Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
Encyclopedia
Bedford-Stuyvesant is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough
of Brooklyn
. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3
, Brooklyn Community Board 8
and Brooklyn Community Board 16
. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st precincts. In the City Council the district is represented by Albert Vann
, of the 36th Council District.
Bedford-Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north (bordering Williamsburg
); Classon Avenue to the west (bordering Clinton Hill
); Broadway
and Van Sinderen Avenue to the east (bordering Bushwick and East New York
); and Atlantic Avenue
to the south (bordering Crown Heights
). It is served by Postal Service zip codes 11205, 11206, 11216, 11221, 11233 and 11238.
For decades, it has been a cultural center for Brooklyn
's black population. Following the construction of the subway line between Harlem and Bedford
in 1936, African Americans left an overcrowded Harlem
for more housing availability in Bedford-Stuyvesant. From Bedford-Stuyvesant, African Americans have since moved into the surrounding areas of Brooklyn, such as East New York
, Crown Heights
, Brownsville
and Fort Greene
.
The main north-south thoroughfare is Nostrand Avenue
, but the main shopping street is Fulton Street
, which lies above the main subway line
for the area ( trains). Fulton Street runs east-west the length of the neighborhood and intersects high-traffic streets including Bedford Avenue, Nostrand Avenue and Stuyvesant Avenue. Bedford-Stuyvesant is actually made up of four neighborhoods: Bedford
, Stuyvesant Heights
, Ocean Hill
and Weeksville
.
, expanded to include the area of Stuyvesant Heights. The name Stuyvesant comes from Peter Stuyvesant
, the last governor of the colony of New Netherland
.
In pre-revolutionary
Kings County, Bedford, which now forms the heart of the community, was the first major settlement east of the then Village of Brooklyn on the ferry road
to the neighborhood of Jamaica
and eastern Long Island
.
With the building of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad in 1833, along Atlantic Avenue
, Bedford was established as a railroad station near the intersection of current Atlantic Avenue and Franklin Avenues. In 1836, the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad was taken over by the Long Island Rail Road
(LIRR). Built in 1863, the Capitoline Grounds
were the home of the Brooklyn Atlantics
baseball team. The Grounds were bordered by Nostrand Ave., Halsey St., Marcy Ave., and Putnam Ave. During the winters, the operators would flood the area and open a ice-skating arena. The Grounds were demolished in 1880. In 1878, the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway
established its northern terminal with a connection to the LIRR at the same location.
The community of Bedford contained one of the oldest free black communities in the U.S., Weeksville
, much of which is still extant and preserved as a historical
site. Ocean Hill
, a subsection founded in 1890 is primarily a residential area.
In the last decades of the 19th century, with the advent of electric trolleys
and the Fulton Street Elevated
, Bedford Stuyvesant became a working class
and middle class
bedroom community
for those working in downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan
in New York City. At that time, most of the pre-existing wooden homes were destroyed and replaced with brownstone
rowhouse
s.
in the early-to-mid 20th century, pursuing what they perceived as the racial equality and freedoms of the north. Many African-Americans moved North in search of new industry. The Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood became a popular landing ground for African-Americans. To this day, it is widely known as the black cultural mecca of Brooklyn, similar to what Harlem
is to Manhattan.
of significant parts of its population to suburban areas ghetto
ized a racially diverse neighborhood.
referred to it as "Brooklyn's Little Harlem." One of the first urban riot
s of the era took place there. Social
and racial divisions in the city contributed to the tensions, which climaxed when attempts at community control in the nearby Ocean Hill
-Brownsville
school district pitted some black community residents and activists (from both inside and outside the area) against teachers, the majority of whom were white, many of them Jewish. Charges of racism
were a common part of social tensions at the time.
In 1964, race riot
s broke out in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem after an Irish American NYPD lieutenant, Thomas Gilligan, shot and killed an African American teenager, James Powell, 15. The riot spread to Bedford-Stuyvesant and resulted in the destruction and looting of many neighborhood businesses, many of which were Jewish-owned. Race relations between the NYPD and the city's Black Community were (are) strained as police were (are) seen as an instrument of oppression and racially biased law enforcement; Further, at that time, few Black policemen were present on the force. In predominantly Black New York neighborhoods, arrests and prosecutions for drug related crimes were higher than anywhere else in the city despite evidence that illegal drugs were used at at least the same rate in the White community, further contributing to the problems between the white dominated police force and black community. Coincidentally enough, the 1964 riot took place across the NYPD's 28th and 32nd precinct located in Harlem, and the 79th precinct located in Bedford-Stuyvesant which at one time were the only three police precincts in the NYPD that black police officers were allowed to patrol in. Race riots followed in 1967 and 1968, as part of the political and racial tensions in the United States of the era, aggravated by continued high unemployment among blacks, continued de facto
segregation in housing, the failure to enforce civil rights
laws.
Following the 1964 election, Robert F. Kennedy
was elected as the U.S. Senator for the State of New York. One of Kennedy's biggest tasks as Senator was combating the war on poverty as racial rioting broke out across the urban north while the issues of the civil rights movement in southern states were still more of a priority for African American
rights' activists. Rather than focus on problems facing African Americans outside of New York, Kennedy devoted a study of problems facing the urban poor in Bedford Stuyvesant as it received almost no federal aid and was the city's largest non-white community. With the help of local activists and politicians such as Civil Court Judge Thomas Jones
, grassroots organizations of community members and businesses willing to aid were formed and began the rebuilding of Bedford Stuyvesant. Kennedy's program was soon used as a nationwide model that began in Bedford Stuyvesant and would be used in other large urban areas to fight the War on Poverty
.
In 1965, Andrew W. Cooper
, a journalist from Bedford-Stuyvesant, brought suit under the Voting Rights Act
against racial gerrymandering
. The lawsuit claimed that Bedford-Stuyvesant was divided among five congressional district
s, each represented by a white Congress member
. It resulted in the creation of New York's 12th Congressional District
and the election in 1968 of Shirley Chisholm
, the first black woman and West Indian American ever elected to the U.S. Congress
.
In early 1975, when Seatrain Shipbuilding Corp. inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard experienced a massive layoff of its shipbuilders, 80% of those affected living in and around Bedford-Stuyvesant, it was Congresswoman Chisholm who came to their rescue. Chisholm convinced the government to restructure existing loans and guarantee new loans backed by the VLCC's Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge so the shipbuilders of Seatrain Shipbuilding could resume building the Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge.
A case study of Seatrain Shipbuilding & the Brooklyn Navy Yard From 1968-1979 Seatrain Shipbuilding was the largest employer inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Seatrain Shipbuilding provided an est $750,000,000 in economic stimulus to the City of New York by way of their shipbuilding activities from 1968-1979 inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
In 1977, a power outage occurred throughout all of New York City due to a power failure at the Con Edison Plant. Bedford-Stuyvesant and neighboring Bushwick were two of the worst hit areas. Thirty-five blocks of Broadway, the street dividing the two communities, were affected, with 134 stores looted, 45 of which were set ablaze.
. The two significant reasons for this were the affordable housing stock consisting of brownstone
rowhouse
s located on quiet tree-lined streets and the marked decrease of crime in the neighborhood. The latter is at least partly attributable to the decline of the national crack epidemic
as well as heightened policing.
In July 2005, the New York City Police Department designated the Fulton Street-Nostrand Avenue business district in Bedford-Stuyvesant as an "Impact Zone". The Police Department has also ranked Bedford-Stuyvesant as one of the neighborhoods that has experienced a steady decline in crime and has had improved safety The designation directed significantly increased levels of police protection and resources to the area centered on the intersection of Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue for a period of six months. It was renewed for another six-month period in December 2005. Since the designation of the Impact Zone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, crime within the district decreased 15% from the previous year.
Despite the improvements and increasing stability of the community, Bedford-Stuyvesant has continued to be stigmatized in some circles, for example Tony Notaro. by a lingering public perception left from the rough times of the late 20th Century as well as from people current residents. In March 2005 a campaign was launched to supplant the "Bed-Stuy, Do-or-Die" slogan with "Bed-Stuy, and Proud of It".
