Bensonhurst, Brooklyn
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Bensonhurst Embankment is a common walkplace in (Bensonhurst) |
Bensonhurst is a working class neighborhood located in the south-central part of the
New York City borough of
Brooklyn. Bensonhurst runs from about 14th Avenue to 25th Avenue and from Gravesend Bay to 63rd Street, encompassing Bath Beach and part of Dyker Heights and bordered by the
Bath Beach,
Bay Ridge,
Gravesend, and
Borough Park sections.
Bensonhurst derives its name from
Arthur W. Benson, the former president of Brooklyn Gas, who in 1835 began buying farmland that formerly owned to the Polhemuses family. Between 1835 and 1850 Benson divided the farmland into lots that were sold in the following decades as part of the newly created suburb of Bensonhurst
[BROOKLYN'S LARGE ESTATES: What Has Become of the Old Farm Lands of the City of Brooklyn?, accessed July 31, 2006].
In the early 1900s, many
Jews and
Italians moved into the neighborhood, and prior to
World War II the neighborhood was about equally Jewish and Italian. In the 1950s, there was an influx of immigrants from southern
Italy and most of the Jewish population left the neighborhood, leaving the area predominately Italian. In the 1990s, many
Chinese and
Russian immigrants began to arrive. Today, the
Italian American community numbers over 50,000, or more than one-third of the population. Despite increasing diversity, Bensonhurst still maintains heavily Italian, as its Italian-speaking community remains over 20,000 strong, according to the
census of 2000. Its main thoroughfare, 86th Street between roughly 14th Avenue and Stillwell Avenue, is lined with predominantly small, Italian family-owned businessesâ€"many of which have remained in the same family for several generationsâ€"and is straddled by the elevated
BMT West End Line of the
New York City Subway.
On
August 23,
1989, the neighborhood made national headlines when
Yusef Hawkins, a 16-year-old
African American, went there with three of his friends to inquire about a used car which was for sale, only to be set upon by an angry mob of youths from the neighborhood, one of whom, armed with a handgun, shot and killed Hawkins.
Spike Lee's film
Jungle Fever is dedicated in memory of Hawkins, and his photograph appears at the beginning of the film.
The incident uncorked a torrent of racial tension in and around
New York City in the ensuing days and weeks, culminating in a protest march through the neighborhood led by the Reverend
Al Sharpton, which almost precipitated a full-scale riot. The episode underscored the strained relations between
Italian Americans and
African Americans that have existed in many Northeastern and
Rust Belt cities for decades. This further perpetuated the negative stereotype of Italian Americans as invariably racist. Many in Bensonhurst, the larger Italian American community, argue that this is a false stereotype, citing the fact that Italian-American religious, political and community leaders in Bensonhurst, as well as the vast majority of community residents, condemned the murder and desired to see the perpetrators jailed for their crime. The man who fired the shots that killed Hawkins, Joseph Fama, received a sentence of 32 years to life in prison for murder and unlawful possession of a weapon following his trial and conviction; several other defendants received lesser sentences on charges that included riot in the first degree, a felony.
Two years later, Al Sharpton was stabbed on
January 12,
1991, as he prepared to lead a march one block from where Yusuf Hawkins had been shot. The attempted assassin,
Michael Riccardi, was a resident of Bensonhurst who felt he would be considered a hero by his community at the height of the racial tension.
Bensonhurst was stereotyped as a haven for
Mafia members (
Gus Farace, a reputed mob associate suspected of murdering a federal drug-enforcement agent, was found shot to death in a parked car there on
November 17,
1989, and two years later the neighborhood provided the setting for the mob-themed film
Out for Justice starring
Steven Seagal), many of whom are believed to maintain residences in
Dyker Heights, a neighborhood adjacent to Bensonhurst. Despite this old stereotype, the reality is that the overwhelming majority of Bensonhurst residents (like the overwhelming majority of all Italian-Americans) have nothing to do with crime, organized or otherwise.
Currently the neighborhood is undergoing a transformation; many of the original houses dating back over 90 years ago are being torn down and replaced by three-story brick apartment buildings and multi-family dwellings. Some of the original Italian-American families are leaving Brooklyn and selling their homes to developers. A great number of them have moved further out on
Long Island or to
Staten Island for a more suburban life. This is especially attractive to its more elderly residents. As a result, Bensonhurst is becoming a more integrated neighborhood as many
Middle Eastern as well as
Eastern European,
Russian, and Asian families have moved in.
Visitors from throughout the
New York City metropolitan area flock to the neighborhood each year in late August or early September to take part in the colorful Santa Rosalia Festival, held on 18th Avenue from Bay Ridge Parkway (75th Street) to 69th Street.
St. Rosalia is the patron saint of the city of
Palermo and is sometimes venerated as the patron for the entire island of
Sicily (a sizeable portion of Bensonhurst's
Italian American residents are of Sicilian heritage).
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Snow melting on one of the streets in Bensonhurst |
*Bensonhurst was the setting for
"The Honeymooners" series, featuring actor/comedian
Jackie Gleason as Ralph Kramden, a bus driver in Brooklyn during the 1950s.
Famous people
*
Harvey Fierstein,
Elliott Gould,
Richard Jeni,
Rhea Perlman,
Leah Remini,
Ray Suarez grew up in Bensonhurst.
*Playwrite
Abe Burrows, writer of
Guys and Dolls and
Can-Can was a graduate of
New Utrecht High School*Actor
Tony Sirico of
The Sopranos lives in Bensonhurst.
*
Larry King, the famous talk show host, lived in Bensonhurst and graduated from
Lafayette High School in 1951.
*The
Three Stooges (Moe, Shemp, and Curly) were all from Bensonhurst.
Saturday Night Fever was filmed in Bensonhurst's Philips Dance Studio.
*The television series
Welcome Back Kotter was set in Bensonhurst.
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NYCfoto.com - Photos of Bensonhurst
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Air visit of 'Bensonhurst' in Photographs*
A History of Bensonhurst - A History of the Neighborhood
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Brooklyn's Ethnic Neighborhoods - An ethnic picture of New York
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Bensonhurst Blues - lyrics of a song performed by Oscar Benton*
Bayridgetalk.com - Bay Ridge Community Message Board
