Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn

Sheepshead Bay is a bay separating the mainland of Brooklyn, New York City from the eastern portion of Coney Island, the latter originally a barrier island but now effectively an extension of the mainland with peninsulas both east (the neighborhood of Manhattan Beach) and west (the neighborhood of Seagate). The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 15. [ [http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/cb_brooklyn.shtml Brooklyn Community Boards] , New York City. Accessed December 31, 2007.] Sheepshead Bay is located at coord|40|34|55.2|N|73|56|31.2|W|.

The bay itself was originally the easterly entrance to Coney Island Creek but filling of the central part of this waterway during the 1930s in conjunction with construction of the Shore Parkway portion of the Belt Parkway eliminated access to the creek. At the same time the bay was widened at its western end, deepened and bulkheaded. It is now the home of recreational fishing fleets. At the Western end of the bay, there is a Holocaust memorial park, which is used throughout the year for commemorative events.

In the last decade of the 20th century, a real estate boom brought the reopening of the landmark Lundy Brothers seafood restaurant, which closed again in 2007, as well as the opening of ex-Soviet-themed restaurant/nightclubs such as Paradise and Baku Palace. The waterfront also experienced a growth of condominium developments. Emmons Avenue, the northern shoreline street along the bay, has piers with an active seafood market and tour boats.

Sheepshead Bay is named for the sheepshead, an edible fish once found in the bay's waters. Local lore alternately asserts that Sheepshead Bay was named for its shape, which was thought to resemble the head of a sheep.Fact|date=June 2007

Community and location

Subway service to Sheepshead Bay is provided by the BMT Brighton Line (B and Q trains), with local stops at Avenue U and Neck Road, and an express-local stop at the Sheepshead Bay Road station. Emmons Avenue is at the west end of a shore bikeway, lying between Shore Parkway and Jamaica Bay, connecting eastward and northward to Canarsie and Cross Bay Boulevard. Emmons Avenue has many piers from which yachts and boats offer day trips for fishing and dancing. Several public schools serve the community: Sheepshead Bay High School; JHS 14 Shell Bank Intermediate School; Bay Academy, I.S. 98; P.S. 254 and P.S. 52 (elementary). Private schools in the area include the St. Mark's School and St. Edmund's. Kingsborough Community College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY) is nearby.

Sheepshead Bites is the local internet news and information website serving the greater Bay area and vicinity and is available through the "sheepsheadbites.com" [http://www.sheepsheadbites.com] website.

References