Through a series of "wallscapes" (large outdoor mural
s), the campaign hoped to honor famous community members, including community activist and poet June Jordan
, activist Hattie Carthan
, rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
, rapper Lil Kim, rapper and actor Mos Def
, and actor and comedian Chris Rock
. Additionally various artistic and cultural neighborhood events and celebrations such as the neighborhood's annual Universal Hip Hop Parade
sought to show off the area's positive accomplishments.
As a result, Bedford-Stuyvesant became increasingly racially, economically and ethnically diverse, with an increase of foreign-born Afro-Caribbean
and African residents as well as other assorted ethnic backgrounds. As is expected with gentrification
, the influx of new residents has sometimes contributed to the displacement of poorer residents. In many other cases, newcomers have simply rehabilitated and occupied formerly vacant and abandoned properties.
Many long-time residents and business owners expressed the concern that they would be priced out by newcomers whom they disparagingly characterize as "yuppie
s and buppies (black urban professionals)". They feared that the neighborhood's ethnic character will be lost. However, Bedford-Stuyvesant's population has experienced much less displacement of the black population, including those who are economically disadvantaged, than other areas of Brooklyn, such as Williamsburg
and Cobble Hill
. Many of the new residents are upwardly mobile
middle income
black families, as well as immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean
. Neighborhoods surrounding Bedford-Stuyvesant in Northern and Eastern Brooklyn are also majority black such as Brownsville
, Canarsie
, Crown Heights
, East Flatbush
, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, East New York, and Fort Greene
. Together these neighborhoods have a population of about 940,000 and are roughly 82% black making it the largest black neighborhood in the United States.
Some people believed positive neighborhood changes would benefit all residents of the area, bringing with it improved neighborhood safety and creating a demand for improved retail services along the major commercial strips, such as Fulton Street
(recently co-named Harriet Tubman Avenue), Nostrand Avenue, Tompkins Avenue, Greene Avenue, Lewis Avenue, Flushing Avenue, Park Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Dekalb Avenue, Putnam Avenue, Bedford Avenue, Marcy Avenue, Malcolm X Boulevard
, Gates Avenue, Madison Street and Jefferson Avenue. Such changes could have brought an increase in local jobs and other economic activity. To that effect, both the Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue commercial corridors become part of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Business Improvement District, bringing along with it a beautification project that provides various pedestrian and landscape improvements.
Many properties were renovated after the turn of the century, and crime declined. New clothing stores, mid-century collector furniture stores, florists, bakeries, cafes and restaurants opened and Fresh Direct began delivering to the area. Despite the recent changes, violent crime still remains a problem in the area. The two precincts that cover Bedford-Stuyvesant reported a combined 37 murders last year in 2010. The 81st precinct was also accused in 2010 of not reporting crimes and recording felonies as misdemeanors to make the crime rate seem lower.
A diverse mix of students, 'hipsters', artists, creative professionals, architects and attorneys of all races continue to move to the neighborhood. They are concentrated mainly in the Stuyvesant Heights and Bedford Corners areas in the South and Western parts of the neighborhood. In addition, a major business improvement district has been under way along the Fulton and Nostrand Corridor with redesigned streetscape to include: new street trees, street furniture, pavers, signage and improved cleanliness in an effort to attract more business investment. The average real estate price has more than doubled in this neighborhood since 2000, when the average home price was around $124,000. Townhome prices in more affluent parts of Bedford Stuyvesant, such as Stuyvesant Heights or Bedford Corners can be seen listed from $600,000 - $900,000 in 2011.
on Fulton Street
. At the eastern edge of the neighborhood is Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology
.
bus routes. It is served by the IND Fulton Street Line
( trains), which opened in 1936. This underground line replaced the earlier, elevated BMT Fulton Street Line on May 31, 1940. The IND Crosstown Line
( train) running underneath Lafayette Avenue and Marcy Avenue, opened for service in 1937. The elevated BMT Jamaica Line
( trains) also serves the neighborhood, running alongside its northern boundaries at Broadway. Bedford-Stuyvesant is also served by the Nostrand Avenue
and East New York
stations of the Long Island Railroad.
Until 1950, the BMT Lexington Avenue Line
served Lexington Avenue in the neighborhood. Likewise, the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
served Myrtle Avenue in the north until 1969.
has prominently featured the streets and brownstone blocks of Bedford-Stuyvesant in his films, including Do the Right Thing
(1989), Crooklyn
(1994), Clockers (1995), and Summer of Sam
(1999). Chris Rock
's UPN (later CW) television sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris
, portrays Rock's life growing up as a teenager in Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1982–1987.
Bedford-Stuyvesant is featured in the 1971 film The French Connection
, in which NYPD narcotics detective Popeye Doyle is assigned to a Brooklyn police station that appears to be located in Bedford-Stuyvesant as mentioned by his supervisor Walt Simonson. On a 1997 episode of NYPD Blue
, "Taillight's last Gleaming", NYPD Lieutenant Arthur Fancy
requests that an officer who pulled over him and his wife in a racially motivated manner be transferred to a Bedford-Stuyvesant precinct as punishment to learn how to better interact with various black citizens. Bedford-Stuyvesant is featured in the 2002 film RFK
where following the Watts Riot in Los Angeles, New York United States Senator Robert Francis Kennedy tours the neighborhood as a means of figuring out how to confront the war on poverty
.
Billy Joel
's 1980 single, "You May Be Right
" mentions the neighborhood with the lyrics "I was stranded in the Combat Zone
/ I walked through Bedford-Stuy alone / even rode my motorcycle in the rain" when discussing crazy things the singer had done in his life.
The neighborhood was also the setting for portions of Dave Chappelle
's 2004 documentary Block Party
. Chappelle and many prominent rap and soul artists performed an impromptu concert at the Broken Angel House
in Clinton Hill
, which is a neighborhood that borders Bedford-Stuyvesant.
A large number of well-known hip hop
artists have come out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, including such notables as Jay-Z
, Memphis Bleek
, Aaliyah
, The Notorious B.I.G.
, Lil Kim, Big Daddy Kane
, Mos Def
, Fabolous
, Maino
, Ol' Dirty Bastard
, GZA
, Papoose
, and Masta Ace.
In 2003 on the Kanye West produced track titled "Came Back For You", which is featured on the critically acclaimed platinum selling album La Bella Mafia
; pure bred brooklynite Lil Kim raps, "...this Bed-Stuy Fly-girl came back for Brooklyn!"
In "Scan," an episode of the television show Prison Break
, fugitive Fernando Sucre
flees to Bedford-Stuyvesant to meet his friend, only to find out that his sweetheart will be getting married in Las Vegas.
The Notorious B.I.G. song "Unbelievable" starts with the line referring to himself as "Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one." Also his song "Machine Gun Funk" contains the lyric: "Bed-Stuy, the place where my head rest" referring to Biggie's roots in the neighborhood. Also, on his song, "The What" feat. Method Man, the line "Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one, my borough is thorough." All songs referenced are on B.I.G.s debut album, Ready to Die
.
In 1996, you can hear backround vocals of The Notorious B.I.G on the debut solo single of his protégée's multi-platnium album Hard Core (Lil' Kim album). On this classic hip hop track titled "No Time" the legendary MC chants, "I rely on Bed-stuy to shut it down if I die."
In the film Notorious
, The Notorious B.I.G., played by Jamal Woolard
, states that he was growing up in: "Do or Die Bedstuy".
Mos Def
raps "Blacker than the nighttime sky of Bed-Stuy in July" in the Black Star
song "Astronomy (8th Light)" from their album Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. Mos Def also describes his life in Bedford-Stuyvesant in the song "Life in Marvelous Times," which appeared on his 2009 album The Ecstatic
.
The neighborhood (and instructions for its pronunciation) are featured in The Bonfire of the Vanities
by Tom Wolfe
.
In the series finale of Third Watch
the character of Maurice "Bosco" Boscorelli is transferred to Bedford-Stuyvesant after an explosion and fire force the closing of the fictional "Camelot" precinct.
