GRAVESEND, LONG ISLAND

Gravesend, Long Island

Gravesend is a neighborhood in the City of New York in the borough of Brooklyn, Long Island. The neighborhood is bordered by Bensonhurst, Sheepshead Bay, and Coney Island that is one of the oldest populated areas on Long Island and in the nation itself. It is centered on the former village square centered at the intersection of Gravesend Neck Road and McDonald Avenue (formerly Gravesend Avenue). The center of the square is subjugated and served by the Avenue U station of the IND Culver Line of the New York City Subway System. Many speculations that the name “Gravesend” comes from many roads that interconnect the Washington Cemetery located in the area, between 65th Street, Bay Parkway and Ocean Parkway. The neighborhood elevation is 13 feet.

The neighborhood was one of the original towns in the Dutch colony of New Netherland and became one of the six original towns of Kings County in New York that was established in 1683. As when English took control of the town, it was designated into “Shire Town” and it was the only English chartered town during that time. Gravesend was founded by Lady Deborah Moody, believed to be the first woman to hold a land charter in the new world. Others said it was named from the Dutch settlement by Willem Kieft who donated a small tract of land in what became Gravesend to a British immigrant, Lady Deborah Moody, and her son, Sir Henry. Willem Kieft prosecuted a war to indigenous Native Americans and had been very brutal that resulted in more than 1,000 Indian fatalities with beheadings, discerpings, and burnings. The s'Gravenzande or s'Gravensande which means "The Count's Beach" may have been named for Henry. The town encompassed 7,000 acres in southern Kings County including the entire Coney Island which was the town's universal lands on the Atlantic Ocean, divided up into 41 parcels for the original patentees. Gravesend remained independent until in the late nineteenth century that was annexed to Brooklyn on May 4, 1894.

Gravesend is the home of the famous inventor Antonio Meucci. He was the one invented the first device that transmitted sound over copper wire from one location to another but it was Graham Bell perfected the telephone for voice transmission. In fact, there’s a triangular-structured monument over there as a dedication of him which stands at 86th Street and Avenue U. Several centuries-old homes still scattered throughout the town which makes it a great asset and the residents must be really proud of. There are still high-end apartments and modern homes as well that would be very beneficial for those who can afford them. The Gravesend Race Track was always been in memory of many residents for its Thoroughbred horse racing that had considered as their favorite past time but never reopened and eventually sold to real estate developers. Unfortunately, many disagree with the basis that they live in a treasured, venerable district, and treat their monuments with negligence.