Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
| Dyker Heights | |
|---|---|
| Neighborhood in Brooklyn | |
The Saitta House, an original Dyker Heights home
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| Nickname(s): Dyker | |
| Motto: "The Handsomest Suburb in Greater New York" | |
 Dyker Heights
Dyker Heights
Dyker Heights
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| Coordinates: 40°37′N 74°01′W / 40.617°N 74.017°W | |
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 New York
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| City |
 New York City
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| Borough | Brooklyn |
| Developed | 1895–1902 |
| Developer | Walter L. Johnson |
| Elevation | 33.5–15.5 m (110-51 ft) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 42,419 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 11228 |
| Area code(s) | 718, 917, 347, 646 |
| Website | Dyker Heights Civic Association |
Dyker Heights is a residential neighborhood in the southwest corner of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City, US. It is sandwiched between Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, and Gravesend Bay. The neighborhood is officially bounded by 7th and 14th Avenues, 65th Street, and the Belt Parkway on the west, east, north, and south respectively.
It originated as a speculative luxury housing development in October 1895 when Walter Loveridge Johnson developed a portion of woodland into a suburban community. During the height of his development, the boundaries were primarily between Tenth Avenue and Thirteenth Avenue and from 79th Street to 86th Street. The finest homes of the development were situated along the top of the 110-foot (34 m) hill, at about Eleventh Avenue and 82nd Street. Dyker Heights is patrolled by the 68th Precinct of the NYPD.
The neighborhood of Dyker Heights lies within the boundaries of the then-Dutch town of New Utrecht settled in 1657. The area that is now known as Dyker Heights was not developed in the 17th or 18th centuries because the land was too sloped for farming; it remained common woodland until the mid-19th century. The trees of this forest were used by the townsfolk as a source of firewood and construction material. When the agricultural industry of New Utrecht changed from the farming grains to the cultivation of market garden produce, the trees were cleared for tomatoes, cabbages, and potatoes, among other produce.
The first house built at the top of the hill (what is now 11th Avenue and 82nd Street, at about 110 feet (34 m) above sea level) was built in the late 1820s by Brigadier General René Edward De Russy of the US Army. De Russy was a military engineer who built many forts in the US – from the Canada–US border and the eastern seaboard to the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast – including Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn. Since this was the tallest natural point in southwest Brooklyn, he built his homestead here – it afforded a clear view of the harbor and its defenses, especially Fort Hamilton which was complete by November 1831. De Russy died in 1865 and his wife, Helen, sold the property in 1888 to Jane Elisabeth Loveridge and Frederick Henry Johnson.
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Wikipedia