Admiral's Row: This New York City neighborhood of Brooklyn,is currently being looked at for rehabilitation and inclusion into the National Register of Historic Places. The Army Corps of Engineers has launched a website to get public involvement in deciding what should be done with these residences. There is an open meeting scheduled for July 23, 2008 from 7 to 9 pm which the public is invited to attend to discuss the preservation of the structures. The structures themselves are Second Empire style homes that housed naval officers up until the mid-1970's. Some of the homes in this area date back to the Civil War. The property where Admiral Row is located encompasses about 8 acres. On the grounds there is also a tennis court, a green house, and garages for each resident.
Barren Island: What was once Barren Island, New York City, is now connected to Brooklyn main thanks to landfill and is now a part of the Gateway National Recreation Area managed by the National Park Service.
Bath Beach: Bath Beach is primarily a working class community that has become quite a diverse ethnic community as recent immigrants such as Chinese, Arabic-speaking and Russian-speaking displace the native born Italian-Americans in the community. The beach portion of this area was paved over during the mid-twentieth century to create Shore Parkway. The northwestern half has a promenade to allow residents to access the sea wall. The southern half has a large park with ball fields and the Caesar's Bay shopping center.
Bay Ridge: The 69th Street Pier is the communities key seaside recreation area, sport fishing being just one of them. Bay Ridge is also becoming a very diverse ethnic neighborhood, known for its large Irish and Italian population, it has recently seen a large increase in Russian immigrants, and a smaller increase in Chinese and Greeks. The Arab community in this neighborhood is the oldest Arab community in America.
Educational institutes include: Walter Kassenbeock Elementary ( called the Fort Hamilton school and also known as Mary White Ovington), Bay Ridge Preparatory School, Fort Hamilton High School, High School of Telecommunications, Poly Prep Country Day School, Visitation Academy, Adelphi Academy, Frontbonne Hall Academy, and Xaverian High School.
The community of Bayridge has been called a NORC ( naturally-occurring retirement community) because of the high population of elderly, which was reported in 2006 that 20% of the population is over age 60. Another interesting fact about the community is that there is a colony of wild Monk Parakeets that live in Bay Ridge's Lief Erickson Park.
Bedford: Bedford was the first major settlement prior to the American Revolutionary War east of what was then called the Village of Brooklyn. It has since become part of the larger community today known as Bedford-Stuyvesant. In 1836 Long Island Rail Road established Bedford as a major railroad town, and the building of the terminal and junction with Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway made Bedford an important gateway to Coney Island.
Bedford-Stuyvesant: Is in the central portion of Brooklyn and is actually made up of three neighborhoods, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Tompkins Park North and Stuyvesant Heights. Since the beginning of 2000's the neighborhood began to experience a renaissance. Significant reasons for this are the beautiful brownstone rowhouses which are located on quiet tree lined streets, a marked decrease in crime in the area, and the pride and fortitude of the neighborhood residents. In 2005 the New York Police Department had designated Fulton Street-Nostrand Avenue business district as the most dangerous area in New York City, and Bed-Stuy as two of the most violent neighborhoods. The police protection in these areas were significantly increased and since then the crime has decreased. Over the years this community has been a cultural center for Brooklyn's African American population. Now the on going revitalization and renewal of the community is helping to establish the community in a more positive atmosphere and has prompted an increasingly diverse range of people to seek affordable housing in the area. The community has various artistic and cultural neighborhood events and celebrations to show off its positive accomplishments. There are mixed feelings among the residents of the community with the increase of other ethnic groups moving into the area as some fear that the ethnic character of the community will be lost. This is a community that is well recognised outside of the New York City arena for its distinct identity and culture.
Landmarks in this neighborhood include: Weekstone Heritage Center, Cornerstone Baptist Church, Our Lady of the Presentation Church, Boys and Girls High School, The Stuyvesant Heights Historic District, Antioch Baptist Church, Boys high School and Girls High School.
Bensonhurst: This neighborhood in Brooklyn was sterotyped as a haven for Mafia members. Although there have been some famous mafia related activites that occured in the area in the past, the majority of the residents have nothing to do with organized crime or any other type of crime for that matter. The neighborhood is located in south-central Brooklyn and is Brooklyn's "Little Italy". The Italian American community in this neighborhood numbers over 50,000, in the 1990's the neighborhood had an increase of Chinese and Russian immigrants move into the area. Allot of the older buildings in this neighborhood are being torn down and replaced with 3 story brick apartment buildings and multi-family condominiums. Every year in late August or early September Bensonhurst is flocked to by visitors wanting to enjoy the Santa Rosalia Festival ( known as "The Feast" to locals). The Festival is held on 18th Ave. from Bay Ridge Parkway ( 75th St.) to 69th Street.