The music video for M.I.A.
's song "Paper Planes
" was filmed in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
In Jay-Z
's "Empire State of Mind", he raps "Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie".
In Big Sean
's remake of Gucci Mane
's Lemonade, he says "D-town, West side yeah I said it, West side, But they yellin' B.I.G. So much that you would thought its Bed-Stuy".
In 1995, GZA mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant in the song "Duel of the Iron Mic" citing "...I ain't particular, I bang like vehicular homicides on July 4 in Bed-Stuy".
In 2005, Young Jeezy
mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant in the song "Last of the Dying Breed"... "Im from even where the dead die, but try and do it big like the kid from Bed-Stuy."
In the Notorious B.I.G. song "1970 Somethin'", The Game raps about Bedford-Stuyvesant in his verse of the song.
In a 2010 freestyle by Papoose
over Lloyd Banks
' "Beamer, Benz or Bentley", Papoose mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant... "I rep NY, I'm so Bed-Stuy".
At the start of the 1994 Ice Cube
track "Wicked
", a news extract mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant before the song itself starts.
2010's ;;The Stoop
by Little Jackie
features the line "Sittin' on the stoop in Bed-Stuy" throughout the song.
In 2011, Kanye West raps "Made a left on Nostrand Ave., we in Bed-Stuy" in his and Jay-Z's song "Gotta Have It" from the album Watch the Throne
On June 21, 1990, during his first trip to New York, freedom fighter and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela visits Bed Stuy several months after serving 27 years in a South African prison on Robben Island.
Concord Baptist Church
Borough (New York City)
New York City, one of the largest cities in the world, is composed of five boroughs. Each borough now has the same boundaries as the county it is in. County governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...
of Brooklyn
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...
. Formed in 1930, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3
Brooklyn Community Board 3
Brooklyn Community Board 3 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Stuyvesant Heights and Ocean Hill...
, Brooklyn Community Board 8
Brooklyn Community Board 8
Brooklyn Community Board 8 is a local governmental body in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that encompasses the neighborhoods of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, and Bedford-Stuyvesant...
and 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...
. The neighborhood is patrolled by the NYPD's 79th and 81st precincts. In the City Council the district is represented by Albert Vann
Albert Vann
Albert Vann is a member of the New York City Council from Brooklyn representing the 36th Council District, which includes parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights...
, of the 36th Council District.
Bedford-Stuyvesant is bordered by Flushing Avenue to the north (bordering Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
); Classon Avenue to the west (bordering Clinton Hill
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...
); Broadway
Broadway (Brooklyn)
Broadway is an avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that extends from the East River in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in a southeasterly direction to East New York for a length of 4.32 miles . It was named for Broadway in Manhattan. The East New York terminus is a complicated...
and Van Sinderen Avenue to the east (bordering Bushwick and 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 Atlantic Avenue
Atlantic Avenue (New York City)
Atlantic Avenue is an important street in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. It stretches from the Brooklyn waterfront on the East River all the way to Jamaica, Queens...
to the south (bordering Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
). It is served by Postal Service zip codes 11205, 11206, 11216, 11221, 11233 and 11238.
For decades, it has been a cultural center for Brooklyn
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...
's black population. Following the construction of the subway line between Harlem and Bedford
IND Fulton Street Line
The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, extending from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Rockaway Line branches from it. It forms part of the A...
in 1936, African Americans left an overcrowded Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
for more housing availability in Bedford-Stuyvesant. From Bedford-Stuyvesant, African Americans have since moved into the surrounding areas of Brooklyn, such as 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...
, Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
, Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
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....
and Fort Greene
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Part of Brooklyn Community Board 2, Fort Greene is listed on the New York State Registry and on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a New York City-designated Historic District...
.
The main north-south thoroughfare is Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue is a major street in Brooklyn, New York, that runs north from Emmons Avenue in Sheepshead Bay to Flushing Avenue in Williamsburg, where it continues as Lee Avenue. From Flushing Avenue to Farragut Road, Nostrand Avenue is a two-lane street...
, but the main shopping street is Fulton Street
Fulton Street (Brooklyn)
Fulton Street, named after engineer Robert Fulton, exists mainly in two parts in what are today two boroughs of New York City which Fulton linked by his steam ferries, and each segment has its own distinct identity. This entry deals with Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which now begins at the...
, which lies above the main subway line
IND Fulton Street Line
The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, extending from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Rockaway Line branches from it. It forms part of the A...
for the area ( trains). Fulton Street runs east-west the length of the neighborhood and intersects high-traffic streets including Bedford Avenue, Nostrand Avenue and Stuyvesant Avenue. Bedford-Stuyvesant is actually made up of four neighborhoods: Bedford
Bedford, Brooklyn
Bedford is a community in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, centered approximately at the corner of modern-day Fulton Street and Franklin Avenue.Its name is better known today as part of the larger community of Bedford-Stuyvesant...
, Stuyvesant Heights
Stuyvesant Heights, Brooklyn
Stuyvesant Heights is a neighborhood in north-central Brooklyn, a part of settled in the mid-17th century before the borough of Brooklyn was incorporated as a city...
, Ocean Hill
Ocean Hill, Brooklyn
Ocean Hill is a subsection of Bedford-Stuyvesant in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Founded in 1890, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11233...
and Weeksville
Weeksville, Brooklyn
Weeksville is a neighborhood founded by African American freedmen in what is now Brooklyn, New York, United States, part of the present-day neighborhood of Crown Heights.-History:...
.
Early history
The neighborhood name is an extension of the name of the Village of BedfordBedford, Brooklyn
Bedford is a community in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, centered approximately at the corner of modern-day Fulton Street and Franklin Avenue.Its name is better known today as part of the larger community of Bedford-Stuyvesant...
, expanded to include the area of Stuyvesant Heights. The name Stuyvesant comes from Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant
Peter Stuyvesant , served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664, after which it was renamed New York...
, the last governor of the colony of New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
.
In pre-revolutionary
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
Kings County, Bedford, which now forms the heart of the community, was the first major settlement east of the then Village of Brooklyn on the ferry road
Fulton Street (Brooklyn)
Fulton Street, named after engineer Robert Fulton, exists mainly in two parts in what are today two boroughs of New York City which Fulton linked by his steam ferries, and each segment has its own distinct identity. This entry deals with Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which now begins at the...
to the neighborhood of Jamaica
Jamaica, Queens
Jamaica is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States. It was settled under Dutch rule in 1656 in New Netherland as Rustdorp. Under British rule, the Village of Jamaica became the center of the "Town of Jamaica"...
and eastern Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
.
With the building of the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad in 1833, along Atlantic Avenue
Atlantic Avenue (New York City)
Atlantic Avenue is an important street in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. It stretches from the Brooklyn waterfront on the East River all the way to Jamaica, Queens...
, Bedford was established as a railroad station near the intersection of current Atlantic Avenue and Franklin Avenues. In 1836, the Brooklyn and Jamaica Railroad was taken over by 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...
(LIRR). Built in 1863, the Capitoline Grounds
Capitoline Grounds
The Capitoline Grounds, also known as Capitoline Skating Lake and Base Ball Ground, was a baseball park in Brooklyn, New York from 1864 to 1880. It was built to rival nearby Union Grounds, also in Brooklyn...
were the home of the Brooklyn Atlantics
Brooklyn Atlantics
The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty.Established in 1855, Atlantic was a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1857. In 1859, with a record of 11 wins and 1 loss, Atlantic emerged as the recognized champions of...
baseball team. The Grounds were bordered by Nostrand Ave., Halsey St., Marcy Ave., and Putnam Ave. During the winters, the operators would flood the area and open a ice-skating arena. The Grounds were demolished in 1880. In 1878, the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway
BMT Brighton Line
The BMT Brighton Line is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. Local service is provided at all times by the Q train. The Q is joined by the B express train on weekdays...
established its northern terminal with a connection to the LIRR at the same location.
The community of Bedford contained one of the oldest free black communities in the U.S., Weeksville
Weeksville, Brooklyn
Weeksville is a neighborhood founded by African American freedmen in what is now Brooklyn, New York, United States, part of the present-day neighborhood of Crown Heights.-History:...
