Williamsburg, New York is known as the setting of Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn; the community in which comedian Mel Brooks and novelist Henry Miller were raised; the neighborhood where Peter Luger Steak House has been doing business since 1887; the location of the annual Feast of the Giglio; and the site of the Brooklyn Brewery, which opened in 1995, making it the first brewery in the area in 20 years.

While maintaining its diverse population of Hasidic Jews, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Poles, and Italians, Williamsburg, New York has continued to evolve and change with the times and in recent years attracted thousands of writers, artists, and performers seeking affordable housing. Many artists discovered the community through the Williamsburg Art and Historical Center, founded in 1996 and housed in the Kings County Savings Bank, which is on the National Register of Historic Places and was the seventh building to be landmarked in New York City. Developers followed the artists and in recent years many have converted buildings or constructed new ones.