Brownsville, Brooklyn
Encyclopedia
Brownsville is a residential neighborhood located in eastern Brooklyn
, New York City
.
The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code
for the neighborhood is 11212.
Brownsville is bordered by East New York Avenue to the north (on the Bedford-Stuyvesant border), East 98th Street to the west (East Flatbush
) and the freight rail Bay Ridge Branch
of the Long Island Rail Road
to the south (adjacent to the neighborhood of Canarsie
) & to the east (East New York
).
The area is patrolled by the 73rd Precinct located at 1470 East New York Avenue. New York City Housing Authority
(NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 2. It is part of Brooklyn Community Board 16
.
or African American, 18.8% Hispanic
or Latino
, 5.4% Caucasian
, 1.9% Asian/Pacific Islander and 8.2% described themselves as other. 31.7% of the population were High School
graduates and 9.2% had a Bachelor's degree
or higher. As of 2008, the median household income
was $17,967. There were a total of 28,298 housing units in Brownsville.
developments of various types. There is also a significant concentration of semi-detached multi-unit row houses
similar to those found in East New York
and Soundview
surrounding the public housing developments. Many, however, have been torn down and replaced by vacant lots or newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit rowhouses. There is also a small number of tenements in the area. The neighborhood contains the highest concentration of NYCHA developments in New York City.
candidates to the state assembly .
As early as the 1910s, the area had acquired a reputation as a vicious slum
and breeding ground for crime. It has been known throughout the years for its criminal gangs and in the 30s and 40s achieved notoriety as the birthplace of Murder, Inc.
It was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood until the 1960s, when its population had become largely black
and Brownsville's unemployment rate was 17 percent. Half of all families in the district lived on less than $5,000 a year.
Journalist Jimmy Breslin
wrote in 1968 that Brownsville reminded him of Berlin after World War II
; block after block of burned-out shells of houses, streets littered with decaying automobile hulks. The stores on the avenues are empty and the streets are lined with deserted apartment houses or buildings that have empty apartments on every floor.
In September 1967, a riot occurred following the death of an 11-year-old black male who was killed by a detective at the corner of St. Johns Place and Ralph Avenue two days earlier.
The child had just exited a candy store with a brown paper bag full of candy. As this 11 year old black male ran down Ralph Avenue in the middle of the day past children playing, Brooklynites shopping and/or waiting for the bus, he was shot dead by a detective who assumed that the child was running because he had robbed a 73-year-old Jewish man.
The community fumed over the loss of a black boy at the hands of law enforcement. The community quickly became incensed at the realization that a black child running (a) could automatically be considered suspicious of having committed a crime; and (b) could not run down the street, as children often do, without being murdered by law enforcement.
The riot was additionally fueled by Brooklyn militant Sonny Carson who spread false rumors that a white policeman killed the youth for no reason and was only quelled after Brooklyn North Borough Commander Lloyd Sealy
deployed a squad of 150 black police officers to the riot to prevent further looting. The officer responsible was later cleared after a grand jury refused to indict him.
In 1968 Brownsville was the setting of a protracted and highly contentious teachers' strike
. The Board of Education
had experimented with giving the people of the neighborhood control over the school. The new administration
laid off several teachers in violation of union contract rules. The teachers were all white and mostly Jewish, and the resulting strike served to badly divide the whole city. The resulting strike dragged on for half a year, becoming known as one of John Lindsay
's "Ten Plagues".
from crime to drug addiction have plagued the area for decades. Despite the decline of crime compared to their peaks during the crack
and heroin epidemics, violent crime continues to be a serious problem in the community. Brownsville has significantly higher dropout rates and incidents of violence in its schools. Students must pass through metal detectors and swipe ID cards to enter the buildings, however most public NYC high schools have adopted this approach regardless of their location. Other problems in local schools include low test scores and high truancy rates.
Due to the lucrative drug trade in the area, many addicts reside in the community. Peer pressure among children who come from broken homes contributes to the high rate of usage. Many households in the area are headed by single mothers, also contributing to truancy and the high poverty rate. Many of these single mothers had their first child at a very young age and cannot adequately provide for their children. The incarceration rate in the area is also very high. Many if not most men in the community have been arrested at some point in their lives. This has a direct correlation to aggressive policing tactics including "sweeps" due to the area's high crime rate: Brownsville is home to a significant number of inmates currently held in New York state prison and jail facilities.
