NEIGHBORHOOD OVERVIEW GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION AND AREA SURVEYED Sea Gate is a seaside neighborhood located on the western tip of the Coney Island peninsula, in Brooklyn’s southwest corner. Surrounded on three sides by water, with beaches facing onto the Atlantic Ocean, Gravesend Bay, and an inlet to Coney Island Creek, its eastern boundary lies along West 37th Street. The field team visited Sea Gate over 3 weekends from midNovember to mid-December 2012 and canvassed the entirety of the neighborhood.
HISTORY EARLY HISTORY In its early days, following European settlement, the western end of the Coney Island landmass remained largely undeveloped, due to the complexities of land ownership, difficulties of access, and the lack of a potable water supply at the time. Prior to its development as a residential community, this area was a rougher place, known for its drinking, gambling, and fighting. The land on which Sea Gate was constructed was previously named “Norton’s Point,” after Michael Norton, a 19th century politician and the owner of a casino that was located where the Coney Island Lighthouse now stands.
RESIDENTIAL ORIGINS The area’s residential origins began in 1892, six years prior to the unification of the five boroughs into New York City, when the Norton Point Land Company purchased the land west of West 37th Street in Coney Island (an area of approximately half
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY NEW YORK
a square mile) and began to construct a neighborhood called “Sea Gate.” Seven years later, a number of property owners joined together to buy out the developer and formed the “Sea Gate Association” as a private corporation. A 12 foot high fence was built along Sea Gate’s boundary, in order to provide a barrier from visitors to Coney Island and protect residents from intruders. After delineating this boundary, still in place today, the residents effectively became a self-governing enclave. By 1906, the neighborhood was comprised of 150 homes, a chapel, a yacht club, baseball fields and tennis courts, and boarding houses and a hotel. As the end of the 1920s approached, the community had grown to accommodate a year-round population of approximately 3,000 people.
COASTAL EROSION Although a quiet and safe community, residents do experience challenges associated with their coastal position, especially the erosion of the beach. As far back as the turn of the twentieth century, groins were constructed along the public beaches of Coney Island and bulkheads were built around the point, in order to prevent receding shorelines. In the 1990s, the Army Corps of Engineers carried out a number of projects to further these efforts. These included the construction of a groin at West 37th Street, at the boundary between Coney Island and Sea Gate, as well as others along the Coney Island waterfront. Thousands of tons of sand were brought in to shore up the groins and replenish the public beaches. Unfortunately, this infrastructure damages the beach on the Sea Gate side of the groin at 37th street, as it prevents natural sand deposition from reaching the point at Sea Gate and the shoreline continues to recede behind the groin today. Negotiations over public infrastructural projects to restore Sea Gate’s beaches have been difficult, due to the Association’s private ownership of the land and the fact that the community’s beaches restrict public access. Most recently, the City stated that federal assistance will not be made available for beach restoration and erosion prevention projects unless Sea Gate opens its beaches to the public. At the present, the community is reluctant to grant public access and the problem of erosion remains.
SEA GATE BEFORE SANDY Over the last century, Sea Gate has remained a private gated community, governed by the Sea Gate Association. This association “maintains and repairs approximately 4.5 miles of streets, a complete sewer system which discharges into New York City sewer lines, [and an] association office, police lodge,
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