
Ah, the view.
From atop a hill in Sunset Park, there are marvelous vistas of the harbor, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the Manhattan skyline and the setting sun.
This is the park, built in the 1890s, that gave its name to its surrounding neighborhood on Gowanus Bay in the west of Brooklyn, originally home to the Lenape people who farmed the area before the Europeans came in the 1600s.
The Dutch found the fertile soil and the waterways to their liking, acquired the land from the Canarsees and began farming along the waterfront.
It became more of an urban community after Brooklyn was incorporated as a city in 1834 and developed further with the construction of horsecar lines and factories in the area.
The neighborhood grew dramatically after Irving T. Bush purchased oceanfront property in 1895 and built Bush Terminal, a complex of piers, warehouses and factory lofts that made Brooklyn a major shipping port and Sunset Park into a bustling waterfront area.
The first documented use of the name “Sunset Park” for the neighborhood appears in a 1909 issue of the Brooklyn Eagle, which refers to it as Sunset Park Slope.
Indeed, Sunset Park is a prime example of how Brooklyn neighborhoods change ethnically as well as geographically.
It was settled by the Irish escaping the potato famine around 1845. Then, Scandinavians settled in sections that became known as Finntown and Little Norway. Hispanics came to the neighborhood, too. And now it is primarily known as the home of Brooklyn’s Chinatown.
The neighborhood has Greenwood Heights to its north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south, and the Upper New York Bay to the west.












SUNSET PARK — “As a resident of Marine Park, one of the great surprises I found biking around Industry City and visiting Japan Village was to discover Bush Terminal Park. I continue to be amazed at the serene hideaways that the city offers in some of the busiest places — and, still, with an iconic view.”

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — ‘A miracle that no one was killed …’ That’s what neighbors are saying about the collapse of the Hotel St. George marquee. Shown in this photograph are workmen beginning the removal and repair of the historic, old neon sign at the corner, referencing a relic of Brooklyn Heights’ past: the St. George Hotel.

ATLANTIC AVENUE — Exhausted shopper with cluster of bags and goods from mall at Boerum Place stops to look at huge construction site across the street. “Is that REALLY going to be a jail??” Her male companion is reassuring, “Nothing like Rikers … this is 21st Century.”
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — Overheard in line at one of most popular pastry outlets on Montague Street: “Hope I can get them into a camp …” A mother with two pre-schoolers in tow was showing a friend the Dodge Y flyer for Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 18.