In 2003, the United States Army Medical Corps
established a training program in an emergency room that has received 600 cases per year of gunshot and stabbing victims. "The program, called the Academy of Advanced Combat Medicine, started at Kings County
the Eighth Medical Brigade, based at Fort Wadsworth
on Staten Island, decided to train their reservists in a busy civilian emergency room.
- style apartment buildings and designate them low-income housing beginning in the late 1970s. Also many subsidized multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across the neighborhood.
Until recently Brownsville was the only Brooklyn school district without a high school. There are now three; two are housed in the same building at 226 Bristol St. Teachers Preparatory opened in September 2001, and FDA VII opened in September 2004. Teachers Preparatory School serves 6th through 12th graders, and received a grade of "A" on both its middle school and high school report cards for the year 2008. There also is a transfer school Brownsville Academy, which is a Diploma Plus transfer school. It received a Well Developed score for its 2008–2009 quality review. It also received a grade of B on its 2007–2008 report card.
and L
trains.
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The total land area is one square mile, and the ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
for the neighborhood is 11212.
Brownsville is bordered by East New York Avenue to the north (on the Bedford-Stuyvesant border), East 98th Street to the west (East Flatbush
East Flatbush, Brooklyn
East Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 17 Though the borders of East Flatbush are highly subjective, its northern border is roughly at Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue east of East 91st Street, its southern...
) and the freight rail Bay Ridge Branch
Bay Ridge Branch
The Bay Ridge Branch is a rail line owned by the Long Island Rail Road and operated by the New York and Atlantic Railway in the U.S. State of New York...
of the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
to the south (adjacent to the neighborhood of Canarsie
Canarsie, Brooklyn
Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18....
) & to the east (East New York
East New York, Brooklyn
East New York is a residential neighborhood located in the Eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 5...
).
The area is patrolled by the 73rd Precinct located at 1470 East New York Avenue. New York City Housing Authority
New York City Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority provides public housing for low- and moderate-income residents throughout the five boroughs of New York City. NYCHA also administers a citywide Section 8 Leased Housing Program in rental apartments...
(NYCHA) property in the area is patrolled by P.S.A. 2. It is part of Brooklyn Community Board 16
Brooklyn Community Board 16
Brooklyn Community Board 16 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Brownsville and Bedford-Stuyvesant/Ocean Hill...
.
Demographics
In 2008, Brownsville's population was 116,579 and the demographics were 77.1% BlackBlack
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
or African American, 18.8% Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
, 5.4% Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
, 1.9% Asian/Pacific Islander and 8.2% described themselves as other. 31.7% of the population were High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
graduates and 9.2% had a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
or higher. As of 2008, the median household income
Household income
Household income is a measure of the combined incomes of all people sharing a particular household or place of residence. It includes every form of income, e.g., salaries and wages, retirement income, near cash government transfers like food stamps, and investment gains.Average household income can...
was $17,967. There were a total of 28,298 housing units in Brownsville.
Land use
Brownsville is dominated by public housingPublic housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
developments of various types. There is also a significant concentration of semi-detached multi-unit row houses
Row houses
The Row at Stanford University is made up of 36 student-managed houses, from the Cowell Cluster to the Lake Houses and all along Mayfield Avenue, with a total population of a little over 1600 students. Houses range in occupancy from 22 to 59...
similar to those found in East New York
East New York, Brooklyn
East New York is a residential neighborhood located in the Eastern section of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, United States. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 5...
and Soundview
Soundview, Bronx
Soundview is primarily a residential neighborhood geographically located in the South Central section of the Borough of The Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 9...
surrounding the public housing developments. Many, however, have been torn down and replaced by vacant lots or newly constructed subsidized attached multi-unit rowhouses. There is also a small number of tenements in the area. The neighborhood contains the highest concentration of NYCHA developments in New York City.
Low-income public housing projects
There are 18 NYCHA developments located in Brownsville.- 104–14 Tapscott Street; one 4-story building.
- Brownsville Houses; 27 buildings, 6 and 7-stories tall
- Glenmore Plaza; four buildings, 10, 18 and 24-stories tall.
- Howard Avenue; five buildings, 3-stories tall.
- Howard Avenue-Park Place; eight buildings, 3-stories tall.
- Howard Houses; ten buildings, 7 and 13-stories tall.
- Hughes Apartments; three, 22-story buildings.
- Marcus Garvey (Group A); three buildings, 6 and 14-stories tall.
