the Hickses' proposal, Pierrepont hired

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4056-651: The ferries went between the current Fulton Street and Peck Slip in Manhattan, and was run by Cornelius Dirksen. The ferry service helped the lowland area to thrive, with both farms and some factories along the water, but the higher ground was sparsely used. The area was heavily fortified prior to the Battle of Long Island in the American Revolutionary War . After British troops landed on Long Island and advanced towards Continental Army lines, General George Washington withdrew his troops here after heavy losses, but

4134-456: The festival in 2009. Afropunk Festival grew to hundreds and thousands of attendees, expanding into the cities of Atlanta, Paris, London, Johannesburg South Africa, Salvador, Brazil, Miami, and Minneapolis. Afropunk is acquired by entrepreneur Richelieu Dennis and Essence Ventures. Having emerged from political punk roots, Afropunk Festival has faced criticism at times, including backlash over booking artists such as M.I.A. , Ice Cube and Tyler

4212-480: The first opera to be staged there was the Metropolitan Opera production of Faust . It was also used for religious services during the early 1900s, when Charles Taze Russell , founder of the bible students movement (now Jehovah's Witnesses and International Bible Students Association ), gave sermons there. The Waltann School of Creative Arts (WSCA), founded in 1959, located at 1078 Park Place, Brooklyn,

4290-462: The heart of Brooklyn Heights. Opposition to this plan led to the re-routing of the expressway to the side of the bluff, allowing creation of the Promenade. By the mid-1950s, a new generation of property owners had begun moving into the Heights, pioneering the "Brownstone Revival" by buying and renovating pre-Civil War period houses, which became part of the preservationist movement which culminated in

4368-442: The institution of a watch. After 1823, farms begin to be sub-divided into 25-by-100-foot (7.6 by 30.5 m) lots, which were advertised as suitable for a "country retreat" for Manhattanites, leading to a building boom that resulted in Brooklyn Heights becoming the "first commuter suburb ", since it was easier and faster to get to Manhattan by ferry than it was to commute from upper Manhattan by ground transportation. A resident of

4446-714: The interior paint faded, with often exposed masonry, giving the theater a unique feel of a "modern ruin". In April 2014, CNN named the BAM Harvey as one of the "15 of the World's Most Spectacular Theaters". The complex also features a dedicated art gallery. The BAM Fisher Building, opened in 2012, contains Fishman Space, a 250-seat black box theater , and Fisher Hillman Studio, a flexible rehearsal and performance space, as well as administrative offices. The BAM Hamm Archives are located off-site in Crown Heights at 1000 Dean St. and maintain

4524-544: The largest ensembles of such housing in the nation, and the human scale of the three, four- and five-story buildings creates a neighborly atmosphere. Brooklyn Heights has very few high-rise buildings. Among these buildings are 75 Livingston Street , Hotel St. George , and the Concord Village co-op development on Adams Street. Additionally, Jehovah's Witnesses had its world headquarters in the northern part of Brooklyn Heights at 25 Columbia Heights. The organization restored

4602-465: The main campus at 129 Pierrepont Street. Packer Collegiate Institute , a K–12 school, has also been located in the neighborhood, at 170 Joralemon Street, since its 1845 founding. St. Francis College is located on Remsen Street and occupies half a city block. It was founded as St. Francis Academy in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers and was originally located on Baltic Street. St. Francis College

4680-555: The neighborhood and the perceived loss of the specialness and "quality" began to drive out the merchants and patricians who lived there; in time their mansions were divided to become apartment houses and boarding houses. Artists began to move into the neighborhood, as well as writers, and a number of large hotels – the St. George (1885), the Margaret (1889), the Bossert (1909), Leverich Towers (1928), and

4758-494: The north, Downtown Brooklyn to the east, and Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill to the south. Originally referred to as Brooklyn Village , it has been a prominent area of Brooklyn since 1834. The neighborhood is noted for its low-rise architecture and its many brownstone rowhouses , most of them built prior to the Civil War . It also has an abundance of notable churches and other religious institutions. Brooklyn's first art gallery,

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4836-439: The now historic Brooklyn Bridge in 1883, the Brooklyn end of which was near Brooklyn Heights' eastern boundary, began the process of making the neighborhood more accessible from places such as Manhattan. The Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT)'s Lexington Avenue subway line , which reached Brooklyn Heights in 1908, was an even more powerful catalyst in the neighborhood's development. The resulting ease of transportation into

4914-574: The passage in 1965 of the Landmarks Preservation Law. In 1965, community groups which later became the Brooklyn Heights Association, succeeded in having the neighborhood designated the Brooklyn Heights Historic District by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission , the first such district in the city. This was followed in the following decades by the further gentrification of the neighborhood into

4992-511: The pastor of Plymouth Church , now the Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims. Beecher was a nationally known figure famous on the lecture circuit for his novel oratorical style, in which he employed humor, dialect, and slang. Under Beecher, so many slaves passed through Plymouth Church on their way to freedom in Canada that later generations have referred to the church as the " Grand Central Station of

