By, Clyde Brittelle

How did Fort Greene get its name? What is its location? What is the story behind its famous park? Read this article and you’ll find the answers to all of these questions. 

For this article I spoke with Ms.Lawton, who is a teacher for the 7th grade at BKI, about living in Fort Greene. I interviewed her on what it is like to live in Fort Greene. But before we get to that, we need to have some background information about this beautiful neighborhood.

Origins

Fort Greene’s name originates from a Revolutionary war general named Nathaniel Greene. General Greene was the leader of the decisive Southern offensive in the latter years of the war for the Patriots. He also supervised the construction of a fort in the area during the Battle of Long Island, and after that, the neighborhood was forever known as Fort Greene. 

Fort Greene Geography

Borough:Brooklyn

East: Vanderbilt Avenue and Clinton Hill

West: Flatbush Avenue Extension and Downtown Brooklyn

North: Flatbush Avenue and the Brooklyn Navy Yard

South: Atlantic Avenue and Prospect Heights

The Racial Demographics of Fort Greene

Race	Percentage (2000)	Percentage (2015-2019)
White	31.15%	52.1%
Black	41.8%	20.3%
Asian	4.2%	11.3%
Hispanic	19.3%	12.3%

Over the past few decades, there has been an increase in gentrification. According to Jerome Dineen and Matthew Elo from The Real Deal, “Brownstones in Fort Green regularly top The Real Deal’s weekly residential sales rankings, so it is no surprise that space in the stately neighborhood is some of the priciest in the city.” And according to Springer Link,“The area of Fort Greene outside of public housing has been gentrifying since the late 1960s. This area is known for the large number of brownstones, though many apartment buildings and condominiums are also located there.” This increase in expenses has been historically hard for black, brown, and hispanic people (who tend to have a lower income, due to years of systemic racism) resulted in, as shown in the chart above, an increase in white and asian american residents and a decrease in black and hispanic residents. When I was speaking to Ms.Lawton on this subject, she said, “As a woman that derives from this neighborhood, I’ve seen the lasting effect of gentrification and its disregard for groups of people from distinct socioeconomic backgrounds. Fort Greene’s soaring housing prices forced black and brown families out of their neighborhood. Fort Greene, once packaged as the ghetto but since has been repackaged with an image of luxury…{which is} not recognizable to some.”

Fort Greene Park

Fort Greene Park was originally called Washington Park. It was renamed after Nathaniel Greene. (Also, the namesake for the neighborhood itself, as previously stated.) In 1867, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) and Calvert Vaux (1824-1895) helped redesign it. Prior to this project, Olmsted and Vaux had spearheaded the creation of Central Park. In 1908, Fort Greene park’s most notable feature, the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument (designed by Stanford White) was unveiled by President-elect William Howard Taft. This monument honors ~11,500 patriots who perished aboard British prison ships in New York Harbor during the American Revolution. The park is ~30.2 acres and is currently 156 years old. According to Ms.Lawton, a 7th grade humanities teacher here at BKI, “Fort Greene Park is like the lovable auntie that welcomes all family members regardless of any misunderstandings amongst family. Fort Greene Park is a common ground for all children to display their innocence, for canines to run free wholesomely, for cookouts to be accompanied by picnics- for house music festivals movie screenings and sports to coexist.” 

Reasons to love Fort Greene

I spoke with Ms.Lawton on why she loved Fort Greene. On the subject of the types of people living in the neighborhood she said, “its diversity and variety of restaurants. Fort Greene is the true epitome of a melting pot that combines different people, styles of living, and theories to create a tasteful neighborhood – Fort Greene is truly one of a kind.” I then asked her about the thing that might make or break a neighborhood. The best mom and pop store. Ms. Lawton’s favorite is “a beloved corner store located on Adelphi Street and Myrtle Ave – Farmer in the Deli. Farmer in the Deli isn’t just a corner store – it is a sandwich making connoisseur. Their sandwiches are the BEST in Fort Greene – arguably Brooklyn because of the amount of meat and extra goods that the sandwiches are dressed with. Check out Farmer in the Deli on any given day or night and you will be greeted with the warmth from the store’s owners, the aroma from customized sandwiches and a long line wrapped around the store – all for sandwiches.”

In conclusion, I hope you have learned a lot about Fort Greene and will hopefully enjoy going there in the future. Thanks for reading my article. (: