Bedford, Brooklyn

Bedford is a community in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, centered approximately at the corner of modern-day Fulton Street and Franklin Avenue.

Its name is better known today as part of the larger community of Bedford-Stuyvesant. See that entry for a description of the contemporary neighborhood.

Bedford, in pre-American Revolutionary War times, was the first major settlement to the east of the then-Village of Brooklyn on the Brooklyn & Jamaica Turnpike to Jamaica, Queens and the rest of Long Island. It formed a major crossroads with roads to Williamsburg to the north and Bedford Road to Flatbush to the south.

The advent of the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) in 1836 early established Bedford as a major railroad town as well and, in 1878, the building of a terminal and junction with the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railway made Bedford an important gateway to Coney Island.

The LIRR continues to operate the Atlantic Branch on its original route, though it is now in a tunnel under Atlantic Avenue west of Bedford Avenue and on an elevated structure east of that point. Bedford Station, originally west of Franklin Avenue, is now located two blocks east on the structure and is known as Nostrand Avenue Station. The BF&CI is now part of the BMT Franklin Avenue Line subway and its station is now located at the corner of Fulton and Franklin.

Bedford Brooklyn has an extensive urban fabric of historic townhomes. These townhouses also known as "brownstones," because of the brownstone building material, were built around the turn of the 20th century. Often referred to as pre-war architecture, these homes were developed by speculative developers for the expanding middle to upper middle class from the 1890's to the late 1910's. Many of these homes contain highly ornamental detailing throughout the interior of the home and have classical architectural elements, such as brackets, quoins, fluting, finials, elaborate frieze and cornice banding.

The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission may deem individual properties or entire urban streetscapes, which can consist of multiple blocks, can be protected under landmark status. If the property owners and community show the necessary support for the effort, properties maybe placed into preservation. The process takes years and is accomplished through an extensive series of community meetings, commission historical analysis, and individual structure documentation and final vote. This protects the exterior envelope of the property from future demolition or alteration from speculative developers.

Currently, Bedford Brooklyn is undergoing an effort to landmark multiple blocks North of Nostrand Avenue and Fulton Street. These include blocks: Arlington Place from Macon Street to Halsey Street; Halsey Street from Bedford Avenue to Marcy Avenue; Hancock Street from Bedford Avenue to Tompkins Avenue; Jefferson Street from Nostrand Avenue to Tompkins Avenue. This area was originally named Bedford Corners by the community group perusing landmark status for the area and has been subsequently shortened to Bedford. For more information about the landmarks effort and historic properties in this area refer to: http://www.bedfordcornershistoricdistrict.org/home.html

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