Wyckoff Heights, New York
Encyclopedia
Wyckoff Heights is an area of New York City along the Brooklyn
-Queens
border in northwest Bushwick
/ southwest Ridgewood
.
Wyckoff Heights is home to the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
at Wyckoff Avenue and Stockholm Street (originally the German Hospital of Brooklyn, renamed in 1918), and the former Wyckoff Heights Presbyterian Church at Harman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue (founded in 1895 and rebuilt after a 1928 fire, now the Ridgewood Pentecostal Church).
The Wyckoff Heights Post Office (zip code 11237) at 86 Wyckoff Avenue was opened in 1951 and serves north Bushwick and the Brooklyn portion of Wyckoff Heights.
The area was home first to many German immigrants, later followed by Italian and more recently Latino and Eastern-European residents.
into Queens
as portions of the Wyckoff farm were sold.
In 1890 the New York Times and New York Tribune announced the creation of a new park (now Maria Hernandez Park
) to be located in the Wyckoff Heights section of the 18th Ward of Brooklyn.
In 1892 Queens County property owners established the Wyckoff Heights Improvement Association to lobby for water, sewer, and gas service to the neighborhood., and in 1893 the Wyckoff Heights Water Company was formed to supply drinking water to the area.
In 1901 residents of the Queens section lobbied the City government to "adopt a system of house numbering" and erect street signs so that the postal service
would begin delivery to the neighborhood. Mail delivery to the Queens section was provided by the Brooklyn Post Office from the early 1900's until 1979, when this and other areas of Queens were granted their own zip code
.
The last 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) of farmland were developed in the 1940's.
Around the turn of the century, as urbanization moved northeast towards the borough line and into Queens, developers switched to masonry construction in order to conform to new building and fire codes. Many of these buildings are now part of the Cypress Avenue West Historic District
.
In the 1940's the last large-scale development in the neighborhood saw the construction of more automobile-oriented attached single-family homes with alleys and garages in the rear.
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...
-Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
border in northwest Bushwick
Bushwick, Brooklyn
Bushwick is a neighborhood in the northern part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood, formerly Brooklyn's 18th Ward, is now part of Brooklyn Community Board 4...
/ southwest Ridgewood
Ridgewood, Queens
Ridgewood is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It borders the neighborhoods of Maspeth, Middle Village and Glendale, as well as the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick. Historically, the neighborhood straddled the Queens-Brooklyn boundary. The neighborhood is part of Queens...
.
Wyckoff Heights is home to the Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
Wyckoff Heights Medical Center is a 350-bed teaching hospital located in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The hospital is part of the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System.-History:...
at Wyckoff Avenue and Stockholm Street (originally the German Hospital of Brooklyn, renamed in 1918), and the former Wyckoff Heights Presbyterian Church at Harman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue (founded in 1895 and rebuilt after a 1928 fire, now the Ridgewood Pentecostal Church).
The Wyckoff Heights Post Office (zip code 11237) at 86 Wyckoff Avenue was opened in 1951 and serves north Bushwick and the Brooklyn portion of Wyckoff Heights.
The area was home first to many German immigrants, later followed by Italian and more recently Latino and Eastern-European residents.
History
Wyckoff Heights was urbanized starting in the late 1800's, and took its name from the Wyckoff family who owned and farmed much of the land. Development progressed from BrooklynBrooklyn
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...
into Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
as portions of the Wyckoff farm were sold.
In 1890 the New York Times and New York Tribune announced the creation of a new park (now Maria Hernandez Park
Maria Hernandez park
Maria Hernandez Park is a municipal park in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York. It is located between Knickerbocker Avenue on the southwest to Irving Avenue on the northeast, and Starr Street on the northwest to Suydam Street on the southeast. The park is and is near the Jefferson Street station and...
) to be located in the Wyckoff Heights section of the 18th Ward of Brooklyn.
In 1892 Queens County property owners established the Wyckoff Heights Improvement Association to lobby for water, sewer, and gas service to the neighborhood., and in 1893 the Wyckoff Heights Water Company was formed to supply drinking water to the area.
In 1901 residents of the Queens section lobbied the City government to "adopt a system of house numbering" and erect street signs so that the postal service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
would begin delivery to the neighborhood. Mail delivery to the Queens section was provided by the Brooklyn Post Office from the early 1900's until 1979, when this and other areas of Queens were granted their own 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...
.
The last 18 acres (72,843.5 m²) of farmland were developed in the 1940's.
Building stock
The first buildings constructed in the neighborhood were largely attached wood frame three- and six-family row houses.Around the turn of the century, as urbanization moved northeast towards the borough line and into Queens, developers switched to masonry construction in order to conform to new building and fire codes. Many of these buildings are now part of the Cypress Avenue West Historic District
Cypress Avenue West Historic District
Cypress Avenue West Historic District is a national historic district in Ridgewood, Queens, New York. It includes 440 contributing buildings built between 1888 and 1906. They consist mainly of brick two and three story row houses with one apartment per floor and three story tenements with two...
.
In the 1940's the last large-scale development in the neighborhood saw the construction of more automobile-oriented attached single-family homes with alleys and garages in the rear.