Brooklyn

For other uses, see Brooklyn (disambiguation).

Brooklyn Kings County, New York
Borough of New York City and county
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  Eendraght Maeckt Maght ("Unity makes strength")
Location within New York City
Coordinates: 40°37′29″N 73°57′8″W
Country	United States of America
State	New York
County	Kings (Coterminous)
City	New York City
Settled	1634
Named for	Breukelen, Netherlands
Government
• Type	Borough (New York City)
• Borough President	Antonio Reynoso (D) — (Borough of Brooklyn)
• District Attorney	Eric Gonzalez (D) — (Kings County)
Area
• Total	96.85 sq mi (250.85 km2)
• Land	69.38 sq mi (179.69 km2)
• Water	27.48 sq mi (71.16 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,736,074
• Density	39,440/sq mi (15,230/km2)
• Demonym	Brooklynite
ZIP Code format	112xx
Area code(s)	718, 347, 929, 917
Website	Official Website of the Brooklyn Borough President

Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of New York City. It also covers the same area as Kings County. Brooklyn is New York City's second largest borough in land area (after Queens). As of 2020, about 2.7 million people live there. This is more than in any of the other four boroughs.

Brooklyn is the west end of Long Island. The East River separates it from Manhattan in the north. Brooklyn's only land boundary is with Queens in the east. Jamaica Bay separates Brooklyn from Rockaway in the south. The Narrows separates Brooklyn from Staten Island in the west.

Coney Island is the south end of Brooklyn. The Brooklyn Museum is near the middle of Brooklyn, near Prospect Park.

History

Brooklyn is named after a Dutch town called "Breukelen". Dutch people were the first people from Europe to live in the area. When they got there, there were already some Native American people living there called the Lenape. The Dutch started the town in 1634 as part of the colony of New Netherland.

During the 19th century Brooklyn expanded and filled Kings County. It remained a separate city before the people there voted to join New York City in 1898. Today, many parts of Brooklyn are home to people who are mostly from one culture or ethnicity. Other parts are mixed.

The Brooklyn Bridge is old and famous. It goes over the East River and connects Downtown Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan. The longest bridge in New York, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in Bay Ridge connects Brooklyn to Staten Island.