Downtown Brooklyn

Downtown Brooklyn Apartment Rentals
Locate apartment and room rentals fast and easy with experts at Sublet.com. Short or long term furnished and not. Browse and list apartments and rooms free.
www.sublet.com

Dkny Downtown Brooklyn For Less
Looking for dkny downtown brooklyn? Find exactly what you want today.
www.eBay.com

Brooklyn Downtown Hotel
Compare hotel prices from over 120 top websites and save up to 70%.
Hotels.SideStep.com

Luxury Boutique Hotel
Stylish & Affordable Accommodations. Special Rates. Minutes To NYC.
www.ravelhotel.com

Lodging Downtown Brooklyn
Save up to 70% on Lodging in Brooklyn. Choose from a wide selection of hotels, motels and resorts. Book online or call now and save.
travel.hotels-and-discounts.com

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership
Your Small Business Hub. Your Source for Partnership.
Partnership.Capital.com

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: Permission denied in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 12

Warning: mkdir() [function.mkdir]: No such file or directory in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 12

Warning: fopen(/home/templatecore2cache//*cluesnet.com/d3/d3bb5974d44bdb9c880622a9b48a8ab88b5638e4.tc2cache) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: No such file or directory in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 130

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 131

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/webs/affiliatelib2/CacheManager.php on line 132

of Downtown Brooklyn seen from the East River

Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City (following Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of the borough (New York City) of Brooklyn. The neighborhood's numerous office and residential buildings, including the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower and 4 MetroTech Center, give the area its own skyline distinct from Manhattan's.

History This area was originally inhabited by Lenape Native Americans in the United States, until the 1600s. At that time the Dutch arrived, gained control of the land, and called it Breuckelen. Until 1814, Downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn remained sparsely populated. Robert Fulton’s new steam ferry then began to offer an easy commuting option to and from downtown Manhattan. It made Brooklyn Heights Manhattan’s first suburb, and put Downtown Brooklyn on its way to becoming a commercial center, and the heart of the History of Brooklyn.

The neighborhood was home to many prominent Abolitionists at a time when most New York was pro-slavery. Many churches in the neighborhood fought against legalized slavery in the 1850s and 1860s, some even acting as slave safehouses as part of the Underground Railroad movement. Walt Whitman was fired from his job as a reporter at the Brooklyn Eagle due to his anti-slavery views when he lived at Willougby and Myrtle.

Following the Second World War, the City Planning Commission, in conjunction with the Borough President’s Office, presented and adopted a Master Plan for the Civic Center, which included an ambitious public improvements program. The program included plans for new buildings for City and State agencies, significant street widening and major housing construction in adjacent areas. A study conducted eight years later highlighted the progress made, emphasizing the widening of Adams Street (and later Boerum Place), which created a long and sweeping approach to Downtown Brooklyn from a modernized Brooklyn Bridge.

By the late 1960’s, the patterns of transition that affected much of urban America initiated concern to protect the borough’s Central Business District from deterioration. In 1969, a comprehensive plan for the entire city was completed and in the report the City Planning Commission stated, “ Brooklyn’s economy is vital to the borough and important to the entire metropolitan region.” In re-affirming Downtown Brooklyn’s central role and identifying its problems, the Plan was optimistic that a combination of public and private efforts would stimulate office and commercial construction. A 23-story privately financed office tower at Boerum Place and Livingston Street opened in 1971 and the anticipated growth of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) succeeded far beyond expectations, giving this cultural institution an important role as a symbolic anchor amid increasing decay during the following decade.

After suffering with the rest of New York through the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970’s, Borough President Howard Golden, first elected in 1977, moved forward with a more aggressive economic development program to revitalize Downtown Brooklyn. He identified the need for greater equity in resource allocation between Manhattan and the city’s other boroughs. An important moment in the history of Downtown Brooklyn came in 1983 with the release of a Regional Plan Association report for the area. According to the document, Downtown Brooklyn could become the city’s third-largest business district because of its proximity to Lower Manhattan (closer by subway than Midtown). It also could serve as a prime location for high technology industries and new market-rate housing.

