As with many neighborhoods in Brooklyn, the borders of East Flatbush are subjective/porous, but its northern border is roughly at Empire Boulevard and East New York Avenue east of East 91st Street, its southern border is in the vicinity of the Long Island Rail RoadBay Ridge Branch, its eastern border is roughly at East 98th Street and its western border is roughly at Nostrand/New York Avenues.
East Flatbush is split up into three subsections. From west to east they are Erasmus, Farragut, and Remsen Village/Rugby.[6]
Farragut is adjacent to Paerdegat Woods, a formerly wooded area near Paerdegat Basin where real-estate developer Fred Trump constructed housing in the 1940s.[9][10] Farragut also contains Flatbush Gardens (formerly named Vanderveer Estates),[11] a 59-building complex erected in 1949.[7][8][9][12] Vanderveer Estates was built on the site of the old Flatbush Water Works.[13] The complex is one of the largest privately held working-class housing complexes in New York City, and owned in part by David Bistricer.[14] Notable people who once lived in Vanderveer Estates include Barbra Streisand[13] and Michael K. Williams.[15]
Remsen Village has been described as a "subsection of the larger East Flatbush neighborhood,"[16] with an estimated 60,000 residents.[17] but is also sometimes considered its own neighborhood[18] and also as "Rugby-Remsen Village".[19] The origin of using the name Remsen Village seems to be in the mid-1990s,[20] and it was referred as such through the 21st century.[18][21] Remsen Village's population[17] is over one third of that of Brooklyn Community Board 17, which consists entirely of East Flatbush and its subsections.[22]
The name "Rugby" was described in 2016 by the New York Times as "the old name for the area." It persists as the name of a road in East Flatbush, as well as a library branch in eastern East Flatbush.[23]
East Flatbush is divided into three neighborhood tabulation areas (Erasmus, Farragut, and Remsen Village), which collectively comprise the population of the area.[6] Based on data from the 2010 United States census, the combined population of East Flatbush's neighborhood tabulation areas was 135,619, a change of -9,740 (-7.2%) from the 145,359 counted in 2000. Covering an area of 1,871.5 acres (757.4 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 72.5 inhabitants per acre (46,400/sq mi; 17,900/km2).[2]
The entirety of Community Board 17 had 154,575 inhabitants as of NYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 82.6 years.[24]: 2, 20 This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[25]: 53 (PDF p. 84) [26] Most inhabitants are middle-aged adults and youth: 21% are between the ages of 0 and 17, 28% between 25 and 44, and 28% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 9% and 15% respectively.[24]: 2
As of 2016, the median household income in Community District 17 was $49,349.[27] In 2018, an estimated 19% of East Flatbush residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in eleven residents (9%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 54% in East Flatbush, higher than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], East Flatbush is considered to be high-income and not gentrifying, relative to the rest of the city.[24]: 7
East Flatbush generally is very similar in nature to neighboring Flatbush, as both are predominantly West Indian and working class; however, Flatbush has a higher percentage of White and Asian residents than East Flatbush. The area was populated after World War II predominantly by immigrant Jews and Italians, then in the 1960s by African Americans, but most recently has seen many West Indian immigrants such as Guyanese, Haitians, Jamaicans, Saint Lucians, Trinidadians, Grenadians, Vincentians, Bajans, Panamanians and Dominicans groups coming to the area. Within its confines is the Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn, which is located at 3620 Tilden Avenue. While some residents are affluent, East Flatbush is mostly populated by working-class Brooklynites. Similar to other eastern Brooklyn neighborhoods, blacks predominate East Flatbush. The area is 91.4% Black or African-American [28] and 51% foreign born,[29] the majority of whom are from the Caribbean. Considering this data, East Flatbush has been noted as being the single largest West Indian neighborhood in all of New York City and America as a whole.[30][31]
