Gerritsen Beach

Gerritsen Beach is a neighborhood in southern Brooklyn with narrow streets and close-set homes. Some of the homes sit on the water attributing to the likening of a New England fishing village. Gerritsen Beach is a tight knit and working class community where many of its residents actually grew up in the neighborhood, inherited the homes they are living in, and chose to remain in the area.

The neighborhood was named after Wolfert Gerritsen, a 17th century settler, who founded the area. The community was nothing but marshland until the 1920s and later converted into summer homes. Today the small bungalows still exist among more current residential plots.

Transportation to downtown Manhattan is provided by the B31 bus to Kings Highway followed by the Q express train. You can also take the Command express bus.

Schools in the area are scarcer than other neighborhoods in Brooklyn. The P.S. 277 is known for their extensive marine biology program that takes advantage of the area’s vast salt water ecosystem. The Roman Catholic Resurrection School is also in the neighborhood.

Best place to dine out is at the Beach Bar on Gerritsen Avenue. Not a lot of choices in this neighborhood and you won’t find that five star restaurant as in Manhattan, but if you are up for an experiment and want to live dangerously check out a few places in Gerritsen Beach.

Gerritsen Beach is home to a middle-class population mainly of Irish descent. Real Estate in the area is significantly less than on Coney Island and other beaches in Brooklyn, but the offerings here are a bit more unique. Town homes and decadent seaside apartments are the speciality of developers here, ranging in price. The average one bedroom one bathroom until sells for no less than $350,000, while renting and subletting a until can be done for anywhere between $500 and $5,000 depending on the proximity to the water.

Gerritsen Beach, named for its developer, is a family oriented neighborhood, with schools, Catholic churches, and community groups. Many families use the beautiful beach to leisure with family friends, enjoying their proximity to both the offerings of the city and the relaxing ocean right in their backyards. Another popular passtime amongst residents are sports, and with the several sports fields located throughout the neighborhood in addition to the beach-front activities available, fitness buffs could find a Venice, California-like town right in Brooklyn.

Transportation in Gerritsen Beach is limited as the Metro Transit Authority trains do not run to the area, two public buses, the BM4 and B31, service the neighborhood. Travel by automobile in Gerritsen Beach is completely standard

Entertainment in this neighborhood is of course prime at the beach during the summer months, with swimming, volleyball, tanning, and relaxing amongst the top four things to do, but during the off season, the restaurants in Gerritsen Beach which are all ocean and seafood oriented are a wonderful place to dine and leisure. There are also shops and stores lining Gerritsen Avenue and Avenue S worth visiting on a trip to the area, featuring local beach-themed fare.

The diversity of New York City is found in the vast array of its offerings, and the wonderful beaches available off the coast of Brooklyn remind the city residents that they do live on an island. Gerrittsen Beach is a wonderful stretch of that reminder, and is a beautiful place to spend a day— or night— in Brooklyn.

Dining
Beach Bar - 2722 Gerritsen Ave.
Buckley's - 2926 Ave. S