The decades of the 1980’s and 1990’s were a period of major large-scale development activity in Downtown Brooklyn. At the center of this revitalization stood the MetroTech office complex, which is within walking distance of several other major development projects including Pierrepont Plaza, the Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge, Atlantic Terminal, and Renaissance Plaza. MetroTech stands as a symbol of Downtown Brooklyn’s rejuvenation.

In an effort to resuscitate Downtown Brooklyn a decade earlier, Polytechnic University President George Bugliarello had advanced the idea of creating a center for research and development modeled on the lines of “Silicon Valley.” Several years later, the City agreed to designate Polytechnic as the urban renewal sponsor, under the condition that forward movement of the project required obtaining a commitment from two tenants. Both the City and Polytechnic chose Forest City Enterprises as the project’s main developer based on its years of experience, commitment to stay in the area, and financial capacity. Forest City Ratner and Borough President Howard Golden represented the best aspects of public-private partnership and they quickly redefined the MetroTech vision from a research and development park to a campus centered back office complex.

As Forest City negotiated with Morgan Stanley, two other major corporate players were being wooed for the MetroTech site: the Securities Industry Automated Corporation (SIAC) and Brooklyn Union Gas (BUG). The fact that the MetroTech site sat on a separate power grid from Manhattan proved to be the key for SIAC because this meant their operations in Downtown Brooklyn would be safe if Manhattan ever experienced a power failure (as seen in 1977). The final and greatest victory, which sealed the fate of the MetroTech vision first put forth by Polytechnic President Bugliarello, was convincing Chase Manhattan Bank to move its back operations to MetroTech.

Downtown Brooklyn is now the civic and commercial downtown center of the former City of Brooklyn, which is currently a borough of 2.5 million people. The area includes MetroTech Center, Brooklyn Borough Hall, the Kings County, New York New York State courthouse, and the central courthouse for the Federal Eastern District of New York. Prominent schools include St. Francis College, Brooklyn Law School, Polytechnic University, New York City College of Technology, and Long Island University. There are numerous attractions within the area, including the Fulton Mall, Brooklyn Academy of Music and the New York Transit Museum.

Neighborhood Amenities Three days a week the Borough Hall Greenmarket, featuring fresh produce from local farmers, operates on the plaza fronting Borough Hall. Formerly called Supreme Court Plaza, the location was renamed as Columbus Park in 1986, sycamore trees having mercifully grown large enough to shield the middle 20th century Supreme Court building from sensitive eyes. Cadman Plaza Park, named for an early televangelist, provides 10 acres of green space in the neighborhood, and was recently renovated by the New York City Parks Department. These and other parks form a long mall from Boro Hall to Brooklyn Bridge. A new park is also planned for the area, known as the Willoughby Square Park. New York Post, B'KLYN TO GET REC SPACE WITH CAR GARAGE

Transportation Downtown Brooklyn is connected with Manhattan by the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge Bridges. The neighborhood has extensive public transportation accessibility; it is served by the New York City Subway by the , , , , , , , , , , , , , and lines, many one stop from Manhattan. The Long Island Rail Road stops at the Atlantic Terminal, located at the intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues.

Residential Development Historically there has not been a great deal of housing in the commercial and civic center of Downtown Brooklyn. Housing which does exist includes a few apartment buildings on Livingston Street, and seven 15-story buildings that make up the over 1,000 unit Concord Village co-op development on Adams Street, at the borders of both Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn and DUMBO. Since 2003, the area has attracted significant new residential development. This includes a new Brooklyn Law School dorm at Boerum Place and State Street, the condo conversion of 110 Livingston Street, a new apartment building at Atlantic and Court Streets, newly constructed luxury residential condominiums at Court and State and on State between Court and Boerum Place. A New York Times article in April 2007 stated that new 7,000 units were in planning or construction in the area. Now Open for Living, As Well as Business (NYTimes) An October 16, 2007 New York Post article estimated that 14,000 units were planned. Upside Downtown (NYPost)

