Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gerritsen Beach is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, located near Marine Park and Sheepshead Bay, in Brooklyn Community Board 15.
Gerritsen Beach is in southeastern Brooklyn, lying on a peninsula near Marine Park and bounded to the north by Avenue U, to the east by Gerritsen Avenue, to the south by Plumb Beach Channel, and to the west by Shell Bank Creek and Knapp Street; it is bisected from west to east by Gotham Avenue Canal. The neighborhood was named for Wolfert Gerritsen, a Walloon, who in the early seventeenth century built a house and mill on Gerritsen Creek (now part of Marine Park); the mill was destroyed by fire about 1931.
Until the early twentieth century the area remained undeveloped except for a few squatters’ bungalows at the foot of Gerritsen Avenue. The firm of Realty Associates began building a middle-class summer resort there in 1920, and the southwest corner of Gerritsen’s Meadow was soon covered by one-story bungalows with peaked roofs and no backyards. The popularity of this first venture spurred further growth. Some bungalows were made suitable for year-round habitation, two-story houses with backyards were built, and within a decade there were fifteen hundred houses. With its narrow streets and close-set homes, some sitting on the water, this neighborhood in far south Brooklyn is often likened to a New England fishing village.
The area north of the canal, called the "New Section" by local residents, is lined with stores, brick houses, and sidewalks.
The area south of the canal, the Old Section, retains the character of a small fishing village and is a popular station for party boats.
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[edit] The Vollies
It is headquarted at 52 Seba Avenue and the is only remaining volunteer fire department in Brooklyn. The Gerrittsen Beach Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1922, when Gerrittsen Beach was a small, predominately summer community. In 1921 a damaging fire on Abbey Court showed the community that the city’s regular fire apparatus could not reach the Beach in time to put out the fire. A mass meeting was called by the residents that resulted in the organization of the only volunteer fire department in Brooklyn.
The volunteers (known as the Vollies or, in earlier days, the (Vamps) are ever on the alert for the fire horn. When it blows, they drop everything and rush to the firehouse, where the call may be for a deadly fire, a drowning, or a medical emergency.
Before the city added water mains to Gerrittsen Beach streets, the Volunteers had to handle fires at least three times a week. Most families had oil stoves or kerosene lamps, and the water had to be pumped from wells. The city did not build Engine Company 321’s firehouse at Gerrittsen Avenue and Avenue U until October 4, 1930.
Through the years the community has insisted on maintaining its firehouse even though Engine Company No. 321 serviced the area.* The Vollies were, and still are, prepared for every emergency. For example,
- The Vollies responded with medical aid to the plane crash on 7th Avenue and Sterling Place in December 1961.
- In the early 1960s the Vollies responded to the city’s call for the Constellation fire at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.** Although the city had enough apparatus, it
- During heavy fog the Mack searchlight, with its powerful lights, was used at Kennedy Airport when needed.
- When there was a major oil fire in Mill Basin in 1962 the Vollies responded with foam to help put it out.
According to the Vollies 1976 anniversary booklet, in 1974 the Vollies were approved by the New York State Department of Health as an Emergency Services Training Center.
The Fleet
Gerritsen Beach VFD - 1 engine, 1 ambulance, 1 rescue
[edit] Organizations
- Gerritsen Beach Cares
- Veterans of Foreign Wars - Argonne Marine Park Post #107
[edit] Movies Filmed In Gerritsen Beach
[edit] Elected Officials
New York City Council
New York State Senate
House of Representatives
New York Senators
[edit] Website Dedicated To Gerritsen Beach
- GerritsenMemories.com - Marret Kauffner started the site in 1998 as a place for her family memories. Since there was no other outlet for Ex-"Gerritsen Beachers" to express their sentiment for Gerritsen Beach. People started to leave messages about the beach. She quickly learned that there was much more interest with other people then in her family. It hosts a message board, pictures and stories.
- GerritsenBeach.net - Offering Current News, Links & Reviews not Memories
[edit] External links
- St. James
- The Vollies
- Gerritsen Memories
- Fairy-Tale like views of ICE-Plated Gerritsen Bay
- Neighborhood description from the website of the neighborhood's Congressman, Anthony Weiner
- Gerritsenbeach.net Current News
Aerial View of Gerritsen Beach in the 1920's