, much of which is still extant and preserved as a historical
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
site. Ocean Hill
Ocean Hill, Brooklyn
Ocean Hill is a subsection of Bedford-Stuyvesant in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Founded in 1890, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11233...
, a subsection founded in 1890 is primarily a residential area.
Establishment as an urban neighborhood
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
and the Fulton Street Elevated
Kings County Elevated Railway
The Kings County Elevated Railway Company was a builder and operator of elevated railway lines in Kings County, New York, now coextensive with the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. Its original services were operated with steam locomotives....
, Bedford Stuyvesant became a working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
and middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
bedroom community
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
for those working in downtown Brooklyn and Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in New York City. At that time, most of the pre-existing wooden homes were destroyed and replaced with brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
rowhouse
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s.
Ethnic changes
African Americans migrated from the Southern United StatesSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
in the early-to-mid 20th century, pursuing what they perceived as the racial equality and freedoms of the north. Many African-Americans moved North in search of new industry. The Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood became a popular landing ground for African-Americans. To this day, it is widely known as the black cultural mecca of Brooklyn, similar to what Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
is to Manhattan.
Post-war problems
Some of the new residents who had been rural workers had difficulty finding reasonably paid work in the urban New York economy. The city itself was in a period of steady decline, exacerbated by abandonment of parts of the transportation network, disappearance of industrial jobs, decline of public facilities and services, inability to deal with increasing crime, and difficulties in municipal government. The movementWhite flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
of significant parts of its population to suburban areas ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
ized a racially diverse neighborhood.
1960s and 1970s
Gang wars erupted in 1961 in Bedford-Stuyvesant. During the same year, Alfred E. Clark of The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
referred to it as "Brooklyn's Little Harlem." One of the first urban riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
s of the era took place there. Social
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
and racial divisions in the city contributed to the tensions, which climaxed when attempts at community control in the nearby Ocean Hill
Ocean Hill, Brooklyn
Ocean Hill is a subsection of Bedford-Stuyvesant in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Founded in 1890, the neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3 and Brooklyn Community Board 16. The ZIP code for the neighborhood is 11233...
-Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
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....
school district pitted some black community residents and activists (from both inside and outside the area) against teachers, the majority of whom were white, many of them Jewish. Charges of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
were a common part of social tensions at the time.
In 1964, race riot
Race riot
A race riot or racial riot is an outbreak of violent civil disorder in which race is a key factor. A phenomenon frequently confused with the concept of 'race riot' is sectarian violence, which involves public mass violence or conflict over non-racial factors.-United States:The term had entered the...
s broke out in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem after an Irish American NYPD lieutenant, Thomas Gilligan, shot and killed an African American teenager, James Powell, 15. The riot spread to Bedford-Stuyvesant and resulted in the destruction and looting of many neighborhood businesses, many of which were Jewish-owned. Race relations between the NYPD and the city's Black Community were (are) strained as police were (are) seen as an instrument of oppression and racially biased law enforcement; Further, at that time, few Black policemen were present on the force. In predominantly Black New York neighborhoods, arrests and prosecutions for drug related crimes were higher than anywhere else in the city despite evidence that illegal drugs were used at at least the same rate in the White community, further contributing to the problems between the white dominated police force and black community. Coincidentally enough, the 1964 riot took place across the NYPD's 28th and 32nd precinct located in Harlem, and the 79th precinct located in Bedford-Stuyvesant which at one time were the only three police precincts in the NYPD that black police officers were allowed to patrol in. Race riots followed in 1967 and 1968, as part of the political and racial tensions in the United States of the era, aggravated by continued high unemployment among blacks, continued de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
segregation in housing, the failure to enforce civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
laws.
Following the 1964 election, Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
was elected as the U.S. Senator for the State of New York. One of Kennedy's biggest tasks as Senator was combating the war on poverty as racial rioting broke out across the urban north while the issues of the civil rights movement in southern states were still more of a priority for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
rights' activists. Rather than focus on problems facing African Americans outside of New York, Kennedy devoted a study of problems facing the urban poor in Bedford Stuyvesant as it received almost no federal aid and was the city's largest non-white community. With the help of local activists and politicians such as Civil Court Judge Thomas Jones
Thomas R. Jones (judge)
Thomas Russell Jones Jr. was an African-American member of the New York State Assembly, Justice of the New York Supreme Court, and leading civil rights activist for black Americans in slums of northern cities....
, grassroots organizations of community members and businesses willing to aid were formed and began the rebuilding of Bedford Stuyvesant. Kennedy's program was soon used as a nationwide model that began in Bedford Stuyvesant and would be used in other large urban areas to fight the War on Poverty
War on Poverty
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent...
.
In 1965, Andrew W. Cooper
Andrew W. Cooper
Andrew W. Cooper was an African American civil rights activist, businessman, and journalist. He was the publisher and editor-in-chief of The City Sun....
, a journalist from Bedford-Stuyvesant, brought suit under the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
against racial gerrymandering
Gerrymandering
In the process of setting electoral districts, gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected districts...
. The lawsuit claimed that Bedford-Stuyvesant was divided among five congressional district
Congressional district
A congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
s, each represented by a white Congress member
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. It resulted in the creation of New York's 12th Congressional District
New York's 12th congressional district
New York's 12th Congressional District is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives located in New York City. It includes parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan...
and the election in 1968 of Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Chisholm
Shirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
, the first black woman and West Indian American ever elected to the U.S. Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
.
In early 1975, when Seatrain Shipbuilding Corp. inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard experienced a massive layoff of its shipbuilders, 80% of those affected living in and around Bedford-Stuyvesant, it was Congresswoman Chisholm who came to their rescue. Chisholm convinced the government to restructure existing loans and guarantee new loans backed by the VLCC's Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge so the shipbuilders of Seatrain Shipbuilding could resume building the Stuyvesant and Bay Ridge.
A case study of Seatrain Shipbuilding & the Brooklyn Navy Yard From 1968-1979 Seatrain Shipbuilding was the largest employer inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Seatrain Shipbuilding provided an est $750,000,000 in economic stimulus to the City of New York by way of their shipbuilding activities from 1968-1979 inside the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
In 1977, a power outage occurred throughout all of New York City due to a power failure at the Con Edison Plant. Bedford-Stuyvesant and neighboring Bushwick were two of the worst hit areas. Thirty-five blocks of Broadway, the street dividing the two communities, were affected, with 134 stores looted, 45 of which were set ablaze.
Early 2000s gentrification
Beginning in the 2000s, the neighborhood began to experience gentrificationGentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
. The two significant reasons for this were the affordable housing stock consisting of brownstone
Brownstone
Brownstone is a brown Triassic or Jurassic sandstone which was once a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States to refer to a terraced house clad in this material.-Types:-Apostle Island brownstone:...
rowhouse
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
s located on quiet tree-lined streets and the marked decrease of crime in the neighborhood. The latter is at least partly attributable to the decline of the national crack epidemic
Crack Epidemic
The United States crack epidemic refers to the surge of crack houses and crack cocaine use in major cities in the United States between 1984 and 1990...
as well as heightened policing.
In July 2005, the New York City Police Department designated the Fulton Street-Nostrand Avenue business district in Bedford-Stuyvesant as an "Impact Zone". The Police Department has also ranked Bedford-Stuyvesant as one of the neighborhoods that has experienced a steady decline in crime and has had improved safety The designation directed significantly increased levels of police protection and resources to the area centered on the intersection of Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue for a period of six months. It was renewed for another six-month period in December 2005. Since the designation of the Impact Zone in Bedford-Stuyvesant, crime within the district decreased 15% from the previous year.
Despite the improvements and increasing stability of the community, Bedford-Stuyvesant has continued to be stigmatized in some circles, for example Tony Notaro. by a lingering public perception left from the rough times of the late 20th Century as well as from people current residents. In March 2005 a campaign was launched to supplant the "Bed-Stuy, Do-or-Die" slogan with "Bed-Stuy, and Proud of It".
