West Midwood, Brooklyn
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2019}}
{{infobox settlement
| name = West Midwood
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| settlement_type = Neighborhood of Brooklyn
| image_skyline = File:West Midwood at the Corner of Rugby Road and Foster Road.jpg
| imagesize = 300px
| image_alt =
| image_caption = West Midwood at the corner of Rugby Road and Foster Road
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| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location in New York City
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| coordinates = {{coord|40.631|-73.964|type:city_region:US-NY|display=inline,title}}
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| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|United States}}
| subdivision_type1 = State
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|New York}}
| subdivision_type2 = City
| subdivision_name2 = {{flagicon image|Flag of New York City.svg}} New York City
| subdivision_type3 = Borough
| subdivision_name3 = {{flagicon image|Flag of Brooklyn, New York.svg}} Brooklyn
| subdivision_type4 = Community District
| subdivision_name4 = Brooklyn 14{{cite web|title=NYC Planning {{!}} Community Profiles|url=https://communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov/brooklyn/14|website=communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov|publisher=New York City Department of City Planning|access-date=April 7, 2018}}
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| postal_code_type = ZIP Code
| postal_code = 11230
| area_code = 718, 347, 929, and 917
| footnotes =
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West Midwood is a planned community and historic enclave in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. West Midwood is located in central Brooklyn in the southern edge of the community of Victorian Flatbush, abutting the northern boundary of the community of Midwood.{{Cite news|title = Living in: Midwood, Brooklyn|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/realestate/06livi.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = December 4, 2009|access-date = February 5, 2016|issn = 0362-4331|first = Vivian S.|last = Toy}}{{Cite news|title = Greater Ditmas Park Or West Midwood?|url = https://www.nytimes.com/1998/08/02/realestate/l-greater-ditmas-park-or-west-midwood-095966.html|newspaper = The New York Times|date = August 2, 1998|access-date = February 5, 2016|issn = 0362-4331}} It is bordered by Foster Avenue to the north, the BMT Brighton subway line ({{NYCS trains|Brighton}}) to the east, Avenue H to the south, and Coney Island Avenue to the west.{{Cite web|title = Map of Victorian Flatbush|website = The Ditmas Park Association|url = http://ditmas-park.info/?page_id=203|access-date = February 6, 2016|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160206080329/http://ditmas-park.info/?page_id=203|archive-date = February 6, 2016}} West Midwood is located south of Prospect Park within what is sometimes referred to as Ditmas Park.{{Cite web|last=Crean|first=Sarah|date=February 29, 2016|url=http://ditmasparkcorner.com/blog/news/ditmas-park-has-disappeared-from-flatbush/|title=Ditmas Park Is Not Part Of Flatbush, Says New York Times|website=Ditmas Park Corner|language=en-US|access-date=March 2, 2016|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315051625/http://ditmasparkcorner.com/blog/news/ditmas-park-has-disappeared-from-flatbush/|archive-date=March 15, 2016}}
West Midwood, along with other neighborhoods within Ditmas Park, is policed by the 70th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.{{Cite web|title = NYPD - Precincts|url = http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_070.shtml|website = www.nyc.gov|access-date = February 6, 2016}} West Midwood is part of Brooklyn Community District 14.
History
Spurred by its success developing Vanderveer Park, the first Victorian Flatbush neighborhood, in 1899, the Germania Real Estate and Improvement Company (Germania) purchased the land on which West Midwood and neighboring communities Midwood Park and Fiske Terrace were to be built.{{Cite book|title = Flatbush: The Heart Of Brooklyn (NY) (The Making of America)|last = Allbray|first = Neda C.|publisher = Arcadia Publishing|date = November 11, 2004|isbn = 978-0738524535|pages = 148}} The land was purchased from the Lott family’s extensive farmland holdings, which dated back over 200 years to Peter Lott, who migrated to Flatbush, from Holland in 1652.{{Cite book|title = Of Cabbages and Kings County: Agriculture and the Formation of Modern Brooklyn|url = https://archive.org/details/cabbageskingscou00lind|url-access = limited|last1 = Linder|first1 = Marc|publisher = University Of Iowa Press|date = December 1, 1999|isbn = 978-0877457145|pages = [https://archive.org/details/cabbageskingscou00lind/page/n173 163]-164|last2 = Zacharias|first2 = Lawrence S.}} V’lacks Bos (Anglicized Flatbush), meaning “wooded plain” in Dutch, also carried the name Midwout (Anglicized Midwood), meaning “middle-woods” in Dutch, and the names both reflected the wooded nature of the area and contrasted against Flatlands, an area to the south that was devoid of woods.{{Cite book|title = Brooklyn by Name: How the Neighborhoods, Streets, Parks, Bridges and More Got Their Names|url = https://archive.org/details/brooklynbynameho00bena|url-access = limited|last1 = Benardo|first1 = Leonard|publisher = NYU Press|date = July 1, 2006|isbn = 978-0814799468|pages = [https://archive.org/details/brooklynbynameho00bena/page/n117 103]|last2 = Weiss|first2 = Jennifer}}
In addition to development by Germania, between 1905 and 1908, architect and builder Thomas Benton Ackerson’s eponymous T.B. Ackerson Company, simultaneously built and sold forty-two detached homes along Westminster Road in West Midwood for $10,000 each. Design and construction of these houses conformed to Ackerson’s “village in the city” vision and houses were graced with columns and fine details.{{Cite web|url = http://ditmasparkcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MERCHANTS-DIRECTORY_HQ.pdf|title = Cortelyou|publisher = Flatbush Development Corporation|date = September 2013|url-status = usurped|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160206090851/http://ditmasparkcorner.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MERCHANTS-DIRECTORY_HQ.pdf|archive-date = February 6, 2016}}{{Cite web|url = http://hdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Victorian-Flatbush-Request-for-Landmarking-smaller.pdf|title = Victorian Flatbush's Request for Evaluation|publisher = Historic Districts Council|last = Redmond|first = Robin|date = December 28, 2012|pages = 351–352}} Similarly, Germania advertised the neighborhood as “country living in the city.” To maintain its suburban aesthetic, utilities and train tracks were kept underground and streets were lined with trees, mainly London Planes and maples. Further keeping with the park-like ambiance, the original property deeds forbade construction of front yard fences.
In keeping with West Midwood’s small-town character, residents host annual community-building events such as a Progressive Dinner, a Halloween Parade for the children of Flatbush,{{Cite web|url=http://argyleheights.blogspot.com/2007/06/halloween-through-years.html|title=The View from Argyle Heights|last=Enright|first=Joe|date=June 2007|website=The View from Argyle Heights|publisher=Joe Enright|access-date=September 9, 2016}} and a summer block party, in addition to publishing a seasonal newsletter, among other activities. New residents are invited to join the West Midwood Community Association, which dates back to the neighborhood’s early years.
Transportation
New York City Subway stations serving West Midwood are Newkirk Plaza ({{NYCS trains|Brighton}}) and Avenue H ({{NYCS trains|Brighton local}}). MTA buses traveling through the area include the {{NYC bus link|B8|B68|prose=y}}.{{Cite NYC bus map|B}} Bike lanes connect West Midwood to greater Victorian Flatbush, Cortelyou Road, Prospect Park and its Parade Ground, Brooklyn College, and Ocean Parkway.{{Cite web|url = http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2015-04-argyle-cb14-bike-routes.pdf|title = Argyle, Rugby, Westminster, Stratford & Beverley Roads|publisher = New York City Department of Transportation|date = April 21, 2015}}