Early History of my Two Boroughs

So, you’d think two boroughs like Queens and Brooklyn residing firmly in Manhattan’s shadow would have a lot in common. They were both a part of New Netherlands and became a part of the English colony of New York. That is about where the similarities end though.

Breuckelen was founded by the Dutch pretty quickly after they founded New Amsterdam. Just down the road from me is a Dutch Reform church. The charter founding this institution was issued in 1654. Brooklyn, at the time, was largely a wilderness dotted with towns, villages and a few homes. Still, the area was united by Dutch culture.

Queens was never so unified. It was also part of New Netherlands, but the towns of Flushing and Jamaica were settled mostly by English Quakers. Other parts of Queens were largely Dutch. On either side of Queens were representatives of the two greatest commercial empires of its day. New Amsterdam was a bustling hub of Dutch commerce. New England, right across the Long Island Sound, was the Puritan English center of activity. Queens saw how the conflict between New Amsterdam and New England was caused by their cultures. So, they decided they'd be better off without one.

The English took over 1664 and Brooklyn residents started to speak English. They never quite got it right though. The English named it Kings County but by that time, it had already established itself as an entity called Brooklyn.

That which was not Brooklyn, the English named Queens County. Residents of Flushing and Jamaica collectively shrugged their shoulders and answered, “Ok.” Under the British, Queens County also encompassed what is now the County of Nassau. Just think, if they had only remained one entity, Billy Joel might well have been the fifth Ramone.

In 1854 the City of Greater Brooklyn unified several towns into an urban area with an industrial base and its own city government. More towns joined until the whole county was one big city. It had its own baseball team and Brooklyn was the sight of the first stolen base. Also the first stolen car stereo but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

It wasn’t until 1870 that any part of Queens thought to call itself a city. Back then just as now, Queens had more land and less population than Brooklyn. Agriculture was the dominant culture. Long Island City was the exception. It had industry and a bit of population density. That’s why they didn’t call it Long Island Village.

In 1898, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens , The Bronx and Staten Island united to form the City of New York. It’s not long before many Brooklyn residents start referring to it as the mistake of 98. The Brooklyn Bridge was still fairly new having been completed in 1883. A good many Brooklynites considered this to have been a colossal error as well and wondered if it would be possible to return the bridge and use the money to dig a moat between Brooklyn and Queens. This didn’t work so they elected to stay a part of the city.

Queens residents see this as a step forward. They wanted to put agriculture behind them and rid themselves of the stench of manure. What they got was a stench of a different kind with the opening of the Corona Ash Dump, the city’s largest landfill. Actually the dump opened in 1895, but consolidation meant Queens was now able to receive trash from the whole city. Eventually, it was turned by Robert Moses into Flushing Meadows Park, where the Mets Stadium resides. So, if you’re wondering why they so often stink…