A major new history of Brooklyn, told through its landscapes, buildings, and the people who made them, from the early 17th century to today.

Brooklyn—famed for its bridge, its long-departed Dodgers, its Botanic Garden, and its accent—is the most populous borough in New York City and arguably the most colorful. Its many neighborhoods boast diverse and shifting ethnic enclaves, an abundance of architectural styles, and an amazing number of churches and festivals. Generously illustrated with both historical and contemporary photographs, The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn is an indispensable and entertaining guide. Begun as an offshoot of The Encyclopedia of New York City, which provides much of the historical background, the book takes its character from the neighborhoods themselves, as detailed by the Citizens Committee for New York City and Brooklyn Borough Historian John Manbeck. Taking us on a tour of some 90 neighborhoods (including ghost neighborhoods that no longer exist), the book identifies the boundaries of each one through a neighborhood profile and a street map. There is also an essay on each neighborhood as well as an insert with practical tips on subways, buses, libraries, police precincts, fire departments, and hospitals. In addition, each entry includes eclectic neighborhood facts: Erasmus Hall Academy, in Flatbush, boasts such famous graduates as Barbra Streisand and Bobby Fischer; during Poland’s 1990 elections, more than 5,000 absentee ballots were postmarked Greenpoint. The introduction by Kenneth T. Jackson gives an overview of Brooklyn, while an index allows readers to locate key sites within the borough. In 1898, when it was the third largest city in the United States, the City of Brooklyn merged with New York City to become one of its five boroughs. A century later it is time to salute this unique community in a book that will be an essential resource for past, present, and future residents. The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn is the first in a series on New York’s five boroughs.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.

Lavishly illustrated with prints, paintings, memorabilia, and objects from The Brooklyn Historical Society's unparalleled collection, Brooklyn! will bring every reader closer to the Brooklyn of legend and fact.

The never-before-told story of Brooklyn’s vibrant and forgotten queer history, from the mid-1850s up to the present day. ***An ALA GLBT Round Table Over the Rainbow 2019 Top Ten Selection*** ***NAMED ONE OF THE BEST LGBTQ BOOKS OF 2019 by Harper's Bazaar*** "A romantic, exquisite history of gay culture." —Kirkus Reviews, starred “[A] boisterous, motley new history...entertaining and insightful.” —The New York Times Book Review Hugh Ryan’s When Brooklyn Was Queer is a groundbreaking exploration of the LGBT history of Brooklyn, from the early days of Walt Whitman in the 1850s up through the queer women who worked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard during World War II, and beyond. No other book, movie, or exhibition has ever told this sweeping story. Not only has Brooklyn always lived in the shadow of queer Manhattan neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Harlem, but there has also been a systematic erasure of its queer history—a great forgetting. Ryan is here to unearth that history for the first time. In intimate, evocative, moving prose he discusses in new light the fundamental questions of what history is, who tells it, and how we can only make sense of ourselves through its retelling; and shows how the formation of the Brooklyn we know today is inextricably linked to the stories of the incredible people who created its diverse neighborhoods and cultures. Through them, When Brooklyn Was Queer brings Brooklyn’s queer past to life, and claims its place as a modern classic.