The New York City Department of City Planning has approved a significant rezoning for portions of Downtown Brooklyn, including the Fulton Mall area, which may result in significant expansion of office space and ground-floor retail. The rezoning consists of "zoning map and zoning text changes, new public open spaces, pedestrian and transit improvements, urban renewal, street mappings". Downtown Brooklyn, New York City Department of City Planning. Accessed October 9, 2007. The City Planning initiative also seeks to improve the connections between Downtown and the adjacent neighborhoods of Cobble Hill, Boerum Hill, and Fort Greene. There are also plans to build an Atlantic Yards in the nearby Prospect Heights, Brooklyn district and relocate the New Jersey Nets (an NBA professional basketball team) there.

Photos of Downtown Brooklyn

NYCfoto.com Photos of Downtown Brooklyn
The history of Downtown Brooklyn, and Cadman Plaza Park

References External Links

Downtown Brooklyn Partnership, the not-for-profit local development corporation that coordinates economic development activities in Downtown Brooklyn
Brooklyn Academy of Music, a thriving urban arts center that brings international performing arts and film to Brooklyn
Mark Morris Dance Group, one of the world’s leading dance companies, performing across the U.S. and at major international festivals
UrbanGlass, serves as the primary studio of over 350 artists each year and offers a comprehensive education program of classes, workshops and intensives at every skill level
BRIC Arts | Media | Brooklyn, presents quality visual, performing and media arts programs reflective of the borough's diverse communities
MoCADA, Brooklyn's first and only African American/Diasporian museum
Polytechnic University, the second oldest private engineering school in the United States
Long Island University, one of the fastest growing, most ethnically-diverse campuses in the New York metropolitan area
Brooklyn Law School, a great place to learn and experience the law
New York City College of Technology, the largest public college of technology in New York State and a national model for technological education
Downtown Brooklyn Rezoning, NYC Dept. City Planning, a comprehensive development plan to facilitate the continued growth of Downtown Brooklyn
FUREE, an advocate for existing businesses and residents
Duffield Street Blog, which advocates for the development of Downtown Brooklyn through the promotion of the Abolitionist homes on Duffield Street
Bridge Street Church, the oldest continuing black congregation in the Brooklyn-Long Island area

Downtown Brooklyn - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Downtown Brooklyn is the third largest central business district in New York City (following Midtown Manhattan and Lower Manhattan), and is located in the northwestern section of ...

Downtown Brooklyn Trolleys
Photographs of trolleys in downtown Brooklyn, near Borough Hall. ... These photos (specific date unavailable) were taken in downtown Brooklyn, near Borough Hall and the ...

Downtown Brooklyn
Supremes let Atlantic Yards inch forward June 24, 2008 / The New York Daily News. The Supreme Court Monday turned down the latest appeal to block construction of the $4... Add ...

Downtown Brooklyn
Downtown Brooklyn ... From the (1939) WPA Guide to New York City: Fulton Street and Vicinity, between Johnson Street and Rockwell Place, includes the Borough Hall district, the ...

The Downtown Brooklyn Partnership | Home

310 Downtown & Brooklyn Only
Barely a few months after the release of the critically acclaimed After All album, 310 sees their first two outputs finally getting a proper release, thanks to the Leaf...

Amazon.co.uk: Downtown & Brooklyn Only: Three Ten: Music
Amazon.co.uk: Downtown & Brooklyn Only: Three Ten: Music ... This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are.

TuneTribe.com | Browse | The Leaf Label | 310 | Downtown ...
Downtown & Brooklyn Only (25 Tracks)

Downtown Brooklyn
About DTB: A Message from the Editor. The university environment exposes us to a variety of personalities and ...

Flickr: Downtown Brooklyn
For those interested in documenting the rapid, rapid, changes in the downtown area of Brooklyn.