Landmark: Brooklyn
Brook-lyn [brook lin]
A borough of New York in southeast New York on western Long Island.
Dutch colonists first settled the area in 1636 and 1637, and in 1645 established the hamlet of Breuckelen near the present-day site of Borough Hall. Renamed Brooklyn by the English, the expanded community became part of greater New York City in 1898.
Population 2,508,820.
Landmark: Brooklyn Firehouse
Organized firefighting began in New York in 1648 when the first Fire Ordinance was adopted by the Dutch Settlement of New Amsterdam. Fines levied for dirty chimneys provided funds for the maintenance of buckets, hooks and ladders. It was not until 74 years later in 1731, that fire brigades were put into service. Two hand-drawn pumpers brought from distant London, were the first fire engines to be used in the colony. They were designated as Engine Company 1 and Engine Company 2.
