Concept
Flatlands is a neighborhood in the southeast part of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The current neighborhood borders are roughly defined by the Bay Ridge Branch to the north, Avenue U to the south, Ralph Avenue to the east, and Flatbush Avenue to the southwest. Originally an independent town, Flatlands became part of the City of Brooklyn in 1896. Flatlands is part of Brooklyn Community District 18, and its primary ZIP Code is 11234. It is patrolled by the 63rd Precinct of the New York City Police Department. Politically it is represented by the New York City Council's 45th and 46th Districts. Flatlands was originally known as Nieuw Amersfoort, after the Dutch city of Amersfoort, and was established as a farming community in 1636 when Wolfert Gerritse Van Couwenhoven and Andries Hudde purchased 15,000 acres of land centered on what is now the intersection of Kings Highway and Flatbush Avenue. The land was ostensibly purchased from the Native Lenape people, who had lived near the fishing rich waters of Jamaica Bay for a thousand years. However, it is unlikely that the Lenape leaders, who did not practice the concept of land ownership, understood the agreement to which they were being conjoined. Rather, leaders such as Sachem Penhawitz more probably believed they were negotiating a treaty regarding the usage of the land. Wealthy Dutch land owners disagreed and within two generations, the once-powerful Canarsee tribe of the Lenape was brought to near extinction by bloody conflict with Europeans and other tribes, as well as the ravages of disease. Flatlands was given the right to local rule in 1661 by Peter Stuyvesant as one of the five Dutch Towns on Long Island. The town's growth and development came late, largely due to the lack of a transit system or set of roads connecting it with other parts of Brooklyn. Flatlands was annexed by the city of Brooklyn in 1896. At the time, it contained numerous small islands on Jamaica Bay, including Mill Island, Bergen Island, and Barren Island.
