Bushwick Playground

Flushing Ave. bet.ween. Beaver St. and Garden St.

Brooklyn

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

The name Bushwick comes from the Dutch word “boswijck,” meaning “heavy woods.” In 1638, Dutch settlers purchased the land from the Native American Canarsie tribe. Twenty-two years later, Dutch Director General Peter Stuyvesant (1610-1672) established a farming community on the land, naming it “Boswyck.” Early settlers included not only the Dutch, but also French, Scandinavian, and English farmers from Massachusetts. After the English seized New Netherlands in 1664, the name “Boswyck” was anglicized into “Bushwick.” In 1834, the town of Bushwick merged with Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht, Gravesend, and Brooklyn to form the City of Brooklyn. Fifty-four years later, the City of Brooklyn consolidated with Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Queens to form the new City of New York.