Ocean Hill is a subsection of Bedford-Stuyvesant located in the borough of Brooklyn, New York. It is part of Brooklyn Community Board 3 and Community Board 16. The neighborhood is surrounded by Broadway, Van Sinderen Avenue, East New York Avenue, and Ralph, Atlantic, and Saratoga avenues. Ocean Hill is being the mainly residential north side of Brownsville.
The main thoroughfare is Rockaway Avenue, and it is served by the IND Fulton Street Line (A and C trains) and the BMT Jamaica Line (J and Z trains) of the New York City Subway. Like the rest of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Ocean Hill is also in the process of gentrification. Many real estate developers and the community board uses the name Bedford-Stuyvesant/Ocean Hill or just plainly Bedford-Stuyvesant to avoid the neighborhood being confused with neighboring Brownsville, considered a symbol of urban disfigurement to many.
As of 2010 census, there were 31,935 people, 11,782 households, and 7,640 families residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village is $34,128.
In 1890, the area received its name for being slightly hilly. Ocean Hill was subdivided from the larger community of Stuyvesant Heights. From the beginning of the 20th century to the 1960’s, the neighborhood was an Italian enclave. At that time it had many well-kept homes and stores. The area once experienced an economic drought which made the residents have difficulty to achieve their daily needs.
Fortunately, the worst is over and Ocean Hill is now on a path to recovery. The realty environment in the neighborhood is now packed with Government projects, though there are a few private residences for single or for 2 families as well. The New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and the New York City Housing Partnership are major developers in the neighborhood and have a sound record of building affordable housing for lower-income families. An increasing number of Asians, Hispanics, and Whites are also moving into the area. This is due to the fact that the rents are slightly lower than the rest of Bedford-Stuyvesant proper and many abandoned buildings have been transformed.
Ocean Hill was a predominately Italian-American neighborhood with street fests, horse-drawn vegetable vendors and the distinct sounds and feelings of an Italian neighborhood. Some residents of Ocean Hill rarely use the name, and they consider themselves as residents of Bedford-Stuyvesant. The news media also uses the Bed-Stuy name. In recent time, the neighborhood has been referred as Ocean Hill-Bedford Stuyvesant.
The 73rd Police Precinct plays an important role to maintain peace and order in Ocean Hill. Currently, the crime rate for the neighborhood has reached an all time low. There are several houses of worships in Ocean Hill including Episcopal Church on Decatur Street has an important role in the Alcoholics Anonymous movement through a program of weekly night meetings. The Seventh Day Baptist Church on Fulton Street, the All People Church of Apostolic Faith on Rockaway Avenue and the Alexander Temple Holiness Church on Pacific Street.
