Brooklyn Navy Yard was once known as America’s premier shipbuilding facility located 1.7 miles (2.7 km) northeast of the Battery on the Brooklyn side of the East River in Wallabout Basin, a semicircular bend of the East River across from Corlear’s Hook in Manhattan. It is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2.
The area surrounded by Navy Street, Flushing and Clinton Avenues, coveres over 200 acres (0.81 km²) at the height of its production of U.S. Navy warships. The yard has three piers such as G, J, and K. These piers are owned by the City of New York and operated by Seatrain Shipbuilding and Coastal Dry dock and Repair Corporation as mooring piers for outfitting and repair. There are a total of 10 berths 350-890 ft long, with 10 ft deck height and 25-40 ft depth alongside at MLW. Access to the piers requires passage under the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge.
As of 2010 census, there were 11,051 people residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village is $39,037.
In 1637, Walloon Jansen de Rapelje bought 335 acres of Rennegachonk territory from Dutch West India Trading Company and later became Wallabout Bay. It was originally named as Waal Boght, from the Dutch meaning either “Bend in the River” or “Bay of Walloons”. During the American Revolution 11,000 people died on the British prisoner ships moored off Wallabout Bay. American soldiers, merchants and traders had been imprisoned for disobeying the British embargo. In 1781, John Jackson bought a part of Rapelje land and constructed the area’s original shipyard on the muddy marshlands.
The U.S. Government purchased Jackson’s land for $40,000 in 1801. It was the site for the construction of Robert Fulton’s steam frigate, the Fulton, launched in 1815, as well as of other historic vessels. Unfortunately, the Fulton Steam Frigate was complete destroyed in an accidental explosion that killed 29 men in 1829. The Brooklyn Navy Yard population and size increased substantially when the government reclaimed Wallabout Market for development and increased the workforce to 70,000 employees.
The yard has such diverse businesses as movie studios, furniture manufacturers, ship repairers, architectural designers, electronics distributors and jewelers, the Brooklyn Navy Yard isn’t just filled with a storied past. It’s also filled with a promising future. The Navy Yard was decommissioned in 1966 and two hundred and sixty acres of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, housing nearly all of its industrial sites were sold to the City of New York for $24,000,000. The yard reopened in 1971 as a City-owned industrial park under the management of a Local Development Corporation called Commerce Labor and Industry in the County of Kings.
The modern industrial park in a historical setting has over 40 buildings, 230 tenants and 5,000 employees. With tenants representing a mixture of industries like construction, theatrical set design, computer and office supplies, contracting, refrigerated distribution facilities, media communications and promotions, motor overhauling, and many more. Since World War II, the area is pursuing its mission to create and retain industrial jobs in New York City with a strong commitment to environmental sustainability and the celebration of the Yard’s rich history.