According to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, East Flatbush has been given three different names for three different sections, which are East Flatbush Erasmus to the west, East Flatbush Farragut to the east, and East Flatbush Rugby to the north. The Erasmus portion had between 30,000 and 39,999 Black residents and between 5,000 and 9,999 Hispanic residents, meanwhile each the White and Asian populations were under 5000 residents. The Rugby portion had 30,000 to 39,999 Black residents while each the Hispanic, White, and Asian populations were all under 5000 residents. The Farragut portion had 20,000 to 29,999 Black residents while each the Hispanic, White, and Asian population were also all under 5000 residents.[32][33]
Since the 1960s and especially through the 1970s, Caribbean immigrants have largely settled into East Flatbush, as well as in other surrounding areas such as Flatbush, and Crown Heights. Since 2017, the areas surrounding Nostrand and Church Avenues have been given the nickname, Little Caribbean.[34][35][36] In addition to Little Caribbean, the south tip of the neighborhood has been given the name Little Haiti due to the high concentration of Haitians.[37][38] Additionally, the Newkirk Avenue–Little Haiti station of the New York City Subway's 2 and 5 trains was formally renamed from Newkirk Avenue in 2021.[39][40]
The NYPD's 67th Precinct (known internally by NYPD officers as Fort Jah[41]) is located at 2820 Snyder Avenue.[4] The 67th Precinct ranked 40th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[42] As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 80 per 100,000 people, East Flatbush's rate of violent crimes per capita is greater than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 597 per 100,000 people is higher than that of the city as a whole.[24]: 8 The Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 79.9% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 6 murders, 43 rapes, 246 robberies, 601 felony assaults, 225 burglaries, 586 grand larcenies, and 98 grand larcenies auto in 2018.[43]
A drug epidemic ravaged East Flatbush during the late 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, mostly in Vanderveer Estates. The intersection of Foster Avenue and Nostrand Avenues was nicknamed "the Front Page" because of media attention to drug murders there. The intersection of Foster between New York Avenue and Brooklyn Avenue area to the south was called "the Back Page" because its many murders went unnoticed.[44] The area around the Nostrand playground had various gangs: Crips, Gangster Disciples, Jamaicans (Shower Posse), Trinidadians and Grenadians particularly notorious for turf wars, shootouts, and pitbull fights. Crime is still somewhat of a problem in the neighborhood today as well.[citation needed]
As of 2018[update], preterm births and births to teenage mothers are more common in East Flatbush than in other places citywide. In East Flatbush, there were 126 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 20.6 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[24]: 11 East Flatbush has a high population of residents who are uninsured, or who receive healthcare through Medicaid.[47] In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 15%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[24]: 14
The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in East Flatbush is 0.0078 milligrams per cubic metre (7.8×10−9 oz/cu ft), lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages.[24]: 9 Eight percent of East Flatbush residents are smokers, which is lower the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[24]: 13 In East Flatbush, 34% of residents are obese, 15% are diabetic, and 36% have high blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.[24]: 16 In addition, 22% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[24]: 12
Eighty percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 83% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", higher than the city's average of 78%.[24]: 13 For every supermarket in East Flatbush, there are 21 bodegas.[24]: 10
MTA Regional Bus Operations' B44, B44 SBS, B46 and B46 SBS routes run north–south through East Flatbush, while the B6, B8 and B35 run east–west. The B12 bus takes a serpentine route at the north end of the neighborhood, and the B7 runs on Kings Highway at the southeast edge of East Flatbush.[49] The B6 runs via Bay Pkwy, Avenue J, and Flatlands Av and although passing through several neighborhoods, makes a few stops in East Flatbush.
