Boerum Hill Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Boerum Hill
Neighborhood
Rowhouses in Boerum Hill
Boerum Hill Location in New York City
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Brooklyn
Established	1964
Founded by	Helen Buckler
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
ZIP Codes	11201
Area code(s)	718, 347, 929

Boerum Hill is a small neighborhood in the northwestern part of Brooklyn, one of New York City's five boroughs. It's bordered by Schermerhorn Street to the north and Fourth Avenue to the east. Its western and southern edges are usually considered Smith or Court Street, and Warren or Wyckoff Street.

The main shopping areas in Boerum Hill are along Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue. You can find the Brooklyn High School of the Arts here, located on Dean Street and Third Avenue. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community District 2. The local police department, the NYPD, serves the area from its 84th Precinct.

History of Boerum Hill
Culture and Fun in Boerum Hill
Library
Media
Famous People from Boerum Hill
Images for kids
See also

History of Boerum Hill

Boerum Hill gets its name from the Boerum family. They owned a farm here during the early days of Dutch settlement. Records from 1790 show that John Boerum's family owned at least two enslaved people.

Most of the homes in Boerum Hill are three-story row houses. These were built between 1840 and 1870. Even though it's called "hill," the neighborhood is mostly flat. Some parts are built on what used to be marshy land near Gowanus Creek. In the 1950s, many neighborhoods south of Atlantic Avenue were simply called "South Brooklyn." Boerum Hill was sometimes even known as "North Gowanus." The name "Boerum Hill" was first used in 1964. It was created by Helen Buckler, who started the Boerum Hill Association.

From the early 1970s until about 2003, Boerum Hill was home to many working-class and middle-class African-American and Puerto Rican families. Since the late 1990s, the neighborhood has seen a change. More people with higher incomes have moved in, a process called gentrification. However, working-class families still live in the area.

In the early 1900s, many buildings here were used as boarding houses. A union hall for ironworkers was also nearby. These workers came to the city to help build bridges and skyscrapers. The northern part of Smith Street became the center of New York City's Mohawk community. Most of them came from Akwesasne and Kahnawake, which are Mohawk reserves in Quebec, Canada. Many Mohawk men worked as ironworkers. Their wives worked in various jobs and built a strong community for their families. For 50 years, the Mohawk families called their neighborhood "Little Caughnawaga." This name came from their homeland of Kahnawake. Many families would travel back to Kahnawake in the summer.

The Boerum Hill Historic District was officially recognized on November 20, 1973. This happened after many years of effort by the Boerum Hill Association. The Boerum Hill Historic District was later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. Many of its buildings are now protected as landmarks.

In 2012, Boerum Hill had some of the highest home prices in New York City. It was the sixth most expensive neighborhood overall. It was also the most expensive neighborhood outside of Manhattan.

Culture and Fun in Boerum Hill

Boerum Hill is famous for its unique shops, restaurants, and beautiful rows of brownstone houses. Many artists live here and have art galleries. It's also a popular place for young families. Biking is a favorite activity, especially in nearby Prospect Park.

You can enjoy different cultural spots like The Invisible Dog Art Center, Roulette, Issue Project Room, and BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music). Smith Street is known for its many restaurants. Atlantic Avenue has a "design district" with stores selling home goods and furniture.

The neighborhood has also been featured in movies and books. It's the setting for Spike Lee's movie Clockers (1995). It's also where two of Jonathan Lethem's novels take place: Motherless Brooklyn (1999) and The Fortress of Solitude (2002).

Library

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has its Pacific branch in Boerum Hill. It's located at 25 Fourth Avenue, near Pacific Street. This library opened in 1905 and is Brooklyn's oldest Carnegie library.

Media

WBAI 99.5 FM is a radio station located at 388 Atlantic Avenue. It's a non-commercial station, meaning it doesn't have regular ads. It's supported by its listeners and is part of the Pacifica Network.