- Prospect Plaza Houses; three vacant 12-story buildings in the process of being rehabilitated. (really in the Ocean Hill section of Brooklyn Community Board 16)
- Ralph Avenue Rehab; five, 4-story buildings.
- Reverend Randolph Brown; two, 6-story buildings.
- Seth Low Houses; four buildings, 17 and 18-stories tall.
- Sutter Avenue-Union Street; three rehabilitated tenement buildings, 4 and 6-stories tall.
- Tapscott Street Rehab; eight, 4-story rehabilitated tenement buildings.
- Tilden Houses; eight, 16-story buildings.
- Van Dyke I; 22 buildings, 3 and 14-stories tall.
- Van Dyke II; one 14-story building.
- Woodson Houses; two buildings, 10 and 25-stories tall.
History
Brownsville was Jewish and politically radical from the 1880s to the 1950s; throughout the 1920s and 1930s, it elected Socialist and American Labor PartyAmerican Labor Party
The American Labor Party was a political party in the United States established in 1936 which was active almost exclusively in the state of New York. The organization was founded by labor leaders and former members of the Socialist Party who had established themselves as the Social Democratic...
candidates to the state assembly .
As early as the 1910s, the area had acquired a reputation as a vicious slum
Slum
A slum, as defined by United Nations agency UN-HABITAT, is a run-down area of a city characterized by substandard housing and squalor and lacking in tenure security. According to the United Nations, the percentage of urban dwellers living in slums decreased from 47 percent to 37 percent in the...
and breeding ground for crime. It has been known throughout the years for its criminal gangs and in the 30s and 40s achieved notoriety as the birthplace of Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc.
Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
It was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood until the 1960s, when its population had become largely black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
and Brownsville's unemployment rate was 17 percent. Half of all families in the district lived on less than $5,000 a year.
Journalist Jimmy Breslin
Jimmy Breslin
Jimmy Breslin is an American journalist and author. He currently writes a column for the New York Daily News' Sunday edition. He has written numerous novels, and columns of his have appeared regularly in various newspapers in his hometown of New York City...
wrote in 1968 that Brownsville reminded him of Berlin after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
; block after block of burned-out shells of houses, streets littered with decaying automobile hulks. The stores on the avenues are empty and the streets are lined with deserted apartment houses or buildings that have empty apartments on every floor.
In September 1967, a riot occurred following the death of an 11-year-old black male who was killed by a detective at the corner of St. Johns Place and Ralph Avenue two days earlier.
The child had just exited a candy store with a brown paper bag full of candy. As this 11 year old black male ran down Ralph Avenue in the middle of the day past children playing, Brooklynites shopping and/or waiting for the bus, he was shot dead by a detective who assumed that the child was running because he had robbed a 73-year-old Jewish man.
The community fumed over the loss of a black boy at the hands of law enforcement. The community quickly became incensed at the realization that a black child running (a) could automatically be considered suspicious of having committed a crime; and (b) could not run down the street, as children often do, without being murdered by law enforcement.
The riot was additionally fueled by Brooklyn militant Sonny Carson who spread false rumors that a white policeman killed the youth for no reason and was only quelled after Brooklyn North Borough Commander Lloyd Sealy
Lloyd Sealy
Lloyd George Sealy was the NYPD's first African American officer to graduate from the FBI National Academy and the first African American officer in the NYPD to make rank as the commander of a police station in 1963 serving the 28th precinct in Harlem...
deployed a squad of 150 black police officers to the riot to prevent further looting. The officer responsible was later cleared after a grand jury refused to indict him.
In 1968 Brownsville was the setting of a protracted and highly contentious teachers' strike
New York City teacher's strike of 1968
The New York City teachers' strike of 1968 was a months-long confrontation between the new community-controlled school board in the largely black Ocean-Hill Brownsville section of Brooklyn and New York City’s United Federation of Teachers...
. The Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
had experimented with giving the people of the neighborhood control over the school. The new administration
Academic administration
An academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint responsibilities...
laid off several teachers in violation of union contract rules. The teachers were all white and mostly Jewish, and the resulting strike served to badly divide the whole city. The resulting strike dragged on for half a year, becoming known as one of John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
's "Ten Plagues".
Social problems
Many social problems associated with povertyPoverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
from crime to drug addiction have plagued the area for decades. Despite the decline of crime compared to their peaks during the crack
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
and heroin epidemics, violent crime continues to be a serious problem in the community. Brownsville has significantly higher dropout rates and incidents of violence in its schools. Students must pass through metal detectors and swipe ID cards to enter the buildings, however most public NYC high schools have adopted this approach regardless of their location. Other problems in local schools include low test scores and high truancy rates.