Through a series of "wallscapes" (large outdoor mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s), the campaign hoped to honor famous community members, including community activist and poet June Jordan
June Jordan
June Millicent Jordan was a Caribbean American poet, novelist, journalist, biographer, dramatist, teacher and committed activist...
, activist Hattie Carthan
Hattie Carthan
Hattie Carthan was a community activist and environmentalist who was instrumental in improving the quality of life of the Brooklyn, New York community of Bedford-Stuyvesant....
, rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
, rapper Lil Kim, rapper and actor Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, and actor and comedian Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
. Additionally various artistic and cultural neighborhood events and celebrations such as the neighborhood's annual Universal Hip Hop Parade
Universal Hip Hop Parade
The Universal Hip Hop Parade ' is an annual family-friendly non-profit educational and cultural event held in the historically Black neighbourhood of Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn on the Saturday before the anniversary of Marcus Garvey's August 17 birthday to bring to mind that Marcus Garvey himself...
sought to show off the area's positive accomplishments.
As a result, Bedford-Stuyvesant became increasingly racially, economically and ethnically diverse, with an increase of foreign-born Afro-Caribbean
British African-Caribbean community
The British African Caribbean communities are residents of the United Kingdom who are of West Indian background and whose ancestors were primarily indigenous to Africa...
and African residents as well as other assorted ethnic backgrounds. As is expected with gentrification
Gentrification
Gentrification and urban gentrification refer to the changes that result when wealthier people acquire or rent property in low income and working class communities. Urban gentrification is associated with movement. Consequent to gentrification, the average income increases and average family size...
, the influx of new residents has sometimes contributed to the displacement of poorer residents. In many other cases, newcomers have simply rehabilitated and occupied formerly vacant and abandoned properties.
Many long-time residents and business owners expressed the concern that they would be priced out by newcomers whom they disparagingly characterize as "yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
s and buppies (black urban professionals)". They feared that the neighborhood's ethnic character will be lost. However, Bedford-Stuyvesant's population has experienced much less displacement of the black population, including those who are economically disadvantaged, than other areas of Brooklyn, such as Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordering Greenpoint to the north, Bedford-Stuyvesant to the south, Bushwick to the east and the East River to the west. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 1. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD's 90th ...
and Cobble Hill
Cobble Hill, Brooklyn
Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, USA. Bordered by Atlantic Avenue on the north, Hicks Street to the west, Smith Street on the east and Degraw Street to the south, Cobble Hill sits adjacent to Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights with Carroll Gardens to the south...
. Many of the new residents are upwardly mobile
Upwardly Mobile
Upwardly Mobile was an Irish television sitcom that was made and broadcast by RTÉ. Three series, including three Christmas specials, were originally broadcast on RTÉ One between 8 September 1995 and 26 December 1997....
middle income
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
black families, as well as immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. Neighborhoods surrounding Bedford-Stuyvesant in Northern and Eastern Brooklyn are also majority black such as Brownsville
Brownsville, Brooklyn
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....
, 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....
, Crown Heights
Crown Heights, Brooklyn
Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The main thoroughfare through this neighborhood is Eastern Parkway, a tree-lined boulevard designed by Frederick Law Olmsted extending two miles east-west.Originally, the area was known as Crow Hill....
, 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...
, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, East New York, and Fort Greene
Fort Greene, Brooklyn
Fort Greene is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Part of Brooklyn Community Board 2, Fort Greene is listed on the New York State Registry and on the National Register of Historic Places, and is a New York City-designated Historic District...
. Together these neighborhoods have a population of about 940,000 and are roughly 82% black making it the largest black neighborhood in the United States.
Some people believed positive neighborhood changes would benefit all residents of the area, bringing with it improved neighborhood safety and creating a demand for improved retail services along the major commercial strips, such as Fulton Street
Fulton Street (Brooklyn)
Fulton Street, named after engineer Robert Fulton, exists mainly in two parts in what are today two boroughs of New York City which Fulton linked by his steam ferries, and each segment has its own distinct identity. This entry deals with Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which now begins at the...
(recently co-named Harriet Tubman Avenue), Nostrand Avenue, Tompkins Avenue, Greene Avenue, Lewis Avenue, Flushing Avenue, Park Avenue, Myrtle Avenue, Dekalb Avenue, Putnam Avenue, Bedford Avenue, Marcy Avenue, Malcolm X Boulevard
Utica Avenue
Utica Avenue is a major avenue in Brooklyn, New York, one of several named for cities in Upstate New York. It runs north–south with its south end at Flatbush Avenue, and is continued by Malcolm X Boulevard in Bedford-Stuyvesant north of Eastern Parkway....
, Gates Avenue, Madison Street and Jefferson Avenue. Such changes could have brought an increase in local jobs and other economic activity. To that effect, both the Fulton Street and Nostrand Avenue commercial corridors become part of the Bedford-Stuyvesant Business Improvement District, bringing along with it a beautification project that provides various pedestrian and landscape improvements.
Many properties were renovated after the turn of the century, and crime declined. New clothing stores, mid-century collector furniture stores, florists, bakeries, cafes and restaurants opened and Fresh Direct began delivering to the area. Despite the recent changes, violent crime still remains a problem in the area. The two precincts that cover Bedford-Stuyvesant reported a combined 37 murders last year in 2010. The 81st precinct was also accused in 2010 of not reporting crimes and recording felonies as misdemeanors to make the crime rate seem lower.
Early 2010s gentrification
Despite the largest recession to hit the United States in the last 70 years, gentrification continues steadily throughout the neighborhood, if not accelerated by the affordable prices of living in Bedford Stuyvesant. The strong community and abundant beautiful brownstone townhouses in the neighborhood contribute to its growth and charm. Since 2008 a score of new cafes, restaurants, bakeries, boutiques, galleries and wine bars have sprung up in the areas with a concentrated growth found along the western and southern parts of the neighborhood. These areas include blocks north of the Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street intersection and West of Fulton Street and Stuyvesant Avenues. These areas are serviced well by the express A train subway stops at Nostrand Avenue and Utica Avenue, with commute times 15 minutes to Lower Manhattan and 30 minutes to Midtown Manhattan. In 2011, Bedford Stuyvesant listed three Zagat rated restaurants for the first time.A diverse mix of students, 'hipsters', artists, creative professionals, architects and attorneys of all races continue to move to the neighborhood. They are concentrated mainly in the Stuyvesant Heights and Bedford Corners areas in the South and Western parts of the neighborhood. In addition, a major business improvement district has been under way along the Fulton and Nostrand Corridor with redesigned streetscape to include: new street trees, street furniture, pavers, signage and improved cleanliness in an effort to attract more business investment. The average real estate price has more than doubled in this neighborhood since 2000, when the average home price was around $124,000. Townhome prices in more affluent parts of Bedford Stuyvesant, such as Stuyvesant Heights or Bedford Corners can be seen listed from $600,000 - $900,000 in 2011.
Education
The zone high school for the neighborhood is Boys and Girls High SchoolBoys and Girls High School
Boys and Girls High School, the oldest public high school in Brooklyn, is a comprehensive high school in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York...
on Fulton Street
Fulton Street (Brooklyn)
Fulton Street, named after engineer Robert Fulton, exists mainly in two parts in what are today two boroughs of New York City which Fulton linked by his steam ferries, and each segment has its own distinct identity. This entry deals with Fulton Street in Brooklyn, which now begins at the...
. At the eastern edge of the neighborhood is Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology
Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology
Paul Robeson High School for Business and Technology is a high school in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York City, New York. It is a part of the New York City Department of Education.-External links:*...
.
Transportation
Bedford-Stuyvesant is served by several New York City TransitNew York City Transit buses
New York City Transit buses, marked on the buses MTA New York City Bus, is a bus service that operates in all five boroughs of New York City, employing over 4300 buses on 219 routes within the five boroughs of New York City in the United States...
bus routes. It is served by the IND Fulton Street Line
IND Fulton Street Line
The IND Fulton Street Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, extending from the Cranberry Street Tunnel under the East River through all of central Brooklyn to a terminus in Ozone Park, Queens. The IND Rockaway Line branches from it. It forms part of the A...
