The bustling community of Sunset Park, located in the borough of Brooklyn in New York, is home to about 150,000 residents and has a rich history in the shipping industry.
Sunset Park first came about in the 1890s around the Bush Terminal Industrial Park that was then located between 39th and 53rd Streets. The area continued to grow through World War II, attracting families of Irish, Polish, Finnish and Norwegian immigrants seeking work in the shipping and manufacturing industries. During World War II, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, which was located between 53rd and 66th Streets, employed more than 10,000 people and shipped 80% of all American troops and supplies. The Brooklyn Army Terminal was completed in 1919 as a military ocean supply facility. Beginning in the 1980s, the Terminal has been converted as space for small businesses.
Today Sunset Park lies between Bay Ridge and Gowanus, stretching from 15th Street to 65th Street from 9th Avenue to New York Harbor. Initially the community was considered part of South Brooklyn, then Bay Ridge, and in the 1960s was named Sunset Park after the 25-acre park which overlooks the neighborhood. The park is a popular spot, offering playgrounds, a pool, an amazing view of the Manhattan Skyline, and ball courts.
Sunset Park is a diverse community that includes Hispanic, Asian and Indian-Americans and offers a variety of restaurants, shops and residential areas. The Hispanic population consists mostly of people from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Central America. Asians are mostly from China, including Cantonese, Fuzhou, and Mandarin-speaking people.
Neighborhood streets are lined with attractive row houses. Sunset Park is also home to Notable Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which is Brooklyn’s largest Roman Catholic Church and is located at 5th Avenue and 59th Street, and St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church which is notable for its egg-shaped domes that sit atop a 200-foot tower.