Due to the lucrative drug trade in the area, many addicts reside in the community. Peer pressure among children who come from broken homes contributes to the high rate of usage. Many households in the area are headed by single mothers, also contributing to truancy and the high poverty rate. Many of these single mothers had their first child at a very young age and cannot adequately provide for their children. The incarceration rate in the area is also very high. Many if not most men in the community have been arrested at some point in their lives. This has a direct correlation to aggressive policing tactics including "sweeps" due to the area's high crime rate: Brownsville is home to a significant number of inmates currently held in New York state prison and jail facilities.
In 2003, the United States Army Medical Corps
Medical Corps (United States Army)
The Medical Corps of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an MD or a DO degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.The MC traces its earliest origins...
established a training program in an emergency room that has received 600 cases per year of gunshot and stabbing victims. "The program, called the Academy of Advanced Combat Medicine, started at Kings County
Kings county hospital
Kings County Hospital Center is a hospital located at 451 Clarkson Avenue in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City. It is under the umbrella of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation , the municipal agency which runs New York City's public hospitals.According to the HHC, "Kings County...
the Eighth Medical Brigade, based at Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth
Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on Staten Island in New York City, situated on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. Prior to closing in 1994 it claimed to be the longest...
on Staten Island, decided to train their reservists in a busy civilian emergency room.
Urban renewal
After a wave of arson throughout the 1970s ravaged the low-income communities of New York City, many if not most of the residential structures in Brownsville were left seriously damaged or destroyed. The city began to rehabilitate many formally abandoned tenementTenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
- style apartment buildings and designate them low-income housing beginning in the late 1970s. Also many subsidized multi-unit townhouses and newly constructed apartment buildings have been or are being built on vacant lots across the neighborhood.
Until recently Brownsville was the only Brooklyn school district without a high school. There are now three; two are housed in the same building at 226 Bristol St. Teachers Preparatory opened in September 2001, and FDA VII opened in September 2004. Teachers Preparatory School serves 6th through 12th graders, and received a grade of "A" on both its middle school and high school report cards for the year 2008. There also is a transfer school Brownsville Academy, which is a Diploma Plus transfer school. It received a Well Developed score for its 2008–2009 quality review. It also received a grade of B on its 2007–2008 report card.
Transportation
Brownsville's main thoroughfare is Pitkin Avenue. It is also accessible on the New York City subway system via the 33 (New York City Subway service)
The 3 Seventh Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored red on station signs, route signs and the official subway map, since it uses the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line through most of Manhattan....
and L
L (New York City Subway service)
The L 14th Street – Canarsie Local is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway, providing service along the entire length of the two-tracked BMT Canarsie Line...
trains.
Notable natives
- Masta AceMasta AceDuval Clear , known better by his stage name Masta Ace, is a rapper from Brownsville, Brooklyn. He appeared on the classic 1988 Juice Crew posse cut "The Symphony"...
, legendary Juice CrewJuice CrewThe Juice Crew was a hip hop collective of largely Queensbridge-based artists in the mid- to late-1980s. Founded by producer Marley Marl and radio DJ Mr. Magic and housed by Tyrone William's Cold Chillin' Records, the Juice Crew would introduce New School artists Big Daddy Kane, Biz Markie,...
member, comes from the Howard Houses. - AgallahAgallahAgallah , born Angel Aguilar, is a Puerto Rican and Filipino-American rapper who was a member of the The Diplomats-affiliated group Purple City and the group Propain campaign. He was formerly known as 8-Off Agallah, but changed the name because it was controversial; 8-Off is a variation of the name...
, rapper, producer - Ralph BakshiRalph BakshiRalph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
, film director - Daniel BenzaliDaniel BenzaliDaniel Benzali is a Brazilian-American stage, television and film actor.-Biography:Benzali was born in Rio de Janeiro to Brazilian Jewish parents...
, Golden-Globe nominated actor and once-fiancé to Kim CattrallKim CattrallKim Victoria Cattrall is an English actress. She is known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO comedy/romance series Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films Police Academy, Big Trouble in Little China, Mannequin, and Porky's... - Riddick BoweRiddick BoweRiddick Lamont Bowe is a retired American boxer. He is a two-time heavyweight champion and a former undisputed heavyweight champion...