( trains), which opened in 1936. This underground line replaced the earlier, elevated BMT Fulton Street Line on May 31, 1940. The IND Crosstown Line
IND Crosstown Line
-External links:*...
( train) running underneath Lafayette Avenue and Marcy Avenue, opened for service in 1937. The elevated BMT Jamaica Line
BMT Jamaica Line
The Jamaica Line is an elevated rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City, United States. It runs from the Williamsburg Bridge southeast over Broadway to East New York, Brooklyn, and then east over Fulton Street and Jamaica Avenue to...
( trains) also serves the neighborhood, running alongside its northern boundaries at Broadway. Bedford-Stuyvesant is also served by the Nostrand Avenue
Nostrand Avenue (LIRR station)
Nostrand Avenue is an elevated station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The station has two side platforms located above Atlantic Avenue. Entrances and exits are located at Nostrand Avenue and New York Avenue...
and East New York
East New York (LIRR station)
East New York is a station on the Long Island Rail Road's Atlantic Branch in East New York, Brooklyn, where that branch passes through the historic Jamaica Pass. It is located at ground level, in the median of Atlantic Avenue, and underneath the elevated main lanes of Atlantic Avenue, with one side...
stations of the Long Island Railroad.
Until 1950, the BMT Lexington Avenue Line
BMT Lexington Avenue Line
The Lexington Avenue Elevated was the first standard elevated railway in Brooklyn, New York, operated in its later days by the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company, the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit Corporation, and then the City of New York.The original line, as it existed at the end of 1885, traveled...
served Lexington Avenue in the neighborhood. Likewise, the BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
BMT Myrtle Avenue Line
The Myrtle Avenue Line, also called the Myrtle Avenue Elevated, is a fully elevated line of the New York City Subway as part of the BMT division. The extant line is the final remnant of one of the original Brooklyn elevated railroads...
served Myrtle Avenue in the north until 1969.
In popular media
Bedford-Stuyvesant's neighborhood identity is due in part to its representation in a variety of popular media. Director Spike LeeSpike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
has prominently featured the streets and brownstone blocks of Bedford-Stuyvesant in his films, including Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American dramedy produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who is also a featured actor in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. It is also notably the...
(1989), Crooklyn
Crooklyn
Crooklyn is a 1994 semi-autobiographical film co-written and directed by Spike Lee. The film takes place in Brooklyn, New York and the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant during the summer of 1973. Its primary focus is a young girl, Troy , and her family...
(1994), Clockers (1995), and Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam is a 1999 crime-drama based around the Son of Sam serial murders. It was directed and produced by Spike Lee.-Plot:Summer of Sam is the story of a group of people in New York City in the summer of 1977, a time when the headlines were dominated by the Son of Sam serial killer...
(1999). Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
's UPN (later CW) television sitcom, Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
, portrays Rock's life growing up as a teenager in Bedford-Stuyvesant in 1982–1987.
Bedford-Stuyvesant is featured in the 1971 film The French Connection
The French Connection (film)
This article is about the 1971 film. For the British fashion label, see French Connection .The French Connection is a 1971 American crime film directed by William Friedkin. The film was adapted and fictionalized by Ernest Tidyman from the non-fiction book by Robin Moore...
, in which NYPD narcotics detective Popeye Doyle is assigned to a Brooklyn police station that appears to be located in Bedford-Stuyvesant as mentioned by his supervisor Walt Simonson. On a 1997 episode of NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...
, "Taillight's last Gleaming", NYPD Lieutenant Arthur Fancy
Arthur Fancy
Capt. Arthur Fancy was a fictional character and protagonist in the television series NYPD Blue. He was played by James McDaniel from Season 1 through Season 8.-Background:...
requests that an officer who pulled over him and his wife in a racially motivated manner be transferred to a Bedford-Stuyvesant precinct as punishment to learn how to better interact with various black citizens. Bedford-Stuyvesant is featured in the 2002 film RFK
RFK (film)
RFK is an American TV movie directed by Robert Dornhelm released in 2002. It takes place through the eyes of Robert F. Kennedy after his brother John F. Kennedy's assassination in 1963. As he lives through the loss, he starts to identify himself as a political figure, not just the former...
where following the Watts Riot in Los Angeles, New York United States Senator Robert Francis Kennedy tours the neighborhood as a means of figuring out how to confront the war on poverty
War on Poverty
The War on Poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national poverty rate of around nineteen percent...
.
Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
's 1980 single, "You May Be Right
You May Be Right (song)
"You May Be Right" is a single written and performed by rock singer Billy Joel from his 1980 album Glass Houses. The song reached #7 on the US charts, but failed to chart in the UK unlike his preceding and succeeding singles "All for Leyna" and "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"...
" mentions the neighborhood with the lyrics "I was stranded in the Combat Zone
Combat Zone (Boston)
The "Combat Zone", in Boston, Massachusetts, was the name given to the adult entertainment district in downtown centered on Washington Street between Boylston Street and Kneeland Street. It extended up Stuart Street to Park Square...
/ I walked through Bedford-Stuy alone / even rode my motorcycle in the rain" when discussing crazy things the singer had done in his life.
The neighborhood was also the setting for portions of Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...
's 2004 documentary Block Party
Dave Chappelle's Block Party
A compilation of "music from and inspired by" the film was released on March 14, 2006.The album was released by Geffen Records, and produced by Corey Smyth for Blacksmith Music Corp and Questlove.#Dead Prez - "Hip Hop"#Black Star - "Definition"...
. Chappelle and many prominent rap and soul artists performed an impromptu concert at the Broken Angel House
Broken Angel House
Broken Angel or the Broken Angel house is a building located at 4/6 Downing Street in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, at the intersection of Downing and Quincy street. The house is a neighborhood institution and was featured prominently as a backdrop in the film Dave...
in Clinton Hill
Clinton Hill, Brooklyn
Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights...
, which is a neighborhood that borders Bedford-Stuyvesant.
A large number of well-known hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists have come out of Bedford-Stuyvesant, including such notables as Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, Memphis Bleek
Memphis Bleek
Malik Thuston Patrick Cox , better known by his rap persona of Memphis Bleek or "Bleek", is a New York rapper mainly known for his tenure with Roc-a-Fella Records and CEO of his own label Get Low Records...
, Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
, The Notorious B.I.G.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
, Lil Kim, Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, Fabolous
Fabolous
John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
, Maino
Maino
Maino is an American rapper from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.-Early life:...
, Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
, GZA
GZA
Gary 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...
, Papoose
Papoose (rapper)
Shamele Mackie , better known by his stage name Papoose , is an American rapper.-Biography:Born March 5, 1978 in Brooklyn, New York City by Sierra Leone and Native American parents, Papoose made his first attempts at rapping at the age of 7. He was given his name by his grandma Vivian because of...
, and Masta Ace.
In 2003 on the Kanye West produced track titled "Came Back For You", which is featured on the critically acclaimed platinum selling album La Bella Mafia
La Bella Mafia
La Bella Mafia is the third studio album by rapper Lil' Kim, released March 4, 2003 on Atlantic Records. It debuted at number five on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 166,000 in its first week and reached number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart...
; pure bred brooklynite Lil Kim raps, "...this Bed-Stuy Fly-girl came back for Brooklyn!"
In "Scan," an episode of the television show Prison Break
Prison Break
Prison Break is an American television serial drama created by Paul Scheuring, that was broadcast on the Fox Broadcasting Company for four seasons, from 2005 until 2009. The series revolves around two brothers; one has been sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit, and the other devises an...
, fugitive Fernando Sucre
Fernando Sucre
Fernando Sucre, played by Amaury Nolasco, is a fictional character from the American television series, Prison Break. He is introduced to the series in the pilot episode as the prison cellmate of the series protagonist, Michael Scofield .-Background:Of Puerto Rican descent, Sucre grew up in Chicago...
flees to Bedford-Stuyvesant to meet his friend, only to find out that his sweetheart will be getting married in Las Vegas.
