What does Bedford Stuyvesant and Howard Beach have in common?

Here is a little known Bedford Stuyvesant historical fact... Howard Beach and Bedford Stuyvesant are two neighborhoods that are as different as night and day in every way.  Howard Beach has gained notoriety in recent years for several well-publicized hate crimes. The ironic thing is that one neighborhood gave birth to another.  The neighborhood Howard Beach once called Ramblersville would come out of a Jefferson Avenue resident.
In 1886 architect well known Manhattan architect John G. Prague designed 259 Jefferson Avenue, a beautiful Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival style home.

William J. Howard, a native of Minnesota was the first owner of this Jefferson Avenue home and lived there until his death in 1919.  Howard a glove manufacturer who operated a 150 acre goat farm on meadow land near Aqueduct Racetrack as a source of skin for kids' gloves. In 1897, he bought more land and filled it in and the following year, built 18 cottages and opened a hotel near the water, which he operated until it was destroyed by fire in October 1907.

He gradually bought more land and formed the Howard Estates Development Company in 1909. He dredged and filled the land until he was able to accumulate 500 acres by 1914. He laid out several streets, water mains and gas mains, and built 35 houses which would become present day Howard Beach.  To find out more historical facts about Bedford Stuyvesant please join us at The Municipal Arts Society Walking Tour of the neighborhood this Sunday 11:00 am at the old Girls High School. 

To find out more information about the tour please click here  http://mas.org/tours/ .  To read more about Bedford Stuyvesant History please go to my blog, save bedford stuyvesant