Introduction
Construction of subway through Fourth Avenue
Sunset Park is an industrialized neighborhood that became stagnant a century after its development. The main industry was transportation by land and sea. The subway lines the 4th ave local (R line) and the Sea Beach Express (N line) and the Gowanus Expressway were constructed beginning in 1910 and 1941 respectively. The Gowanus Expressway altered Sunset Park by dividing the neighborhood; initially demolishing 100 stores and then buildings along 39th to 63rd streets; and displacing 1300 families when it was first constructed (Winnick 88). Irving T. Bush, a Brooklyn businessman, created numerous low skilled jobs with the development of Sunset Park’s waterfront in to a busy port called the Bush Terminal. During World War I, the landmark Brooklyn Army Terminal was opened nearby as the Army Port of Embarkation. This community was greatly affected during the Great Depression because of its dependence on trade. After World War II, Sunset Park’s population decreased because Brooklyn’s ports were unable to attract clients and a migration to the suburbs.
According to Winnick, “Sunset Park’s population fell from a prewar level of nearly 104,000 to a little over 97,000 in 1950, to 87,000 in 1960, and despite the huge influx of Puerto Ricans, to even less in 1970.”(89) 2010 Statistics on the neighborhood shows that there is a reverse in the population trend and a continuation of the diversifying of the population. Even though the current population is 64, 258 the population has increased by 3% since the beginning of the decade. Prior to 1970, the population was European specifically Irish, Italian, Scandinavian, Finnish, Norwegian, and Polish. In the 1980s Asians, especially Chinese, moved to Sunset Park. The European immigrants were attracted to Sunset Park because of the jobs and available housing. Hispanics and Asians settled in Sunset Park because the affordable housing.
Shopping Center on Fifth Avenue
Sunset Park is trying to recover economically and socially. The local organization UPROSE (United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park-Bay Ridge, Inc.) is involved with issues such as housing, youth development, adult education, and immigration (Snyder-Grenier 259). Another organization, FAMA (Fifth Avenue Merchants’ Assocation), focuses on making Fifth Avenue an important shopping center again(Snyder-Grenier 260). Other efforts are getting interest in the housing and trying to convert the waterfront into park space.
