So, New York City has millions of neighborhoods. Well, maybe not a million, but you get what we mean. There's tons. Lots.
You might have read our first piece on how seven NYC 'hoods got their names.
However, we obviously couldn’t explain how all of our city's neighborhoods got their names because that would’ve taken hundreds of pages.
So, we’re coming in hot with round number two on how some NYC neighborhoods got their names-- and some of the stories are pretty wild.
Now let's get into all of the details.
1. Crown Heights - Brooklyn
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Originally this area was called Crow Hill because there are ton of hills running east and west from Utica Avenue. Crow Hill is actually a sweet name for a neighborhood and we think it sounds a lot cooler than Crown Heights.
However, in 1916, they built Crown Street right through the middle of this neighborhood. So, they call it Crown Heights because of Crown Street and the hills that make up the majority of the neighborhood.
2. Red Hook - Brooklyn
This area of Brooklyn was settled by Dutch colonists in 1636. The Dutch settlers called it Roode Hoek. Hoek means “point” or “corner” in Dutch and has nothing to do with the English meaning of the word Hook.
The area is named for the red clay soil found in the point of land projecting into the Upper New York Bay. So, the area is essentially named after the red dirt and its geographic location, jutting out into the Upper New York Bay.
3. Bulls Head - Staten Island
This area of Staten Island was also referred to as Phoenixville. However, the area was named after a tavern at the intersection of Richmond Avenue and Victory Boulevard which is the central location of this neighborhood.
This tavern had a sign outside with a bulls head on it and was actually home to a faction of colonists loyal to the British Crown during the Revolutionary war.
This group of colonists were mostly farmers and colloquially known as the Tories.
It's kind of crazy that a neighborhood is named after a bar full of people who essentially hated America and freedom.
4. Lighthouse Hill - Staten Island
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This is the name of a hill and the surrounding neighborhood in Staten Island. This part of Staten Island was originally called Richmond Hill.
However, in 1912, the Staten Island Range Light was built on the hill which is 141 feet tall and overlooks the Lower New York Bay. Originally, the light could be seen as far as 21 miles away.
The former name of the neighborhood, Richmond Hill, survives in Richmond Hill Road which is located at the southern edge of Lighthouse Hill. Lighthouse Hill is the southernmost hill of the chain of hills that start in the northeast corner of Staten Island and separate the East Shore from Mid-Island.
,5. Silver Lake - Staten Island
This is the name of a reservoir and surrounding neighborhood in Staten Island. Silver Lake Park is the first city park to be established on Staten Island.
The reservoir was created in its current form in 1917 when they started piping water into it from the Ashokan Reservoir up in Ulster County, New York which is 119 miles away.
Silver Lake became the largest body of fresh water on Staten Island.
6. Co-op City - the Bronx
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This neighborhood was originally referred to as “the dump.” It later became the site of an amusement park called Freedomland, which was eventually closed in 1964.
The area was later developed by a corporation called RiverBay at Co-op City. There were a ton of confusing legal issues surrounding the construction of the high-rise, housing developments in this area, including shady land deals and different groups defaulting on loans and all sorts of other complicated legal stuff that we're not really going to get into.
However, it seems like the area is essentially named after the group who developed the land after the closure of the theme park, Freedomland, in 1964. Also, Co-op City is the largest cooperative housing development in the world and if it were its own distinct municipality, it would be the 10th largest city in New York State which we think is pretty sweet.
7. Parkchester - the Bronx
This neighborhood in the Bronx was a planned community originally developed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The name Parkchester was originally given to the housing development. Later, the surrounding area was unofficially given the same name.
The name, Parkchester, was derived from the names of the the two surrounding neighborhoods of Park Versailles and Westchester Heights.
Metlife originally displayed an intricate model of the Parkchester development at the 1939 New York world’s fair. The model was so detailed that it included the 66,000 windows of the complex.
Check out 7 NYC Neighborhoods and How They Got Their Names.
[Feature Image Courtesy Get BG]