Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gerritsen Beach is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, located near Marine Park and Sheepshead Bay, in Brooklyn Community Board 15.

Plumb Beach Channel, in the Gerritsen Beach

1 Geography
2 History
3 Scandals and controversy
4 Legislative Representatives
5 The Gerrittsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department
6 Other Neighborhood Organizations
7 Movies Filmed In Gerritsen Beach
8 References
9 External links

Gerritsen Beach is in Southeastern Brooklyn, lying on a peninsula near Marine Park, bounded to the north by Avenue U, to the east by Gerritsen Avenue, to the south by Plumb Beach Channel, and to the west by Shell Bank Creek and Knapp Street; it is bisected from west to east by Gotham Avenue Canal. The area north of the canal, known as the "New Section" by local residents, is lined with stores, brick houses, sidewalks, and the elementary school, P.S. 277 ("The Gerritsen Beach School"), while the area south of the canal (the "Old Section") retains the character of a small fishing village and is a popular station for party boats.

The neighborhood is named for Wolfert Gerritsen, a Dutchman, who in the early seventeenth century built a house and mill on Gerritsen Creek (now part of Marine Park).^[1]. The mill was destroyed by fire about 1931.

Until the early twentieth century, the area remained undeveloped except for a few squatters’ bungalows at the foot of Gerritsen Avenue. The firm of Realty Associates began building a middle-class summer resort there in 1920, and the southwest corner of Gerritsen’s Meadow was soon covered by one-story bungalows with peaked roofs and no backyards, typically on 40-by-45-foot lots.^[1] The popularity of this first venture spurred further growth. Some bungalows were made suitable for year-round habitation, two-story houses with backyards were built, and within a decade there were fifteen hundred houses. With its narrow streets and close-set homes, some sitting on the water, this neighborhood in far south Brooklyn is often likened to a New England fishing village.

such pure-nature landscapes are available at the end of Gerristen Avenue, called The Point

A few steps away from The Point

According to the NYPD, on June 26, 2006, four black teenagers were the victims of a racially motivated attack. They had gotten lost while riding their bikes into the area, and were then chased by a mob of local teenagers who shouted racist slurs. Two escaped without any physical harm, one was found lying in a bush, and the last was pulled off his bike and beaten. The police claim to have faced opposition and resistance from the community during the investigation, claiming that “The people in the community are refusing to speak to the N.Y.P.D.” ^[2] Earlier in the same year, two teenage sisters were arrested and charged after being videotaped spraypainting swastikas and other racist graffiti in an apartment building. ^[3]

Both of these incidents followed an earlier alleged bias attack, in which a house that was recently purchased by a black couple was severely vandalized, to the point where it was uninhabitable. According to the city's Human Rights Commissioner at the time, Dennis deLeon, "whatever was smashable was smashed." ^[4]

New York City Council

Lewis Fidler^[5]

New York State Senate

Carl Kruger ^[6]
Martin Golden ^[7]

House of Representatives

Anthony D. Weiner^[8]

New York Senators

The Gerrittsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department, aka the vollies which is the last remaining volunteer fire department in Brooklyn, was organized in 1922, when Gerrittsen Beach was a small, predominantly summer community. In 1921 a damaging fire on Abbey Court showed the community that the city’s regular fire apparatus could not reach the Beach in time to put out the fire. A mass meeting was called by the residents that resulted in the organization of the only volunteer fire department in Brooklyn.

Before the city added water mains to Gerrittsen Beach streets, the Volunteers had to handle fires at least three times a week. The urgency of need was due to the great danger for the residents because most families had oil stoves or kerosene lamps, and the water had to be pumped from wells. The city did not build Engine Company 321’s firehouse at Gerritsen Avenue and Avenue U until October 4, 1930.

Members of the department are currently known as the Vollies, and had earlier had the nickname "the Vamps." Members are not only trained to fight fires, but can also rescue people who are drowning, and assist in other medical emergencies. According to the Vollies 1976 anniversary booklet, in 1974 the Vollies were approved by the New York State Department of Health as an Emergency Services Training Center.

Even though it is now served by Engine Comapny 321, there remains strong community support for the firehouse at 52 Seba Avenue.

Significant events

The Vollies responded with medical aid to the 1960 jet airliner crash on 7th Avenue and Sterling Place, on December 16, 1960.
Just three days following the New York air disaster, the Vollies responded to the city’s call for the aircraft carrier USS Constitution fire at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on December 19, 1960.
During heavy fog the Mack searchlight, with its powerful lights, was used at Kennedy Airport when needed.
When there was a major oil fire in Mill Basin in 1962, the Vollies responded with foam to help put it out.

The Fleet

Gerritsen Beach VFD - 1 engine, 1 ambulance, 1 rescue

Vollies

The Northeast portion of Gerritsen Beach neighborhood

Gerritsen Beach Cares
Veterans of Foreign Wars - Argonne Marine Park Post #107

Gerritsen Ave before the painted lines

Bikers on Gerritsen Avenue Roadway

^ ^a ^b Cohen, Joyce. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Gerritsen Beach; Secluded Peninsula in South Brooklyn", The New York Times, March 3, 2002. Acessed November 11, 2007. "The area, named for Wolfert Gerritsen, a 17th-century settler, was mostly marshland until around 1920, when a company called Realty Associates began building summer homes."
^ "Brooklyn Community Is on Edge and in Spotlight After Hate-Crime Arrests" article from The New York Times
^ Melago, Carrie. "Camera Nabs 2 Teen Sisters In Racist Graffiti", New York Daily News, 18 January 2006, p. 18. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
^ "Bias Is Investigated In Damage to House Rented to Blacks", New York Times, 14 September 1992, p. B2. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
^ District: 46 Lewis Fidler Member Details Page at NYC Council Website
^ 27th NY State Senate District Page
^ Senator Golden's Website
^ Website of Representative Anthony Weiner
^ Hillary Clinton's Senate Website
^ Charles Schumer's Senate Website
^ IMDB Locations Search for Gerritsen Beach
^ IMDB Locations Search for Bartlett Place, Gerritsen Beach
^ http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/locations/sets_the_departed.shtml
^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0162650/
^ http://imdb.com/title/tt0117628/locations

GerritsenMemories.com - Marret Kauffner started the site in 1998 as a place for her family memories. Since there was no other outlet for Ex-"Gerritsen Beachers" to express their sentiment for Gerritsen Beach. People started to leave messages about the beach. She quickly learned that there was much more interest with other people then in her family. It hosts a message board, pictures and stories.
GerritsenBeach.net - Offering Current News, Links & Reviews not Memories