This home in the Mill Basin neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, has been in the local news quite a bit lately. I won't go into the whole sordid affair of why the people living in this house have been making headlines, but suffice it to say it is sometimes true that real life, factual events can have more twists and turns than the most unbelievable works of fiction. Reading about these recent events made me desire to pay the Mill Basin neighborhood a visit and to take a walking tour of the neighborhood.
(All photos will enlarge if clicked on once and then again when they re-open)
Mill Basin was named after the many tide mills that were once located in the tidal marsh lands in the area. Situated along Jamaica Bay, Mill Basin was called Equandito (broken land) by the local Canarsee Indians, who sold the land to developers in 1664. It became part of Flatlands, and remained a rural area until 1890, when a lead-smelting plant was built in the area. The other main industry was fishing for the crabs, oysters and clams that lived in Jamaica Bay. Around 1909 the ill effects of heavy industry resulted in the filling of the marsh land, and after World War II, development companies bought up the land and residential development began. Today, Mill Basin is an exclusive residential neighborhood known for its expensive and luxurious homes.
The houses are probably the type that most would not expect to find within city limits, and especially in Brooklyn, but as I have showed on previous posts about the Brooklyn Heights, Bay Ridge and Victorian Flatbush neighborhoods, Brooklyn has many upscale housing areas among it's more modest neighborhoods.
Some more examples of custom built, single family houses (double click on to enlarge)
Small ranch style houses built in the late 1950's and early 1960's are purchased and then demolished.....
...and large, mostly three story homes replace them.
As you can see in the photos above a smaller one story home is on the left and a newer replacement home is on the right.
A fascinating statistic I saw at this link states that the average population density of a square mile in Brooklyn New York is 34,917 people per square mile, while in Mill Basin it is only 9,079 people per square mile. Although the homes may not have a property lot as large as homes in the suburbs, and are fairly close together, I am surprised that even that large a per capita ratio exists!
Mill Basin is an interesting neighborhood and another fascinating facet of Brooklyn, New York. I hope you enjoyed coming along with me for a virtual walk in this neighborhood.
On a personal note, my grandsons have been bonding and "L" is having such a nice time being a big brother to his new brother "M." Thank you all for your congratulations and best wishes!
I'm linking to "Mosaic Monday" on Mary's blog Little Red House Thanks Mary! Click on the link to see many wonderful photo mosaics!