The Notorious B.I.G. song "Unbelievable" starts with the line referring to himself as "Live from Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one." Also his song "Machine Gun Funk" contains the lyric: "Bed-Stuy, the place where my head rest" referring to Biggie's roots in the neighborhood. Also, on his song, "The What" feat. Method Man, the line "Bedford-Stuyvesant, the livest one, my borough is thorough." All songs referenced are on B.I.G.s debut album, Ready to Die
Ready to Die
Ready to Die is the debut album of American rapper The Notorious B.I.G., released September 13, 1994 on Bad Boy Records. The first release on the label, it features production by record producer and Bad Boy founder Sean "Puffy" Combs, Easy Mo Bee, Chucky Thompson, DJ Premier, and Lord Finesse,...
.
In 1996, you can hear backround vocals of The Notorious B.I.G on the debut solo single of his protégée's multi-platnium album Hard Core (Lil' Kim album). On this classic hip hop track titled "No Time" the legendary MC chants, "I rely on Bed-stuy to shut it down if I die."
In the film Notorious
Notorious (2009 film)
Notorious is a 2009 American biographical film about the life of iconic hip hop star The Notorious B.I.G. who is played by Jamal Woolard. The film co-stars Angela Bassett as his mother Voletta Wallace, Derek Luke as Sean Combs, and Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur...
, The Notorious B.I.G., played by Jamal Woolard
Jamal Woolard
Jamal Woolard is an American rapper and actor best known for portraying The Notorious B.I.G. in the biopic Notorious.Woolard, like Christopher Wallace , is from Brooklyn, specifically L.G., Lafayette Gardens. In real life he raps under the name "Gravy"...
, states that he was growing up in: "Do or Die Bedstuy".
Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
raps "Blacker than the nighttime sky of Bed-Stuy in July" in the Black Star
Black Star (hip hop group)
Black Star is a hip hop duo composed of Mos Def and Talib Kweli.-History:Black Star arose from the underground movement of the late 1990s, which was in large part due to Rawkus Records, an independent record label stationed in New York City. They released one self titled album...
song "Astronomy (8th Light)" from their album Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star. Mos Def also describes his life in Bedford-Stuyvesant in the song "Life in Marvelous Times," which appeared on his 2009 album The Ecstatic
The Ecstatic
The Ecstatic is the fourth studio album by American hip hop artist Mos Def, released June 9, 2009 on Downtown Records. The album was recorded during 2007 to 2009, and production was handled by J Dilla, Mr. Flash, Madlib, Mos Def, Oh No, Preservation, and The Neptunes...
.
The neighborhood (and instructions for its pronunciation) are featured in The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City and centers on four main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, British expatriate...
by Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
.
In the series finale of Third Watch
Third Watch
Third Watch is an American television drama series which first aired on NBC from 1999 to 2005 for a total of 132 episodes, broadcast in 6 seasons of 22 episodes each....
the character of Maurice "Bosco" Boscorelli is transferred to Bedford-Stuyvesant after an explosion and fire force the closing of the fictional "Camelot" precinct.
The music video for M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
's song "Paper Planes
Paper Planes
"Paper Planes" is a song recorded by musician M.I.A. for her second studio album Kala released in 2007. The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch...
" was filmed in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
In Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
's "Empire State of Mind", he raps "Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie".
In Big Sean
Big Sean
Sean Michael Anderson , better known by his stage name Big Sean, is an American rapper. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D...
's remake of Gucci Mane
Gucci Mane
Radric Davis , better known by his stage name Gucci Mane, is an American rapper. He debuted in 2005 with Trap House and followed with albums such as Hard to Kill in 2006, Trap-A-Thon and Back to the Trap House in 2007. In 2009, his second studio album The State vs. Radric Davis was released...
's Lemonade, he says "D-town, West side yeah I said it, West side, But they yellin' B.I.G. So much that you would thought its Bed-Stuy".
In 1995, GZA mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant in the song "Duel of the Iron Mic" citing "...I ain't particular, I bang like vehicular homicides on July 4 in Bed-Stuy".
In 2005, Young Jeezy
Young Jeezy
Jay Wayne Jenkins , better known by his stage name Young Jeezy, is an American rapper. He is the member of the hip hop group United Streets Dopeboyz of America and a former member of BMF...
mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant in the song "Last of the Dying Breed"... "Im from even where the dead die, but try and do it big like the kid from Bed-Stuy."
In the Notorious B.I.G. song "1970 Somethin'", The Game raps about Bedford-Stuyvesant in his verse of the song.
In a 2010 freestyle by Papoose
Papoose (rapper)
Shamele Mackie , better known by his stage name Papoose , is an American rapper.-Biography:Born March 5, 1978 in Brooklyn, New York City by Sierra Leone and Native American parents, Papoose made his first attempts at rapping at the age of 7. He was given his name by his grandma Vivian because of...
over Lloyd Banks
Lloyd Banks
Christopher Charles Lloyd , better known by his stage name Lloyd Banks, is an American rapper and member of the rap group G-Unit. Raised in South Jamaica, Queens, he dropped out of high school in 1998. G-Unit released two albums, Beg for Mercy in 2003 and T.O.S. in 2008...
' "Beamer, Benz or Bentley", Papoose mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant... "I rep NY, I'm so Bed-Stuy".
At the start of the 1994 Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
track "Wicked
Wicked (song)
Wicked is the first single from rapper Ice Cube's third studio album The Predator. The song's music video was directed by Marcus Raboy and features the band Red Hot Chili Peppers.The song was covered by Korn for their 1996 album Life Is Peachy...
", a news extract mentions Bedford-Stuyvesant before the song itself starts.
2010's ;;The Stoop
The Stoop (album)
The Stoop is the 2008 studio debut album released by duo Little Jackie on the S-Curve label. The album produced a single hit, "The World Should Revolve Around Me", which reached #92 on the Pop 100 Billboard chart and peaked at #14 on the UK Singles Chart...
by Little Jackie
Little Jackie
Little Jackie is an American band consisting of Imani Coppola and Adam Pallin. Little Jackie, which derives its name from the 1989 hit song "Little Jackie Wants to Be a Star" by Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, released a hit single in 2008 called "The World Should Revolve Around Me" from their debut album...
features the line "Sittin' on the stoop in Bed-Stuy" throughout the song.
In 2011, Kanye West raps "Made a left on Nostrand Ave., we in Bed-Stuy" in his and Jay-Z's song "Gotta Have It" from the album Watch the Throne
On June 21, 1990, during his first trip to New York, freedom fighter and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela visits Bed Stuy several months after serving 27 years in a South African prison on Robben Island.
Notable natives and residents
- AaliyahAaliyahAaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
, Grammy-nominated singer - 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"...
, rapper - Big Daddy KaneBig Daddy KaneAntonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
, rapper - Memphis BleekMemphis BleekMalik Thuston Patrick Cox , better known by his rap persona of Memphis Bleek or "Bleek", is a New York rapper mainly known for his tenure with Roc-a-Fella Records and CEO of his own label Get Low Records...
, rapper - Jackie GleasonJackie GleasonJackie Gleason was an American comedian, actor and musician. He was known for his brash visual and verbal comedy style, especially by his character Ralph Kramden on The Honeymooners, a situation-comedy television series. His most noted film roles were as Minnesota Fats in the drama film The...
, actor - Mark BrelandMark BrelandMark Anthony Breland is a former world champion boxer, who won five New York Golden Gloves Titles and a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics...
, boxer - Lil Cease, rapper
- Shirley ChisholmShirley ChisholmShirley Anita St. Hill Chisholm was an American politician, educator, and author. She was a Congresswoman, representing New York's 12th Congressional District for seven terms from 1969 to 1983. In 1968, she became the first black woman elected to Congress...
, Congresswoman - Imani CoppolaImani CoppolaImani Francesca Coppola is an American singer-songwriter and violinist probably best known for her 1997 hit "Legend of a Cowgirl" which sampled the instrumentals from "Sunshine Superman" by Donovan...
