What Is Flatbush?

The name Flatbush derives from Dutch origins meaning wooded land Gabrielan (2014). The origins of Flatbush can be traced back to the 1620’s. It was one of the first original five towns of Brooklyn. Early Flatbush was plagued with turmoil and land dispute as both Rockaway Indians and Canarsie Indians claim to own the land. The land was later acquired by Dutch settlers in 1635 from the Canarsie Indians. However, these settlers were later informed by the Rockaways Indians that the sale was voided as they were the actual owners of the land. The Dutch later repurchased the land in 1653 from the Rockaway Indians. Hence, it became home to the first Dutch farmers who came from New Amersfoort in search of land retrieved from Arcived.org (as cited
One of the most important customs was called schemeround. Every evening families and neighbors would gather to tell ghost stories, reminisce and exchange news about their native land. Religion played an extremely important role in the Dutch community as it helped to maintained cohesion. It also contributed to the preservation of their roots. These settlers lived without incident until the revolutionary war of 1776 (BHS, 2015).
Flatbush saw an increase in its population after the Revolutionary War. The war gave birth to a shift in immigration trends as the Dutch were forced out and Flatbush began to rebuild. During the years after the war, Brooklyn experienced large influxes of German and Irish immigrants who disperse throughout the county. In fact, by 1850, the population of those born outside of the County totaled 56,201 (“Demographic Changes,” n.d., para. 1). This was the first major wave of European immigration which propelled New York to the third largest city in the United States (“From Village to City,” n.d.,
Initially, federal immigration policy was limited to immigrants from the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany, Greece, Poland, Portugal, and other parts of eastern and southern Europe (“Three Decades of Mass Immigration,” n.d., para. 3). This change began influencing the immigration of people from the Caribbean and Asian. This cause xenophobia with the existing population, which were mostly whites. In fact, between 1965 and 2000 many of the previous residents began to move to the suburbs in hopes of making a better life (“White Flight,” n.d., para. 1).
The results of white flight had a major impact of the migration of Caribbean and Asians to communities in district 17. By 2013, more than half of the area’s residents were born outside of the United States. The racial and ethnic origins of the population had shifted to 25% Jamaicans; 18% Haitians; 15% Trinidadian; 13% Guyanese and 35% from other Caribbean Islands (New York City Department of City Planning, 2013,