First Summar - History and Introduction Due 11/23

Example Overview: INTRODUCTION TO and HISTORY OF GREENPOINT

The neighborhood of Greenpoint is situated at the very northern end of the borough of Brooklyn. It is separated from Queens by a three-mile long body of water called Newtown Creek, which at one point was as busy an industrial waterway as the entire Mississippi River. Greenpoint is actually a peninsula, surrounded by water on three sides. Along with Newtown Creek to the north and the East River to the neighborhood’s west, Bushwick Inlet lies to the south, dividing the area from its neighboring community, Williamsburg. Water has played a large role in the history of the neighborhood, from the time that the Lenape Indians fished along Newtown Creek’s shores, to the Industrial Revolution when the port of New York housed numerous factories on the bank of Greenpoint. Walking along the streets of Greenpoint today it is easy to see the neighborhood’s industrial history. Abandoned factories stand side by side with small manufacturing businesses. Newtown Creek remains one of the most polluted bodies of water in the country due to a great amount of illegal dumping of toxic chemicals during its industrial heyday. However, despite this blight on the community, the neighborhood is thriving. The water treatment plant has just been remodeled, and along with it a new city park has been built. The area holds a strong Polish community that own many shops and restaurants, and attend several large and beautiful churches. In addition, for the past ten years the area has been gentrifying, and a walk along Manhattan Avenue today will bring you past Thai restaurants, boutiques and organic grocery stores. Still, the most compelling feature of the neighborhood is Newtown Creek itself. While it is hard to imagine what it was like when many barges were going back and forth, carrying goods such as lumber, oil, glass and sugar, the creek remains the neighborhood’s focal point and reason for being.


OUTLINE: HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY OVERVIEW

Where your neighborhood is located in Brooklyn (south, north, east, west, middle)

Basic geographical features (next to water, landlocked, hilly, flat, etc.)

Why the neighborhood developed (for example: industrial history, or a “bedroom community” for commuters to Manhattan, or farmland that turned into residences)

What remains of the history of the neighborhood today (old buildings, or
undeveloped land, or old shops, or brownstones built to house wealthy, early commuters)

Who has lived in the area over the years

A quick summary of how the neighborhood has changed

Any interesting facts