East Flatbush, Brooklyn

East Flatbush is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 17. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/cb_brooklyn.shtml Brooklyn Community Boards] , New York City. Accessed December 31, 2007.] . Though the borders of East Flatbush are highly subjective, 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 LIRR Bay Ridge Branch, its eastern border is roughly at East 98th Street and its western border is roughly at New York Avenue.

The area was populated post 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 Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Grenadians, Bajans, Guyanese, Panamanians and Haitians groups coming to the area. Within its confines is the Holy Cross Cemetery, which is located at 3620 Tilden Avenue. While there are some affluent residents present, East Flatbush is mostly populated by working-class Brooklynites. Similar to other eastern Brooklyn neighborhoods, blacks predominate East Flatbush. The Crip gang is extremely prevalent and pervasive in this neighborhood. The Star of David can be seen tagged up on walls in Eash Flatbush. This star does not carry its Jewish origin but represents the Crip gang. East Flatbush is the home of the former General George W. Wingate High School and Gov. Samuel J. Tilden High School. It is also home to three major hospitals, Kings County Hospital, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.

In Summer 2006, the City of New York renamed a portion of Church Avenue from Remsen Avenue to East 98th Street in East Flatbush as "Bob Marley Boulevard". [Mooney, Jake. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/21/nyregion/thecity/21marl.html "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."] [ [http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?stid=1&aid=60701 Brooklyn Street Renamed Bob Marley Boulevard] , NY1. Accessed October 11, 2007.]

East Flatbush and Flatbush

East Flatbush generally is very similar in nature to neighboring Flatbush; so much so that some consider the two neighborhoods to be the same community. Both are predominantly Black, West Indian and middle class. The one slight difference is that Flatbush has a higher percentage of White and Asian residents than East Flatbush.

While the communities themselves are generally similar in character, East Flatbush does not enjoy the same level of access to the subway as Flatbush. The BMT Brighton Line and the IRT Nostrand Avenue Line both have a number of stops located in Flatbush. In contrast, the subway at best only skirts the borders of East Flatbush. Many East Flatbush residents often have to take a train and a bus to commute to and from work.

Notable residents

Notable current and former residents of East Flatbush include:
*Busta Rhymes,Rapper
*Bruce Pasternack, Businessman,
*Ramona Moore, murdered college student. [Dewan, Shaila K. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E5D6103FF930A25756C0A9659C8B63 '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."]

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