Around here we
call it the bible.
When a Brooklyn Papers reporter or editor isn’t sure what neighborhood
a particular block is located in, we reach for "the neighborhoods
book," or, to be precise, "The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn"
($19.95, Citizens for NYC/Yale University Press) edited by New
York City historian Kenneth Jackson and Brooklyn historian John
Manbeck.
First published in 1998, "NOB" has been slightly updated
for a brand-new second edition, this one in paperback. The book
provides a detailed geographic and brief historical-sociological
look at more than 90 Brooklyn neighborhoods and sub-neighborhoods,
in alphabetical order.
New for this edition is a handy appendix providing 2000 Census
information for each of the neighborhoods. As in the previous
edition, Jackson, a Columbia University professor and former
president of the New York Historical Society, and Manbeck, the
Brooklyn Borough Historian from 1993 to 2001, provide not only
block-by-block maps detailing the boundaries of each neighborhood,
but also historical photographs and fascinating local lore. You
can find everything from the bus and subway lines that run through
a neighborhood to the local police precinct.
And while this editor believes that a future edition should separate
the neighborhoods of DUMBO and Vinegar Hill from the all-inclusive
"Downtown Brooklyn" section, "The Neighborhoods
of Brooklyn" remains both an invaluable tool and an immensely
enjoyable, entertaining read.
BROOKLYN GUIDE
