EAST NEW YORK, LONG ISLAND

East New York, Long Island

East New York is a neighborhood which is often called “a low income residential neighborhood” located in the eastern most end of Brooklyn, Long Island, New York. It is part of the Brooklyn Community Board 16. East New York is bounded by Atlantic Avenue to the north, the Queens-Brooklyn Border to the east, Linden Blvd to the south, and Van Sinderen Avenue to the west. Sutter Avenue is the primary thoroughfare through East New York. It has a population around 90,000 with over half the population lives below the poverty line and receives public assistance of AFDC, Home Relief, Supplemental Security Income, and Medicaid. The neighborhood is considered one of the city's highest concentrations of youth with 36 percent of the local population under the of age 19 and with over 60 percent of the children living below poverty levels, the East New York Urban Youth Center has its job cut out for it. Elevation is 20 feet.

In 1835, a rich Connecticut merchant named John R. Pitkin began the development of East New York where he visualized the area as a great city rivaling New York. The panic of 1837 ended his dreams and in 1853 modest development began. East New York is the eastern most end of Brooklyn and is geographically isolated. The area’s former and merged names include New Lots and Ostwout. In the 1970s, many of the residential structures in East New York were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The area began to rehabilitate many formally abandoned tenement style apartment buildings which designates them low income housing and also many subsidized multi unit townhouses and newly built apartment buildings have been or are being constructed on vacant lots across East New York. Many social problems associated with poverty from crime to drug addiction have still plagued the area for some time. Despite crime declines versus their peaks during the crack and heroin epidemics violent crime continues to be a serious problem in the community.

Many well-known people reside in East New York including Anne Jackson (actress), Danny Kaye (actor), George Gershwin (composer), Issac Asimov (science fiction writer), Jerry Stiller (comedian), Jimmy Smits (actor), and Tony Danza (actor). Most of its residents were predominantly inhabited by Hispanic, African American, and Italian American. The community is mainly served by the New York City Department of Education school district. Unfortunately East New York suffers from very high HS dropout rates. Violent crime is also a big problem in the local schools. Highland Park is one of the famous attractions in town that commands a spectacular view of East New York, Jamaica Bay, and mid-town Manhattan. The park has recreational facilities such as tennis courts, baseball herds, and other playgrounds are on lower ground, facing Jamaica Avenue.