, boxer - Shannon BriggsShannon BriggsShannon "The Cannon" Briggs is an American heavyweight boxer and actor. He is the former Lineal and WBO heavyweight champion.-Early life:...
, boxer - BuckshotBuckshot (rapper)Buckshot is an underground rapper, famous as the leader of Hip Hop supergroup Boot Camp Clik, and the group Black Moon. He has released one solo album, two with producer 9th Wonder, four albums with Black Moon and four albums with the Boot Camp Clik.- Biography :Born and raised in Brooklyn...
, rapper - Andrew Dice ClayAndrew Dice ClayAndrew Dice Clay is an American comedian and actor who played the lead role in the film The Adventures of Ford Fairlane.Clay has been in several movies and has released a number of stand-up albums...
, comedian - Boot Camp ClikBoot Camp ClikBoot Camp Clik is an American hip hop supergroup from Brooklyn, New York, which is composed of Buckshot , Smif-N-Wessun, also known as Cocoa Brovaz , Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C....
- several members come from the Seth Low & Brownsville Houses. - Aaron CoplandAaron CoplandAaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...
, composer - Bummy Davis, boxer
- Max FleischerMax FleischerMax Fleischer was an American animator. He was a pioneer in the development of the animated cartoon and served as the head of Fleischer Studios...
, animator - World B. FreeWorld B. FreeWorld B. Free is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA from 1975–1988. Free was known as the "Prince of Midair" as well as "All-World".-Early years:...
, former NBA player - Nelson GeorgeNelson GeorgeNelson George is an African American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award....
, author - Sid GordonSid GordonSidney "Sid" Gordon , known as "Sid," was a stocky, powerfully built American right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman....
, 2-time All Star baseball player - GZAGZAGary Grice , better known by his stage names GZA and The Genius, is an American hip hop artist and founding member of the seminal hip hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has also appeared on his fellow clan members' solo projects and has maintained a successful solo career...
, rapper, founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan - Red HolzmanRed HolzmanWilliam "Red" Holzman was an NBA basketball player and coach probably best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks from 1967 to 1982. Holzman helped lead the Knicks to two NBA Championships in 1970 and 1973, and was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1985...
, Hall of Fame NBA 2-time All-Star & coach - MoeMoe HowardMoses Harry Horwitz , known professionally as Moe Howard, was an American actor and comedian best known as the leader of The Three Stooges, the farce comedy team who starred in motion pictures and television for four decades...
, Curly and Shemp Howard who were brothers and three members of The Three Stooges - Daniel Jacobs (boxer)Daniel Jacobs (boxer)Daniel Jacobs is an American professional boxer and is the former NABO and NABF Middleweight champion.-Early life:Jacobs was born and raised in the Brooklyn residential neighborhood of Brownsville to a Antiguan father and African-American mother. He was raised by his mother, Yvette Jacobs, his...
- Charles JenkinsCharles Jenkins (basketball)Charles Jenkins is an American professional basketball player for Teramo Basket in the Serie A Italian League. He was drafted the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association in 2011....
, NBA player - Zab JudahZab JudahZabdiel Judah is an American professional boxer. Judah has won five world titles between the junior welterweight and welterweight divisions, and is a former undisputed welterweight champion....
, boxer - Danny KayeDanny KayeDanny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, entertainer - Alfred KazinAlfred KazinAlfred Kazin was an American writer and literary critic, many of whose writings depicted the immigrant experience in early twentieth century America....
, writer and literary critic. - Larry KingLarry KingLawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
, television and radio host - M.O.P.M.O.P.M.O.P., short for Mash Out Posse, is an American hip hop duo. The duo, composed of Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, is known for the aggressive delivery typically employed by both emcees. Although they maintain a strong underground following, they are mainly known for the song "Ante Up," released on...
, hip hop group from Prospect Plaza. - Eddie Mustafa MuhammadEddie Mustafa MuhammadEddie Mustafa Muhammad is a retired American boxer.- Amateur career :Boxing under his birth name, Eddie Gregory, Muhammad won two New York Golden Gloves Championships. Gregory won both the 1971 and the 1972 New York Golden Gloves 147 lb Open Championships...
, former boxer - Originoo Gunn Clappaz, hip hop group, part of the Boot Camp Clik
- Bruce PasternackBruce PasternackBruce Pasternack was the President and CEO of the Special Olympics International from 2005-2007. He currently serves on the board of directors of Codexis , a biotechnology company based out of Redwood City California and Accelrys, Inc...