5070-405: The percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 39% in Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, lower than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018 , Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene are considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying . Brooklyn Heights is patrolled by the 84th Precinct of

5148-559: The population of Brooklyn Heights was 22,887, a change of 339 (1.5%) from the 22,548 counted in 2000 . Covering an area of 235.86 acres (95.45 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 97 inhabitants per acre (62,000/sq mi; 24,000/km ). The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 75.2% (17,210) White , 5.5% (1,259) African American , 0.2% (37) Native American , 8.8% (2,003) Asian , 0% (3) Pacific Islander , 0.4% (82) from other races , and 2.7% (618) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.3% (1,675) of

5226-514: The population. The entirety of Community Board 2, which comprises Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene, had 117,046 inhabitants as of NYC Health 's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 80.6 years. This is slightly lower than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods. Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 15% are between the ages of 0–17, 44% between 25 and 44, and 20% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents

5304-431: The publicly accessible Levy Digital Archive. The BAM Sharp and Fisher Buildings are located within the Brooklyn Academy of Music Historic District created by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1978; the BAM Strong is not. BAM is adjacent to downtown Brooklyn , near Atlantic Terminal , the Barclays Center arena, and the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower (once the tallest building in Brooklyn). BAM

5382-415: The same time, plans began to be developed by New York's "master builder", Robert Moses , wielding the Housing Act of 1949, to replace brownstone rowhouses – which were the typical building form in the neighborhood – with large luxury apartment buildings. A prominent example of the intended outcome is the Cadman Plaza development of housing cooperatives in the northern part of the neighborhood, located on

5460-528: The site where the Brooklyn Bridge trolley terminal once stood. In 1959, the North Heights Community Group was formed to oppose destroying cheap low-rise housing in order to build the high-rise Cadman Plaza towers. Architect Percival Goodman presented an alternate plan to maintain all sound structures, which garnered 25,000 supporters. In early 1961, a compromise proposal came from City Hall calling for two 22-story towers with over 1,200 luxury and middle income units. The Brooklyn Heights Association fully supported

5538-412: The time changed over the decades. Throughout the 19th century, Brooklyn Heights remained an elegant neighborhood, and became Brooklyn's cultural and financial center. Its development gave rise to offshoots such as Cobble Hill and, later, Carroll Gardens . Prior to the Civil War , Brooklyn Heights was a locus of the Abolitionist movement, due to the speeches and activities of Henry Ward Beecher ,

5616-487: The top baccalaureate colleges in the north. Brooklyn Heights is also the location of Brooklyn Law School , founded in 1901. The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL)'s Brooklyn Heights branch is located at 286 Cadman Plaza West. The branch was formerly located at 280 Cadman Plaza West, which was shared with the Business & Career Library , but that site was sold to a developer and demolished. Brooklyn Heights' first library

5694-492: Was a BAM venue during the 1960s and 1970s. One of the dance teachers there was African American contemporary dancer Carole Johnson , and the Eleo Pomare Dance Company performed there in 1967. In 1967, Harvey Lichtenstein was appointed executive director and during his 32 years in that role, BAM experienced a turnaround, attracting audiences with new programming and establishing an endowment. BAM began hosting

5772-468: Was able to make a skillful retreat across the East River to Manhattan without the loss of any troops or his remaining supplies. After the war, the 160-acre tract of land belonging to John Rapeljie, who was a Loyalist , was confiscated and sold to the Sands brothers, who tried to develop the part of the land on the palisade as a community they called "Olympia", but failed to make it come about, partly because of

5850-579: Was founded in 1857 by the Mercantile Library Association of the City of Brooklyn. The first BPL branch in the neighborhood, the Montague Street branch, was opened in 1903. The Brooklyn Heights branch building at 280 Cadman Plaza West opened in 1962 and originally contained an auditorium and children's room. It was renovated and expanded from 1990 to 1993, and upon the completion of the renovation,

5928-460: Was lower, at 9% and 12% respectively. As of 2016, the median household income in Community Board 2 was $ 56,599. In 2018, an estimated 22% of Brooklyn Heights and Fort Greene residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or

6006-475: Was targeted towards black alternative-minded punks and supported by The Brooklyn Academy of Music. As the festival grew and the music industry became more diverse, the musical curation shifted towards reaching a broader black audience and the festival also began charging an admission fee. Due to festival alterations that deviated from the original Afropunk culture, former co-founder, James Spooner ended his involvement in 2008. Jocelyn A. Cooper became involved with

6084-479: Was the first private school in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn . As of 2010 , 2,000 full-time students and more than 400 part-time students from 80 countries attend the college. St. Francis College has been ranked by The New York Times as one of the more diverse colleges in the United States. The college has also been ranked by both Forbes magazine and U.S. News & World Report as one of

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