(born 1978), singer-songwriter - CormegaCormegaCory Mckay , better known as Cormega, is an American emcee best known for his vivid and poignant narratives about inner-city life.- Early life :...
, rapper - DeemiDeemiTahu Jessica Aponte , better known by her stage name, Deemi, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer.-Biography:...
, singer - Mos DefMos DefDante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, rapper - Nelson Erazo, professional wrestler better known by his ring name Homicide
- FabolousFabolousJohn David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...
, rapper - William ForsytheWilliam Forsythe (actor)William Forsythe is an American actor, known for playing "tough guy" roles. He is also a writer, and has several short stories that are set to be published.-Early life:...
- Carl GordonCarl Gordon (actor)Carl Gordon was an American actor who entered the acting profession later in life and was best known for his role in the Fox TV series Roc, in addition to a wide range of roles in film, on stage and television as a character actor.Gordon was born Rufus Carl Gordon, Jr. in Goochland, Virginia and...
(1932–2010), actor best known for appearing the Fox TV series RocRoc (TV series)Roc is an American comedy-drama television series which ran on Fox from August 1991 to May 1994. The series stars Charles S. Dutton as Baltimore garbage collector Roc Emerson and Ella Joyce as his wife Eleanor.-Early episodes:...
. - Kadeem HardisonKadeem HardisonKadeem Hardison is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dwayne Wayne on A Different World, a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show.-Childhood:...
, actor Dwayne Wayne on A Different World - Richie HavensRichie HavensRichard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
, musician, poet, inspiration - Connie HawkinsConnie HawkinsCornelius L. Hawkins is a former National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association player, Harlem Globetrotter and New York City playground legend...
, Basketball Hall of FameBasketball Hall of FameThe Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
player - Lena HorneLena HorneLena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, actress, civil rights activist and dancer.Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of sixteen and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood, where she had small parts in numerous movies, and more substantial parts in the...
(1917–2010), actress and singer. - Leroy Wallace jr. Black man, thinker, speaker, prayer.
- Lil' KimLil' KimKimberly Denise Jones , better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A.....
, rapper - Jay-ZJay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, rapper, lived in the Marcy Housing Projects for most of his childhood. - Jaz-OJaz-OJonathan Burks better known by his stage name Jaz-O, is an American rapper and record producer active in the late 1980s through the 1990s, best known for being the mentor of Jay-Z. Jaz is also known as the Originator and had a song called "The Originators" that featured a young Jay-Z in 1990...
, rapper - Norah JonesNorah JonesNorah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
singer - June JordanJune JordanJune Millicent Jordan was a Caribbean American poet, novelist, journalist, biographer, dramatist, teacher and committed activist...
, Caribbean American poet, novelist, journalist, biographer, dramatist, teacher and committed activist - MainoMainoMaino is an American rapper from Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.-Early life:...
, rapper - Frank McCourtFrank McCourtFrancis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....
and Malachy McCourtMalachy McCourtMalachy Gerard McCourt is an Irish-American actor, writer and politician. He was the 2006 Green Party candidate for governor in New York State, losing to the Democratic candidate Eliot Spitzer. He is the younger brother of Frank McCourt.-Personal life:Born in Brooklyn, New York, McCourt was raised...
. Frank's autobiographical bestseller Angela's AshesAngela's AshesAngela's Ashes is a 1996 memoir by the Irish-American author Frank McCourt. The memoir consists of various anecdotes and stories of Frank McCourt's impoverished childhood and early adulthood in Brooklyn, New York and Limerick, Ireland, as well as McCourt's struggles with poverty, his father's...
describes their early childhood life in a working-class apartment building on Classon Avenue. - Frank MickensFrank MickensDr. Frank Mickens , was a nationally recognized New York City educator as principal of Boys and Girls High School at 1700 Fulton Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, one of America's toughest areas. The seventeenth largest high school in the United States, Boys and Girls High...
(1946–2009), educator - Sauce MoneySauce MoneySauce Money is a rapper who worked with Jay-Z in his early career and was featured on Big Daddy Kane's album Daddy's Home on the track "Show N' Prove" alongside Scoob Lover, Shyheim, Jay-Z, and Ol' Dirty Bastard...
, rapper - Tracy MorganTracy MorganTracy Morgan is an American comedian who is best known for his eight seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and currently known for playing the role of Tracy Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock.-Early life:...
(born 1968), comedian and actor. - Floyd PattersonFloyd PattersonFloyd Patterson was an American heavyweight boxer and former undisputed heavyweight champion. At 21, Patterson became the youngest man to win the world heavyweight title. He was also the first heavyweight boxer to regain the title. He had a record of 55 wins 8 losses and 1 draw, with 40 wins by...
(1935–2006), boxer - PapoosePapoose (rapper)Shamele Mackie , better known by his stage name Papoose , is an American rapper.-Biography:Born March 5, 1978 in Brooklyn, New York City by Sierra Leone and Native American parents, Papoose made his first attempts at rapping at the age of 7. He was given his name by his grandma Vivian because of...
, rapper - Chris RockChris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
, actor/comedian - Tony RockTony RockTony Rock is an American actor and stand-up comedian. He is the younger brother of comedian Chris Rock....
Comedian and younger brother of Chris Rock - Carl SaganCarl SaganCarl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...
, astronomer - Gabourey SidibeGabourey SidibeGabourey "Gabby" Sidibe is an American actress who made her acting debut in the 2009 film Precious, a role that brought her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.-Early life:...
, Academy Award-nominated actress - SkyzooSkyzooSkyzoo is a New York hip hop emcee.-Biography:Born Gregory Skyler Taylor in 1982 in Crown Heights, he grew up in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He was nicknamed Skyzoo by his parents after the Skyy disco song...
, rapper - TekTek (rapper)El-Amin after converting to Islam better known by his stage name Tek, is an American rapper, famous as a member of the duo Smif-N-Wessun, and the Hip Hop collective Boot Camp Clik. Tek debuted on Black Moon's 1993 album Enta Da Stage with his rhyming partner Steele...
, one half of 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... - 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...
, World Heavyweight Boxing Champion - WhodiniWhodiniWhodini is a hip hop group that was formed in 1981. The Brooklyn, New York-based trio consisted of vocalist and main lyricist Jalil Hutchins; co-vocalist John Fletcher, aka Ecstasy ; and turntable artist DJ Drew Carter, aka Grandmaster Dee.-Early years:Whodini was among the first hip-hop groups to...
, hip-hop group - Lenny WilkensLenny WilkensLeonard Randolph "Lenny" Wilkens is a retired American basketball player and coach in the NBA...
, Basketball Hall of FameBasketball Hall of FameThe Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
player and coach - Juan WilliamsJuan WilliamsJuan Williams is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, he was born in Panama on April 10, 1954. He also writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic...
- Ted Williams, voiceover artist
- Martha WainwrightMartha WainwrightMartha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
, singer - Decan Rush, rapper
- Samuel Hugh Wilson (1855-1903), metals industry businessman, son-in-law of Police Superintendent John Seward Folk of Skillman Street, Williamsburg
- Robert WilsonRobert WilsonRobert Wilson may refer to:In politics:* Rob Wilson , British politician and entrepreneur, MP for Reading East* Robert J. Wilson, candidate in the 1953 Manitoba provincial election* Robert John Wilson, Member of Parliament for Jarrow...
(1826-1900s), carman and early settler in Koscuisko Street - Robert John Wilson (1901-1986), chemical/textile industry sales executive
- Toby Orzano, rapper, starlet, philanthropist
- Vanessa A. WilliamsVanessa A. WilliamsVanessa A. Williams is an American actress who has appeared in several television series such as Melrose Place and the Showtime cable television series Soul Food. In 1996, she was featured in the television series Murder One...
actress
Landmarks
- Boy's High School
- Girl's High School
- Weeksville Heritage Center
- Cornerstone Baptist Church
- Our Lady of the Presentation Church
- Boys and Girls High School
- Antioch Baptist Church
- Boys High School
- Girls High School
- Pratt InstitutePratt InstitutePratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
- Magnolia Tree Earth Center
Concord Baptist Church