Brooklyn Timeline: Brooklyn Heights
1802: Croneyism, or How Brooklyn Heights’ Streets Were Named
Not so long after the Revolutionary War ended, everyone started to complain about how much Manhattan sucked and how it was too crowded and chaotic and to live there you either had to be very rich or very poor and on and on and on. Just kidding. People were complaining about that from the very beginning of time. (Fact: the Lenape Indians only sold Manhattan to the Dutch at such a low price because they knew that Manhattan was over.) But so anyway, where were people to go if they wanted to start over and get away from the same old boring people that they always saw in the same old boring downtown Manhattan restaurants? Why, Brooklyn, of course! Brooklyn Heights to be exact. And here’s an interesting parallel. Just like now, when people complain about wanting to leave Manhattan because it’s too pricey, they then move to the parts of Brooklyn that are totally just as expensive, and, frankly, much nicer than most parts of Manhattan.
Well, what does this have to do with the naming of the streets of Brooklyn Heights? You see, one of the rich New Yorkers who decided to head on over to BK was a guy named Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont. This guy was really wealthy and decided to take advantage of the relatively undeveloped area known as Brooklyn Heights and have the streets officially gridded and have Brooklyn Heights officially incorporated as a village. While he was at it, he named the streets after himself and all of his friends, guys named Remsen, Joralemon, Montague, Clinton, and Clark. Pierrepont also facilitated the start of the Fulton Ferry, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights, by placing his buddy, Robert Fulton in charge of the whole endeavor. This all worked out pretty well, so maybe what we’ve learned is that croneyism isn’t the worst thing ever? No, I’m pretty sure the lesson here is, try and make friends with names that can easily fit on a street sign.