Spring Creek, Brooklyn

Spring Creek
Neighborhood of Brooklyn
Houses of the Nehemiah Spring Creek development under construction in 2008.
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Coordinates: 40°39′31″N 73°52′29″W / 40.65873°N 73.874603°W / 40.65873; -73.874603Coordinates: 40°39′31″N 73°52′29″W / 40.65873°N 73.874603°W / 40.65873; -73.874603
Locale	East New York, Brooklyn, New York
ZIP codes	11207, 11208, 11239

Spring Creek, previously called Spring Creek Basin, is a neighborhood within the East New York section of Brooklyn in New York City. Part of Brooklyn Community Board 5, it roughly comprises the southern portions of East New York between Flatlands Avenue to the north, and Jamaica Bay and the Gateway National Recreation Area to the south, with the Brooklyn neighborhood of Canarsie to the west and the Queens neighborhood of Howard Beach to the east. It is named after Spring Creek, one of several creeks that formerly ran through the area and drained into Jamaica Bay.

For most of its history Spring Creek was considered the place where "the city came to an end", consisting of undeveloped marshland used as illegal dumping grounds, and hosting several large landfills and an incinerator during the 20th century. Much of the area was designated as the Fresh Creek Urban Renewal Area in 1967. The area has since seen several major development and restoration projects, including the Starrett City apartment complex, the Gateway Center shopping complex, several affordable housing communities, and Spring Creek Park. Spring Creek had the largest net gain in population in Brooklyn between 1940 and 2010, an increase of 330%.

Spring Creek comprises the southeastern section of East New York, located to the south of New Lots. It is bounded to the north by Flatlands Avenue, to the east by Fountain Avenue (at the former drainage basin of Spring Creek and Betts Creek on the Brooklyn-Queens border), and to the west by Schenck Avenue, Gateway Drive and Hendrix Creek. To the south is the Shore Parkway portion of the Belt Parkway, the Gateway National Recreation Area, and Jamaica Bay. Including Starrett City (which is physically separated by Hendrix Creek), the neighborhood extends west to Louisiana Avenue and Fresh Creek at the boundary with Canarsie. Several areas north to Linden Boulevard, between Fountain Avenue to the west and 78th Street to the east, are also considered part of Spring Creek; this area was formerly known as Plunders Neck. Linden Boulevard was previously considered the northern boundary of Spring Creek.