About New York

Kings County, New York is one of the five counties of New York City. Brooklyn borough is synonymous with Kings County. First settled by the Dutch in 1636, General Lafayette laid the cornerstone of King County - Brooklyn's first library in 1825 (on Cranberry Street).

The Brooklyn Bridge opened in 1883; it was then the longest suspension bridge in the world. The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel is claimed by many to be the world’s first subway tunnel.

Well known in the 1920’s as a center of organized crime, Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano and Albert Anastasia launched their colorful careers from Kings County, NY.

Kings County, New York has 70.6 square miles of land area and a population density of 35,215.8 per square mile. In the 2000 U.S. Census the population was 2,465,326. The estimated population for 2004 was 2,475,290, an increase of 0.4% since 2000 and an increase of 7.6% since 1990. Median household income was $32,135. In 2004, health care and social assistance were the largest of the 20 major employment sectors.

Among the historic sites and noted museums you will find in King County, New York are: Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn History Museum, The New York Transit Museum and The Waterfront Museum.

Kings County, NY is well represented at the collegiate level with 5 CUNY sponsored institutions: Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn College, Medgar Evers College, Kingsborough Community College, and the New York City College of Technology. SUNY maintains a Downstate Science Center campus in Kings County, Brooklyn, as does Polytechnic University. The main campuses of the Institute of Design and Construction, Long Island University and Pratt Institute are here.

Both Saint Francis College and Saint Joseph's College reside in Brooklyn, Kings County as well.

Kings County, New York is a vital part of the excitement, culture and entertainment of New York City. Brookland has been immortalized in literature particularly. From Crossing Brooklyn Ferry (by Walt Whitman), to “A Tree Grows in Brookland”, and Frank Sinatra’s “There Used to Be a Ballpark” (about the legendary Ebbets Field), Kings County, NY has stamped the American culture.