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Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populated of the five boroughs that make up New York City. It currently has a population of around 2.5 million residents and that population is divided into many different neighborhoods that make up Brooklyn.

Park Slope

Located in western Brooklyn, Park Slope is made up of just over 65,000 people and is filled with historic buildings and some of the highest rated restaurants in Brooklyn. There are also bars, shops and Prospect Park, one of the most well known parks not only in Brooklyn, but in all of New York City. Among the most popular locations in Park Slope is the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, and the Central Library.

In 2010, Park Slope was ranked as the most desirable neighborhood in New York City by New York Magazine. It was also named one of the "Greatest Neighborhoods in America" in 2007 by the American Planning Association.

Williamsburg

This rather large neighborhood is made up of over 125,000 people making it similar in size to Harlem. Williamsburg is the most densely populated neighborhood in New York City. The area has recently developed into a spot for indie rock, hipsters, as well as the art community, with more than 3,000 local artists.

It has recently developed into a rather diverse area with nationalities from all over the world coming here. Among the groups that make up the largest population of this neighborhood are Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Italians and Jews. The Jewish population here is over 57,000 people, mostly Hasidic Jews.

Sheepshead Bay and Brighton Beach

Sheepshead Bay is a bay in between the mainland of Brooklyn and Coney Island. Population in the area has started to grow only in recent years. In 2007, the population of the area was estimated to be over 123,000 people, over 75% of those inhabitants being white. There is also a strong Asian influence in the neighborhood with over 14% of the population of Asian descent. Sheepshead Bay is considered the second Chinatown of Brooklyn.

Brighton Beach is an ocean-side neighborhood. It has a population just over 75,000 inhabitants and is best known for having a high population of Russian immigrants. It is also a popular summer destination for residents of New York City due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and Coney Island. There is also a strong influence here of immigrants from Ukraine, particularly the city of Odessa.

Bushwick

Located on the northern part of Brooklyn, Bushwick is an area that has a population of around 130,000 with nearly 40% of that population being foreign born. Most of the residents of the area are from the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic. Many other are of Latin descent, particularly Mexican. It has the largest Hispanic-American community in Brooklyn.

Bushwick has many different parks and other recreational areas that it is known for. There are playgrounds and youth centers scattered throughout the neighborhood.

Bedford-Stuyvesant

This neighborhood is located in the central part of Brooklyn. Bedford-Stuyvesant was formed in 1930 and is populated by African Americans who left overcrowded Harlem and moved here. The area is more of an urban neighborhood that was originally an extension of the Village of Bedford. It contains one of the oldest free black communities in the United States, known as Weeksville. The entire area of Bedford-Styuvesant is today known as the black cultural mecca of Brooklyn, similar to what Harlem is referred to in Manhattan.

There have been many famous people that have come from Bedford-Stuyvesant, including rappers Jay-Z, Lil' Kim, and Fabolous, as well as names like Mike Tyson, Norah Jones, Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, and Jackie Gleason among many others.

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