Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn

Manhattan Beach
Neighborhood of Brooklyn
Manhattan Beach
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Brooklyn

Coordinates: 40°34′41″N 73°56′39″W / 40.577977°N 73.94416°W / 40.577977; -73.94416 Manhattan Beach is a residential neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, by Sheepshead Bay on the north, and Brighton Beach to the west. Traditionally known as an Italian and Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood, it is also home to a sizable community of Sephardi Jews and a large Russian Jewish immigrant presence. The area is part of Brooklyn Community Board 15, which is represented by the Manhattan Beach Community Group, established in 1941, and the Manhattan Beach Neighborhood Association, established in 2008. The community's street names, derived from England, are in alphabetical order from A to P (Amherst, Beaumont, Coleridge, Dover, Exeter, Falmouth, through to Pembroke, with Quentin and Reynolds on old maps), with the exception of Ocean Avenue. It is patrolled by the NYPD's 61st Precinct.

Manhattan Beach was the most upscale of the three major resort areas that developed at Coney Island shortly after the American Civil War, the other two areas being West Brighton and Brighton Beach. It was developed in the last quarter of the 19th century as a resort by Austin Corbin, later president of the Long Island Rail Road, for whom a street ("Corbin Place") was named. In 1877, Corbin built the famous Manhattan Beach Hotel, followed by the even grander Oriental Hotel in 1880. The Coney Island Jockey Club horse racing track opened nearby at the same time as Corbin's Oriental Hotel; together, these three establishments drew thousands of visitors to Manhattan Beach. The hotels held daily concerts led by famous conductors such as Gilmore, Conterno and Sousa, and also hosted elaborate nightly fireworks displays, drawing tens of thousands of visitors on summer nights and making Manhattan Beach a renowned summer seaside resort. An antisemite who served as the Secretary of the American Society for the Suppression of Jews, Corbin barred Jews from the resort. After the detoriation of the hotel industry in the area, the site of the former Manhattan Beach hotel was developed into a residential area and into Manhattan Beach Park by the New York City Parks Department. Manhattan Beach Park opened to the public in 1955 to alleviate crowding at the neighboring beaches of Coney Island and Brighton Beach and continues to serve the public today.