Canarsie, Brooklyn

Canarsie is a neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, in New York City, United States. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 18. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/cb_brooklyn.shtml Brooklyn Community Boards] , New York City. Accessed December 31, 2007.]

Canarsie, which includes the entire 11236 postal zip code, is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin, Williams Avenue between Flatlands Avenue & Stanley Avenue,Snediker Avenue between Stanley Avenue & Avenue D; on the north by Avenue D; on the west by Ralph Avenue and the Paerdegat Basin; and on the south by Jamaica Bay. Canarsie also neighbors East Flatbush,Flatlands, Mill Basin,Bergen Beach,and East New York.

History

"Canarsie" is a phonetic interpretation of a word in the Lenape language for "fenced land" or "fort." The Native Americans who made the infamous sale of the island of Manhattan for 60 guilders were Lenape. Europeans would often refer to the indigenous people living in an area by the local place-name, and so reference may be found in contemporary documents to "Canarsee Indians." The current neighborhood lies within the former town of Flatlands, one of the five original Dutch towns on Long Island.

Canarsie was built on swamps near Jamaica Bay. It was a fishing village through the 1800s, until pollution killed the oysters and the edible fish. In the 1920s, Italians settled in the area, later joined by Jews. Ferry service at Canarsie Pier withered away after the building of the Marine Parkway Bridge. During the 1990's, increasing crime and lower quality of life drove many of Canarsie's white population to move to Staten Island, Queens, and Long Island. This phenomenon was called 'white flight' by many. Today, Canarsie's population is mostly Black with many West Indians and African-American. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=86000US11236&_geoContext=01000US%7C86000US11236&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=&_zip=11236&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=860&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y Census.gov] ]

Canarsie today

Today, Canarsie is home to approximately 96,000 people. [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=86000US11236&_geoContext=01000US%7C86000US11236&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=&_zip=11236&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=860&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=null&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=&show_2003_tab=&redirect=Y Census.gov] ]

At the southeast end of Canarsie is the bay with the prominent Canarsie Pier, and at the other end are mostly commercial warehouses and buildings. Canarsie has many one and two family homes, although there are three large public housing developments and a number of small apartment buildings scattered throughout the neighborhood. The neighborhood has many parks, including a large park (over 100 acres) commonly referred to as Seaview Park, but officially named Canarsie Beach Park, expanded to the southwest in 2007. On Jamaica Bay, beyond the Belt Parkway, lies the Canarsie Pier section of Gateway National Recreation Area.

Transportation

The BMT Canarsie Line, on which the NYCS service|L train of the New York City Subway runs and terminates in Canarsie, connects the neighborhood to Manhattan. The "L" train is a local-only subway that starts at street level and proceeds above ground and then down into the interconnecting tunnels of the New York City Subway. Bus service such as the B6, B17, B42, B60, B82, B103 and BM2 also runs through Canarsie. While the connection to Manhattan is direct, the trip between Canarsie's Rockaway Parkway station and Manhattan's Union Square still takes about 45 minutes.

The principal commercial streets are Rockaway Parkway and Flatlands Avenue. Avenue L is also fairly commercial.

"By way of Canarsie" was a middle 20th century American English figure of speech meaning coming to your destination by a roundabout way or from a distant point. Presumably arising when the Wilson Avenue Line was a principal route to Canarsie Landing, it is not commonly used today. [ [http://www.whatdoesthatmean.com/node/1867 whatdoesthatmean.com] ] .
*Frank Zappa's instrumental album box Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar includes a piece called "Canarsie". It is introduced with the words: "Canarsie. Where everyone looks the same."

chools

Canarsie is home to two high schools, Canarsie and South Shore, and several junior high schools and elementary schools. In late fall 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that five troubled high schools will close by 2010. Among these five is Canarsie’s South Shore. According to Melody Meyer, a DOE spokesperson, the closing is attributed to "dismal graduation rates, consistent low test scores, a poor history of educating, low performing students and lackluster demand."Fact|date=April 2007

Media

The Canarsie Courier, located at 1142 East 92 Street and published every Thursday, is the oldest weekly publication in Brooklyn and is still in publication today. It was founded by Walter S. Patrick on April 22, 1921. The Canarsie Courier was then purchased by brothers Bob and Joe Samitz in 1959. After the passing of Joe Samitz, Mary (Mae) Samitz became co-publisher of the Canarsie Courier with her husband Bob and then became the sole publisher after his passing. Shortly after, in 1998, the Samitz family sold the paper to Donna Marra and Sandra Greco, who are the current publishers of the Canarsie Courier.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of Canarsie include:
*BioHazard, hardcore/metal rock group
*Danielle Brisbois, former child actress
*John Brockington, Ohio State and Green Bay Packers football player
*Von Cello, a.k.a. Aaron Minsky, rock cellist
*Peter Criss, of Kiss
*Warren Cuccurullo, musician
*Jimmy Durante, American singer, pianist, comedian and actor
*The Fat Boys, rap group
*William Forsythe, actor
* Lloyd Free, a.k.a. World B. Free, former professional basketball player
*Randy Graff, Tony Award-winning actress
*David M. Kopp, Professor, Barry University
*Geoff Houston, former professional basketball player and coach
*Alisha Itkin, 80's dance music singer
*JoJo Morales, disc jockey at Z100 FM
*Mark Morales, rap artist, member of the Fat Boys, disc jockey
*Dan Morogiello, professional baseball player Baltimore Orioles
*Al Roker, American television broadcaster
*Wayne Rosenthal, former professional baseball player and coach
*Steve Rubell, owner of Studio 54
*John Salley, 4-time NBA champion.
*Lance Schulters, professional football player
*Howard Schultz, chairman of Starbucks Coffee Company. [Witchel, Alex. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9400E7DA1638F937A25751C1A962958260 " COFFEE TALK WITH: Howard Schultz; By Way of Canarsie, One Large Hot Cup of Business Strategy"] , "The New York Times", December 14, 1994. Accessed October 1, 2007. "It's ironic that no matter where I go, I meet people from Brooklyn," says Howard Schultz, 40, who grew up in Canarsie."]
*Annabella Sciorra, actress
*Evan Seinfeld, lead singer of Biohazard, television actor (Oz (TV Series), VH1's SuperGroup)
*Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels [Barbanel, Josh. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/realestate/10Deal1.html "Preparing for Bonus Season"] , "The New York Times", December 10, 2006. Accessed October 10, 2007. "Mr. Sliwa grew up in Canarsie, Brooklyn, and talks about also having lived in Brownsville and near Fordham Road in the South Bronx (though he lived most recently in a rental apartment in Kips Bay)."]
*Stuart Sternberg, owner of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays
*Goretex, Rapper & Music producer also member of legendary Hip Hop group Non Phixion
*Ill Bill, Rapper with Hip Hop group Non Phixion & La Coka NostraMark Stolzeberg profesional clown as see on Letterman and schools assembly programs company http://assembliesinschools.com/

References