Visit the blog for the book at www.brooklynbyname.com
View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.
"Fascinating morsels of Brooklyn history. . . . An entertaining,
breezy compilation for the NYU Press, perfect for reading down at
Coney, up on tar beach, or out on your shady front stoop this
summer. . . . So if you wanna know how Dead Horse Bay, Sheepshead
Bay, Floyd Bennett Field, Smith St. Carroll Gardens, Junior's
Restaurant, Green-Wood Cemetery, Gilmore Court or the Riegelmann
Boardwalk got their names, grab a copy of Brooklyn by Name."
--"New York Daily News"
"Information is well presented and well illustrated--both
factors making this guide easy on the eye. Hardly a location is
left unexplored in this fascinating, indispensable guide to a
borough undeservedly in Manhattan's shadow."
--"Booklist"
"Witty, occasionally irreverent and always engaging, Brooklyn by
Name takes readers from the six independent towns that once
comprised Breuckelen to the modern metropolis. Weiss and Benardo
have uncovered surprising data and have woven a compulsively
readable narrative. Pick it up, rifle through, and find out
about--or be reminded of--the underpinnings of our boroughas
heritage."
--"The Brooklyn Rail"
"This book is an essential companion for anyone teaching about
Brooklyn, for anyone writing about the borough, and for tour guide
people. Benardo and Weiss have to be pleased with their product,
and clearly should be congratulated."
--"Brooklyn Daily Eagle"
"Brooklyn streets, parks and sites are dripping with history,
and husband-and-wife team Leonard Benardo and Jennifer Weiss have
hung them all out to dry in their dictionary of street smarts,
Brooklyn ByName."
--"Brooklyn Papers"
"A well-researched and concise compilation of the historical
derivation of the place names in Brooklyn, an engaging stroll
through the cityas largest borough and its history. . . . The book
is easy to pick up, and with its wide-ranging, often quirky
fragments of Brooklyn history, hard to put down."
--"Courier-Life Publications"
aAn excellent guide to Brooklyn. Explaining Brooklynas often
mystifyingA names (like Force Tube Avenue and Dead Horse Bay)
allows the streets to speak their stories. Walkers in the borough
should not leave home without it.a
--Mike Wallace, co-author of "Gotham: A History of New York City to
1898"
aAn engaging stroll through the cityas largest borough and its
historya
--Bay News
"Uncovering the remarkable stories behind the landmarks,
Brooklyn by name takes readers on a stroll through streets and
places of this thriving metropolis to reveal the borough's textured
past. --NYU Today
"From Albemarle Road to Zion Triangle, the history of Brooklyn
place names revealed in Brooklyn By Name is as fascinating as life
in the County of Kings itself. By putting faces to the names of our
streets, parks, and neighborhoods, Benardo and Weiss bring to
vibrant life hundreds of places where Brooklynites live, work, and
play every day. Whether weare called Breukelen, Brookland, or
Brooklyn, thereas no place like it in the world!"
--Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President
"This beautifully researched, lucidly written and compulsively
readable book will have readers bouncing from entry to entry. By
focusing on the derivation of Brooklyn's place-names, the authors
have subtly traced the borough's rich history of politics, power,
greed and idealism."
--Phillip Lopate, author of "Waterfront: A Journey Around
Manhattan"
aTaking off from neighborhood names, this page-turner of a book
tells of the successive waves of settlers and immigrant arrivals
who have given Brooklyn its distinctive flavor. Here are the men
and women whose fantasies, foibles, and otherwise-fleeting fame
find permanency in the pavements, parks and place-names of the
borough that almost wasn't part of New York. Nicely illustrated
with an exceptional folio of new photos and unusual old
illustrations, and peppered with vivid stories and obscure facts,
this book will fascinate even the most provincial of
non-Brooklynites. You don't have to live there to love this
book.a
--Andrew Alpern, co-author of "New Yorkas Architectural
Holdouts"
"Jump into your walking shoes, bring along this marvelous book,
and get ready to explore Brooklyn's streets!"
--Judith Stonehill, coauthor of "Brooklyn: A Journey Through the
City of Dreams"
From Bedford-Stuyvesant to Williamsburg, Brooklyn's historic
names are emblems of American culture and history. Uncovering the
remarkable stories behind the landmarks, Brooklyn By Name takes
readers on a stroll through the streets and places of this thriving
metropolis to reveal the borough's textured past.
Listing more than 500 of Brooklyn's most prominent place names,
organized alphabetically by region, and richly illustrated with
photographs and current maps the book captures the diverse threads
of American history. We learn about the Canarsie Indians, the
region's first settlers, whose language survives in daily traffic
reports about the Gowanus Expressway. The arrival of the Dutch West
India Companyin 1620 brought the first wave of European names, from
Boswijck ("town in the woods," later Bushwick) to
Bedford-Stuyvesant, after the controversial administrator of the
Dutch colony, to numerous places named after prominent Dutch
families like the Bergens.
The English takeover of the area in 1664 led to the
Anglicization of Dutch names, (vlackebos, meaning "wooded plain,"
became Flatbush) and the introduction of distinctively English
names (Kensington, Brighton Beach). A century later the American
Revolution swept away most Tory monikers, replacing them with
signers of the Declaration of Independence and international
figures who supported the revolution such as Lafayette (France), De
Kalb (Germany), and Kosciuszko (Poland). We learn too of the dark
corners of Brooklyn's past, encountering over 70 streets named for
prominent slaveholders like Lefferts and Lott but none for its most
famous abolitionist, Walt Whitman.
From the earliest settlements to recent commemorations such as
Malcolm X Boulevard, Brooklyn By Name tells the tales of the poets,
philosophers, baseball heroes, diplomats, warriors, and saints who
have left their imprint on this polyethnic borough that was once
almost disastrously renamed "New York East."
Ideal for all Brooklynites, newcomers, and visitors, this book
includes:
*Over 500 entries explaining the colorful history of Brooklyn's
most prominent place names
*Over 100 vivid photographs of Brooklyn past and present
*9 easy to follow and up-to-date maps of the neighborhoods
*Informative sidebars covering topics like Ebbets Field, Lindsay
Triangle, and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
*Covers all neighborhoods, easily find the street you're on
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