Kings County, New York

Kings County is a county located in the U.S. State of New York, coterminous with the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It was named in honor of the King at the time that counties were established in New York, Charles II. As of 2000, the population is 2,465,326. Its county seat is Brooklyn⁶.

Table of contents 1 History 2 Law and Government 3 Geography 4 Demographics

History Kings County was one of the 12 original counties created in 1683 when New York was first divided into counties and towns. It was originally divided into six towns:

1. Brooklyn, which, going back to the Village of Breuckelen (named after the town now spelled Breukelen, Netherlands) established by the Dutch in 1646, was in fact the oldest municipality in what is now New York State.
2. Bushwick.
3. Flatbush.
4. Flatlands.
5. Gravesend.
6. New Utrecht (named after Utrecht (city) and/or Utrecht (province), Netherlands)

In 1816, the Village of Brooklyn was incorporated within the Town of Brooklyn. In 1827, the Village of Williamsburgh was incorporated within the Town of Bushwick.

In 1834, the first city in Kings County was incorporated, Brooklyn, containing the former Town of Brooklyn and reducing the number of towns in Kings County to 5. In 1840 the Village of Williamsburgh became a separate town, seceding from the Town of Bushwick, and became the sixth town in Kings County. In 1851, Kings County got its second city when the Town of Williamsburgh became the City of Williamsburgh.

In 1852, the number of towns in Kings County was again increased to 6, as the Town of New Lots was created by secession from the Town of Flatbush.

In 1854, the City of Brooklyn merged with the City of Williamsburgh and the Town of Bushwick, forming a larger City of Brooklyn. Kings County at this point had one city (Brooklyn) and five towns (Flatbush, Flatlands, Gravesend, New Lots, and New Utrecht).

In 1886 Brooklyn annexed the Town of New Lots, reducing the number of towns in Kings County to four. In 1894, three of the remaining towns (Flatbush, Gravesend, and New Utrecht) were annexed, leaving only one city (Brooklyn) and one town (Flatlands) in Kings County.

In 1896, the City of Brooklyn annexed the Town of Flatlands and became coterminous with Kings County. In 1898, Brooklyn ceased to be a separate city, and was incorporated into Greater New York City as the borough of Brooklyn, but Kings County remained one of New York State's counties.

Law and Government Like the other counties which are contained within New York City, there is no county government per se, but there is a Borough President, currently Marty Markowitz. County courts and some others such as the district attorney (public prosecutor) do exist.

Geography As a part of New York City, Kings County contains no other political subdivisions. It occupies the western part of Long Island, and together with Queens County form the part of Long Island within New York City. (Long Island also contains two other counties, Nassau and Suffolk County.)

According to the United States Census Bureau, the County has a total area of 251.0 km² (96.9 mi²). 182.9 km² (70.6 mi²) of it is land and 68.1 km² (26.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 27.13% water.

Demographics As of the census of 2000, there are 2,465,326 people, 880,727 households, and 583,922 families residing in the County. The population density is 13,480.6/km² (34,916.6/mi²). There are 930,866 housing units at an average density of 5,090.1/km² (13,183.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the County is 41.20% White, 36.44% African American, 0.41% Native American, 7.54% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 10.08% from other races, and 4.27% from two or more races. 19.79% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 880,727 households out of which 33.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% are married couples living together, 22.3% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% are non-families. 27.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.75 and the average family size is 3.41.

In the County the population is spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.1 males.

The median income for a household in the County is $32,135, and the median income for a family is $36,188. Males have a median income of $34,317 versus $30,516 for females. The per capita income for the County is $16,775. 25.1% of the population and 22.0% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 34.0% are under the age of 18 and 21.5% are 65 or older.