Beautiful Brooklyn is a city within a city with well-defined neighborhoods creating a diverse combination of style and flavor. Offering breathtaking views from the majestic Brooklyn Bridge to scenic Prospect Park, Brooklyn is urban-meets-nature in a beautiful clash of metropolitan beauty. With the perfect combination of the arts, culture and plain old fun, Brooklyn is a well-rounded, ideal place to live and work.
Location
The borough of Brooklyn, one of 5 boroughs that make up New York City, is synonymous with Kings County of New York State. Brooklyn is located on the westernmost point of Long Island in the southernmost tip of New York State with the states of New Jersey to the west and southwest, and Connecticut to the northeast. Other states within driving distance of Brooklyn are Pennsylvania to the west, and Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire to the north. Washington D.C., the nation’s capital, is also within driving distance from Brooklyn.
Geography/Terrain
Brooklyn is completely surrounded by water with the exception of its one land boundary which borders Queens to the northeast. The scenic East River defines the northwestern border of Brooklyn, and flows into lovely Upper New York Bay which, along with the Lower New York Bay, defines the western border of Brooklyn. The conjunction where Upper and Lower New York Bay meets is also the body of water that separates Brooklyn from Staten Island to the west. The southeastern portion of Brooklyn is bordered by beautiful Jamaica Bay. Both Lower New York Bay and Jamaica Bay converge into the great Atlantic Ocean, which forms the southernmost border of Brooklyn. The highest point in Brooklyn is near to Prospect Park and reaches approximately 200 feet above sea level. Brooklyn encompasses 96.9 square miles, including 26.3 square miles of water.
Distance to 3 Closest Major Cities
Manhattan is just 12 miles north, just under ½ an hour’s drive from Brooklyn. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is 97 miles southwest, or just under a 2 hour drive. Baltimore, Maryland is 195 miles southwest, or a just under a 3 ½ hour drive. Washington DC, our nation’s capital, is 231 miles southwest, or a 4 hour and 10 minute drive. Boston, Massachusetts is 219 miles northeast, or a just over a 4 hour drive.
Jobs
With just over ½ of Brooklyn’s population commuting to Manhattan for work, greater New York City plays a significant role in serving the borough’s economy. Still, 44% of its residents choose to both live and work in Brooklyn. Brooklyn’s economy is largely based on the services industry, although the city still has a strong foothold in the manufacturing industry, true to its traditional roots. Manhattan serves as an important part of Brooklyn’s economy. The majority of employers in Brooklyn are small businesses with over 90% of businesses employing less than 20 employees. The Brooklyn Navy Yard, once a shipbuilding facility and the largest employer in the borough, is now a modern industrial center for a variety of small businesses offering services in such areas as construction, media communications and promotions, computer and office supplies and more.
Housing
Brooklyn is a beautiful place to live, offering housing for every individual’s needs. Choose from weekly, monthly or yearly leases on apartments unfurnished, furnished or simple apartment shares. In addition to the plethora of apartment options, there are condominiums, townhouses, top and bottom flats, brownstones, single and multi-family homes, and even large estates available for rent or purchase depending on your fancy. Brooklyn is unique as it is the only borough outside of Manhattan that has its own downtown business / commerce area. If you’re looking to start or relocate a business, Downtown Brooklyn is well worth your consideration offering lower rents and larger spaces than nearby overcrowded Manhattan.
Parks/Sports/Recreation/Golf
Prospect Park, designed by the same architects who masterminded Central Park, is a beautiful natural haven located in the heart of Brooklyn. Spanning 585 acres, this urban masterpiece features Brooklyn’s only forest, a 60-acre lake for the entire family to enjoy and the 90-acre Long Meadow, the longest known unbroken meadow in any of the nation’s parks. A hub of cultural activity, the lush, green, rolling hills of Prospect Park is home to such events as the annual “Celebrate Brooklyn! Performing Arts Festival”. Children and adults alike come to the popular Prospect Zoo for a glimpse of the wild side. Prospect Park is brimming with vibrancy all year round with over 7 million visitors annually.
There are a wealth of recreational activities to enjoy in Brooklyn parks and open spaces. Residents’ favorites include running, bicycling, horseback riding, dog walking and bird watching. There are many designated picnic areas including picnic tables, benches, barbeque grills and washroom facilities. If you are the athletic type, there are organized sports activities to participate in such as baseball, football, volleyball, tennis, soccer and even road races.
Or if you prefer water sports or on-the-water activities, pack up your fishing rod and try your luck on the lake. Choose to cast your line from shore, or climb on board for a day of boating and fishing -- electric and pedal boats are also available for the adventuresome. Be sure to enjoy the warmer months, as on-the-water activities are not available during the cold season, November through March.
Golf is a very popular sport in the greater New York Area, and especially in Brooklyn. There are 58 area golf courses within a 20 mile radius from the center of Brooklyn, with 2 of those courses within the city limits: Marine Park Golf Course offers an 18 hole course featuring 6,866 yards of golf from the longest tees with a par of 72, and Dyker Beach Golf Course offers an 18-hole course featuring 6,548 yards of golf from the longest tees with a par of 71.
Special Attractions/Events
Steeped in the arts as well as culture, Brooklyn is home to top-notch museums, theatres, galleries and more – for instance, the renowned Brooklyn Institute of Contemporary Art, or the beautiful music of the Brooklyn Philharmonic, or the prestigious Brooklyn Academy of Music, or the small but power-packed Regina Opera Company, or the unique Doll and Toy Museum of New York City. You name it, and Brooklyn’s got it… in spades.
Evidence of Brooklyn’s long and colorful history are perceptible throughout the borough. The beautiful 478-acre Green-Wood Cemetery dates back to 1838 and serves as burial ground for many iconic figures including famed composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, the inventor of the telegraph Samuel F. B. Morse and famous toy store founder Frederick Augustus Schwarz. The Old Stone House which is a modern reconstruction of the Vechte-Cortelyou House, a Dutch stone farmhouse dating back to 1699, houses historical exhibits giving the public a glimpse of America’s past.
Spend a day at Coney Island, the most famous amusement park in the nation. A mixture of the historic and the futuristic, Coney Island is still home to such traditional and classic attractions as the Grand Carousel, an antique-style carousel ride 36 feet in diameter, the Ferris Wheel which takes you 40 feet in the air above beautiful Lake Como and The Scrambler, a Coney Island favorite while making room for the new with such attractions as The Python roller coaster featuring 1,100 feet of track and The Scream Machine featuring a 50 feet drop!
Interesting Facts/Historic Buildings and Places
The Brooklyn Navy Yard has birthed many great ships including the USS Missouri, the last battleship to be built by the United States and the site of the Japanese surrender ending World War II.
Brooklyn is the only other borough outside of Manhattan to have a “downtown” area.
Brooklyn was named after a Dutch settlement called Breukelen, which is Dutch for “broken land”.
There are 2 other communities named Brooklyn in New York State – not to be confused with the borough and city of New York City!!!
At the time the Brooklyn Bridge was opened to the public in 1883, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.
Brooklyn is the most populous of the 5 boroughs of New York City.
- NUMBER1EXPERTS™ 