, Business Author, Former CEO of the Special Olympics, current board member of numerous organizations. - Norman PodhoretzNorman PodhoretzNorman B. Podhoretz is an American neoconservative pundit and writer for Commentary magazine.-Early life:The son of Julius and Helen Podhoretz, Jewish immigrants from the Central European region of Galicia, Podhoretz was born and raised in Brownsville, Brooklyn...
, writer and neoconservative political theorist - Killah PriestKillah PriestWalter Reed, better known as Killah Priest, Iron Sheik from the Middle East, or Masada, is an American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant & Brownsville neighbourhoods in Brooklyn. He is known for intensely spiritual lyrics loaded with metaphors and religious...
, rapper - Willie RandolphWillie RandolphWillie Larry Randolph is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and manager, most recently the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles...
, former baseball player, manager and now bench coach of the Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesThe Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league... - RZARZARobert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
, rapper, producer, founding member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang ClanWu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group... - SaigonSaigon (rapper)Brian Daniel Carenard, better known by his stage name Saigon, is an American rapper and occasional actor.Saigon is currently signed to Suburban Noize Records and Just Blaze's Fort Knocks Entertainment record label. After years of delay due to former record label interference, his album The Greatest...
, rapper - Phil SellersPhil SellersPhillip "Phil" Sellers, Jr. is an American former professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.-Early life:...
, former Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
basketball standout and former NBA player - Al SharptonAl SharptonAlfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
- Heltah SkeltahHeltah SkeltahHeltah Skeltah is a hip hop duo consisting of members Rock and Ruck . The two are members of New York supergroup Boot Camp Clik, along with Buckshot, Smif-N-Wessun and O.G.C....
, hip hop duo, part of the Boot Camp Clik - Phil SilversPhil SilversPhil Silvers was an American entertainer and comedy actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah." He is best known for starring in The Phil Silvers Show, a 1950s sitcom set on a U.S...
- Smoothe da HustlerSmoothe da HustlerDamon Smith, better known as Smoothe da Hustler is an American rapper who was signed to Profile Records in the mid-90s.Smoothe came to prominence in 1995 with his debut single "Broken Language", a duet with his little brother Trigger tha Gambler...
, rapper - BernNadette Stanis, actress
- SteeleSteele (rapper)Steele is an American rapper, famous as half of the underground rap duo Smif-N-Wessun, and as a member of Hip Hop supergroup Boot Camp Clik. Steele and Smif-N-Wessun partner Tek made their debut on Black Moon's classic 1993 album Enta Da Stage on the tracks "Black Smif-N-Wessun" and "U Da Man"...
, one half of hip hop duo Smif-n-WessunSmif-N-WessunSmif-n-Wessun is a hip hop duo consisting of members Tek and Steele . Smif-n-Wessun comprise two-fifths of the Brownsville, Brooklyn supergroup Boot Camp Clik, with Buckshot, Heltah Skeltah and O.G.C...
, member of the Boot Camp Clik - Mike TysonMike TysonMichael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...
grew up on Amboy Street. - Dwayne "Pearl" WashingtonDwayne WashingtonDwayne Alonzo Washington is a retired American college basketball star and professional player from 1986-1989. His nickname was "Pearl"...
, former professional basketball player. - James "Fly" Williams, former NBA player
- Otis WilsonOtis WilsonOtis Ray Wilson is a former American football linebacker in the National Football League for the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Raiders. He won a Super Bowl as a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears...
, former NFL linebacker - Terry WintersTerry WintersTerry Winters is an American painter whose work reintroduced figuration into painting in way that was consonant with the Modernist legacy...
, Artist
See also
- Brooklyn Community Board 16Brooklyn Community Board 16Brooklyn Community Board 16 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Brownsville and Bedford-Stuyvesant/Ocean Hill...
- Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc.Murder, Inc. was the name given by the press to organized crime groups in the 1920s through the 1940s that resulted in hundreds of murders on behalf of the American Mafia and Jewish Mafia groups who together formed the early organized crime groups in New York and...
- New York City teachers' strike of 1968
- Zion TriangleZion TriangleZion Park is a small park in the Brownsville, Brooklyn section of Brooklyn, New York notable for the Brownsville War Memorial.The Memorial to the fallen of the First World War was created by sculptor Charles Cary Rumsey and dedicated in 1925...