Curovic 1
Fatmira Curovic
Professor Nancy Aries
IDC 3001H
9 March 1015
Annotated Bibliography on Bay Parkway
Criteria: The most important criteria for my bibliography are to have reliable
information from credible sources. I wanted to be able to analyze statistical data, so that I
would get a sense of the changing demographics in the area. I also wanted my sources to
include historical events that might have impacted Bay Parkway to become the area it is
today. Finally, I made sure to gather information on current events that would explain the
neighborhood’s people, businesses, and overall environment.
Citations:
1. "Www.nycsubway.org." Www.nycsubway.org. NYC Subway, 29 Dec. 1916. Web.
08 Mar. 2015.
While my goal was to obtain sources that are current, I chose this website because
it dates back to 1916. It gives me a sense of how Bay Parkway was viewed from the
subway a century ago. There is also a photo gallery, which shows me the physical
changes of my neighborhood since 1916. This article states that the Bay Parkway
station is located in a vibrant Italian neighborhood with lots of old world flavor, while the
demographics of the neighborhood today are completely different.
2. Croghan, Lore. "'King of the Sausage' Reigns on 18th Avenue." 'King of the
Sausage' Reigns on 18th Avenue. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 18 June 2014. Web. 08 Mar.
2015.
This newspaper reports on store that has remained in business on Bay Parkway
for forty years. Despite the changing surroundings of businesses, the King of Sausage has
remained in business. While there were few stores during the time of the store’s opening,
Bay Parkway has become more commercialized. Therefore, this source allows me to
contrast the business aspect of my neighborhood and how the institutions have changed.
Curovic 2
3. Warshawer, Gabby. "Signs Denote Changing Times in Bensonhurst." WSJ. The
Wall Street Journal, 27 June 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
This newspaper is a reliable source, and it is also fairly recent in describing the
changes apparent in Bensonhurst. Similar to Source 1, this source also reflects on the
neighborhood a century ago, but this time, specifically on the immigrants and social
classes. While it was known as a middle-class, “Italian-American enclave for much of the
20th century, strong remnants of that identity remain, but its demographics are rapidly
changing as new immigrants—particularly Chinese families—flock to the area.”
4. Scharfenberg, David. "An Old Neighborhood Grows Up Again." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2006. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
Also a newspaper source, the New York Times reports on the changing real estate
of the area of Bensonhurst. When observing Bay Parkway, I noticed that all of the
buildings on my block were two floors. My assumption was that this was due to the
zoning regulation. This article confirmed that this has been the case and that it prevents
the building of new projects. However, there is a change in the types of buildings in that
the “low-rise, residential blocks” have become condominium apartment complexes more
recently.
5. Benardo, Leonard, and Jennifer Weiss. "Southwest Brooklyn." Brooklyn by
Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges, and More Got Their
Names. New York: New York UP, 2006. 139-51. Print. Pages 139-151
Exploring Southwest Brooklyn, this section of the book provides a map of Bay
Parkway and the surrounding neighborhoods of Bath Beach. The book was published
fairly recently in 2006, and it provides a historic background into the settlers of the area.
Dating back to colonial times, the Bath Beach area actually had settlers of elite status. By
the 1880s, Bath Beach was purchased and become Bensonhurst. The source provides
insight into the origins of the name of the neighborhood as well as its primary sites of
interest.
6. Sullivan, Andrew. "The Two Faces of Bensonhurst." New Republic 2 July 1990:
13-16. Ebsco Host. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
This article is told from a narrative perspective, providing a different view of
Bensonhurst. It specifically highlights the varying ethnicities of the residents that interact
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daily. I chose this source because its different in that it mentions the racial tensions and
sexism that are prevalent in the area, unlike the other sources that are simply factual and
unrelated to politics. In addition to racial tensions, the article also discusses the crime and
violence in the neighborhood. Therefore, this source considers two different views of
Bensonhust, providing a full range of insight into the neighborhood.
7. US Census Bureau. "NYC DCP Census Fact Finder." NYC.gov. Population
Division - New York City Department of City Planning, 2010. Web. 08 Mar. 2015.
Sponsored by the government, the US Census Bureau is the most accurate source
that provides statistical data. It allows me to create certain barriers around my
neighborhood by narrowing down the demographic data to the Bay Parkway station of
the D train. The demographic profile includes age ranges, subgroups of nationalities,
relationships, household occupancy/size, and tenure. Aside the information about my
selected neighborhood, there are statistics that compare my Bay Parkway to the rest of
New York City. This demographic profile is from 2010, but the NYC Department of City
Planning displays demographic changes from the year 2000 to 2010. Therefore, this data
will allow me to analyze demographic changes in the area using reliable information.
8. "Bath Beach, Brooklyn." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Oct. 2014. Web.
09 Mar. 2015
This encyclopedia page was updated fairly recently, so it has current information
of the geography, demographics, history, and presence in popular culture of Bath Beach,
Brooklyn. Narrowing in on the geography section, the barriers are very specific as to
what is considered Bath Beach, which allows me to limit my area of focus. While other
sources may contain demographic and historical information, this page includes
appearances of Bay Parkway in feature films. This allows me to express how American
pop culture influences the way people see and think of Bay Parkway.