Williamsburg Backgrounder

• Bordered by Brooklyn Navy Yard, Queens, Bushwick, and Bedford Stuyvesant
• 3,420 businesses recorded on reference in USA
• Subway Service- Ranked 53rd busiest subway stop in NYC; approx. 7 million riders annually use this stop; 19550 riders on an average weekday;  65% of residents ride subway
• Real estate- 3520 people per square mile; median household income= $40,836; 2% severe crowding rate
• Race & Ethnicity- 29.8% foreign born;  Polish dominated
• Education-  50% of children perform grade level readig; 61% children perform grade level math
• Deaths- 42% of deaths from drugs, congenital lower respiratory disease, diabetes, accidents ;  15% cancer deaths ;  15% heart disease
• Health- 1 in 5 adults smokes ;  alcohol and drug related  hospitalizations are 2 times the NYC rate ;  lead poisoning hospitalizations present
• Safety- higher rate of homicides overall

From http://reference.allrefer.com/gazetteer/W/W03379-williamsburg.html :

Williamsburg , residential and industrial section of NW Brooklyn borough of N.Y. city, SE N.Y., on East R. (W) opposite Manhattan’s Lower East Side (linked by Williamsburg Bridge), S of Greenpoint, W of Bushwick, and N of Bedford-Stuyvesant; 40°43’N 73°57’W. A cent. ago, a major N.Y. city industrial center (distilleries, shipyards, potteries); mfg. has now declined greatly, but many workshops remain, esp. for metal- and woodworking, foods, and Brooklyn Beer. In the 19th cent., community was mostly Irish and Ger.; in early 20th cent., East Eur. Jewish immigrants began to arrive. By the 1920s, this area was the city’s most densely populated neighborhood. Today, the neighborhood is mostly Hispanic (esp. from P.R. and Central Amer.), but it is also home to many Hasidic Jewish sects, including the Satmar (South Williamsburg). Includes an old Ital. enclave. Burgeoning artist community in what is known as the Northside. Setting for Betty Smith’s novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Laid out in 1810, became part of Brooklyn in 1855.