East Flatbush generally has a lower ratio of college-educated residents than the rest of the city as of 2018[update]. While 30% of residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 15% have less than a high school education and 55% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher.[24]: 6 The percentage of East Flatbush students excelling in math has been increasing, with math achievement rising from 32 percent in 2000 to 51 percent in 2011, though reading achievement within the same time period stayed steady at 42%.[50]
East Flatbush's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is slightly higher than the rest of New York City. In East Flatbush, 23% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days per school year, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students.[25]: 24 (PDF p. 55) [24]: 6 Additionally, 78% of high school students in East Flatbush graduate on time, higher than the citywide average of 75% of students.[24]: 6
The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) has two branches in East Flatbush. The Rugby branch is located at 1000 Utica Avenue and opened in 1957.[51] It was closed for renovations in 2017[52] and reopened in 2021.[53]
The East Flatbush Library is located at 9612 Church Avenue, between East 96th Street and Rockaway Parkway, and was opened in 1945. In September 2018, this library was also closed for renovations;[54] it reopened in June 2023.[55][56]
^Vitullo-Martin, Julia. "A Once-Troubled Housing Complex Seeks Change: Flatbush Gardens", The New York Sun, March 15, 2007. Accessed May 2, 2016. "A criminologist and professor of anthropology at John Jay College who produced a report on crime for the Brooklyn district attorney in 2003, Ric Curtis, said Vanderveer residents nicknamed the intersection of Foster and Nostrand avenues 'the Front Page' because the drug murders there often ended up on the front pages of local papers."
^Mooney, Jake. "Drum Roll for a Sign With a Reggae Beat", The New York Times, May 21, 2006. Accessed October 11, 2007. "On May 10, the City Council approved a plan to hang Bob Marley Boulevard signs beneath the Church Avenue ones along an eight-block section, from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street."
^Pierre-Pierre, Garry. "At Home With Edwidge Danticat; Haitian Tales, Flatbush Scenes", The New York Times, January 26, 1995. Accessed April 6, 2021. "So Ms. Danticat (her name is pronounced ed-WEEDJ dahn-tee-CAH), the author of "Breath, Eyes, Memory," her first novel, which was published by Soho Press last spring and received respectful reviews, set small flowered, ceramic cups on a coffee table. She settled into a plastic-covered velour chair in the beige-carpeted living room of her parents' attached brick home in East Flatbush and explained that the cannelles, or cinnamon sticks, had been bought just blocks away, from Haitian street vendors."
^Weber, Bruce. "50 Years Later, and Robinson Is Undimmed", The New York Times, April 15, 1997. Accessed April 6, 2021. "'The way he danced off third base became a metaphor for the struggle against injustice,' Mr. Glasser said, remembering that when he was growing up in East Flatbush it was Robinson, not Carl Furillo or Pee Wee Reese, that he and all of his friends would imitate in their sandlot ball games."
^Josephs, Brian. "Jidenna Wants You to Know What Really Makes a Classic Man", Spin, February 23, 2017. Accessed April 6, 2021. "The scenes where he's staving off police officers and tutoring young men parallel those of his home community of East Flatbush, where neighborhood civilians handled mild controversies like car accidents before calling the police."
^Williams, Lena. "Fencing; Around the World With Saber in Hand", The New York Times, May 17,2001. Accessed December 25, 2023. "Other saber practitioners may be bigger and stronger, but Lee, who is 5 feet 11 inches and 160-pounds, relies on the street smarts he used as a child to evade drug dealers in his old East Flatbush neighborhood."
^Coleman, Brian. Check the Technique: Liner Notes for Hip-Hop Junkies, p. 257. Random House Publishing Group, 2009. ISBN9780307494429. Accessed May 10, 2016. "But it was true: East Flatbush, Brooklyn's MC Lyte (Lana Moorer) had just roped in her learner's permit when she sagely opined about the woes of both crack and fickle male love."
^Dewan, Shaila mmb K. 'Body Discovered in Brooklyn Is Identified as Hunter Student", The New York Times, May 13, 2003. Accessed October 11, 2007. "A body found wrapped in a blanket behind a boarded-up house on Saturday was identified by the police yesterday as that of Ramona Moore, a 21-year-old Hunter College student who lived at home with her parents in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, until she disappeared in April."
^Brinn, David. "Taking a Shyne to Judaism", The Jerusalem Post, November 12, 2010. Accessed May 10, 2016. "Later the family moved to East Flatbush, where Shyne's mother cleaned houses and took care of children to make ends meet."