Brooklyn is the most crowded place of New York City’s five boroughs, with a Census-estimated 2,636,735 residents in 2015. Geographically, it is found next to the borough of Queens at the southwestern end of Long Island. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as King County, which is the most populous country in the United States of New York, and also the second-most densely populated county in the United States after the county of New York.
Kings County is New York’s fourth-smallest country by land area and third-smallest by total area with a land area of 71 square miles and water area of 26 square miles, even though it is the second-largest among the city’s five boroughs. Today, if Brooklyn were an independent city, it would rank as the fourth most populated city in the U.S, behind only the other boroughs of NYC combines, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Until January 1, 1898, Brooklyn was an independent incorporated city, when, after a long political campaign and public relations battle during the 1890s, according to the new Municipal Charter of “Greater New York”, Brooklyn was amalgamated with the other cities, boroughs, and countries so as to form the modern “City of New York” which surrounds the Upper New York Bay with five constituent boroughs. However, the borough continues to maintain a distinct culture. Brooklyn’s official motto, displayed on the Borough seal and flag is Eendraght Maeckt Maght, which translates from early modern Dutch to “Unity makes strength”.
In the first couple of decades of the 21st century, Brooklyn has experienced a renaissance as an avant-garde destination for hipsters, with concomitant gentrification, insanely house price increases and a decrease in housing affordability. Since 2010, Brooklyn has evolved into a thriving hub of entrepreneurship and high technology startup firms, and of postmodern art and design.
Article Provided by michela@welovenyc.com