The Brooklyn Neighborhood of East Flatbush

East Flatbush was founded by the Dutch in the 17th Century. Historically, the western section of East Flatbush was part of the Dutch town of Flatbush and the eastern section was part of the Dutch town Flatlands. The area remained a farming community until the turn of the 20th Century when residential neighborhood development began. Today a number of these smaller neighborhoods—Remsen Village, Rugby, Wingate, Farragut, Erasmus, and Vanderveer Estates—make up what is now knows as East Flatbush.

East Flatbush borders the neighborhood of Prospect Lefferts Gardens, which has boundaries of Flatbush Avenue, Empire Boulevard, New York Avenue, and Clarkson Avenue. This neighborhood is noted for its brick and limestone one- and two-family row houses built between 1905 and 1925; well maintained apartment buildings constructed in the 1920s and 1930s; close proximity to Prospect Park and the Botanic Garden; and active neighborhood groups that today are involved in economic development initiatives on Nostrand Avenue. A large part of the neighborhood is a historic district.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Kings County Hospital are major employers in the area. Together, the medical facilities employ more than 6,000 people who are potential customers for businesses along the commercial corridor of Nostrand Avenue, which is located nearby. New residential development also is planned for the area surrounding the medical center, including a condominium complex planned nearby on the site of a former factory and luxury condominiums on East New York Avenue. Currently, 19,000 residents live in an eight-block area of the medical center and hospital, and more than 50,000 residents live within a half mile radius. In addition, a new school has opened and active churches are located nearby.