East Williamsburg is in the northwestern portion of the borough of Brooklyn, New York City and physically located on the western end of Long Island, New York bordering Williamsburg to the west, Greenpoint to the north, Bushwick to the south and southeast, and both Maspeth and Ridgewood to the east. Its name taken from 100-year-old industrial park near the Montrose Ave. L subway stop; the community was once a quiet Polish and Hispanic area of hardworking Brooklynites who enjoyed their low-density, half-residential or half-warehouse neighborhood.
As of 2010 census, there were 34,158 people, 14,972 households, and 6,682 families residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village is $43,547.
There is a major discrepancy whether the community is a part of Bushwick or Williamsburg. East Williamsburg is still an emerging term and residents who are hesitant to use that term remain to identify themselves with Bushwick or Williamsburg, although this is both politically correct and incorrect. East Williamsburg has its own zip code, its own location on city maps, and its own natives.
Many factories and warehouses were being decommissioned due to heavy and light industry leaving the area and were converted into attic and apartment space which similar to the residential development of the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) neighborhood in Brooklyn. The residents who identified with Bushwick had such a strong association that when real estate developers increasingly referred to the area as “East Williamsburg” in the late 1990s and many residents dismissed the term as a marketing ploy to encourage new residents who were unable to settle in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, or Gowanus.
There were older buildings such as the former Bushwick Savings Bank in the northwest or the towering Bushwick Houses in the southwest seem to indicate that their creators referred to the area as Bushwick. Now a days, East Williamsburg is gradually booming and progressing and developers have proclaimed the area to be the next real estate hotspot. A major factor for developers and potential residents was the BMT Canaries Line with the Grand Street, Montrose Avenue and Morgan Avenue Stations. The Graham Ave and Grand Street are the main shopping districts. Several housing projects in East Williamsburg are a big impact when it comes of their real estate markets including the Williamsburg Houses, Borinquen Plaza, and the Bushwick/John Francis Hylan Houses. The modern structures can be mostly found in the community were composed of brick apartment building, three-story wooden houses and warehouse buildings. One of the good things about the area is that the apartments are huge and cheap and this makes you stay longer. East Williamsburg is experiencing a strong revitalization as well. While still largely industrial in nature, East Williamsburg is following fast on the tracks of Williamsburg proper.
