Historical Component 2b

Pritchett, Wendell E. Brownsville, Brooklyn: Blacks, Jews, and the Changing Face of the Ghetto. Chicago: University Chicago Press, 2002. Retrieved 25 Sept. 2007. http://lib.syndetics.com/index.aspx?isbn=0226684466/DBCHAPTER.HTML&client=cunyh&type=xw12

Brownsville was not always known as Brownsville; it was once called New Lots. The land was known as farmland but it also housed the city's largest waste dump as well as industries that supplied stone and other building materials to New York City. Brownsville was a dynamic Jewish community; the common heritage attracted immigrants especially those coming directly from Ellis Island. Brownsville was a vibrant community with communal and religious institutions and opportunities for advancement. It was also a dangerous, dirty slum that was looked down upon by the "better classes" of Brooklyn and the rest of New York City. There were shoddy buildings, bad public services and weak provision for parks and recreation. It was in 1861 that William Suydam, the owner of the New Lots property became bankrupt; it was also in 1861 the real estate speculator Charles Brown purchased the property at foreclosure. Charles Brown renamed the area for what it is known as today; Brownsville.

Between 1900 and 1920 Brownsville boomed, growing from a small hamlet to a teeming ghetto. The population of 37,934 in 1905 doubled to 77,936 five years later. Once dominated by the Jewish population Brownsville began to diversify. People were being attracted to the area, the open spaces and the fresh air it provided. Brownsville was growing into a middle class arena.