Brooklyn is one of the five boroughs of
New York City and is also one of the counties of New York State. It is located at the west end of
Long Island, across the
East River from the southern end of
Manhattan and is in the
Southern Region of the state. It is connected by bridges with Manhattan, of which the most famous is the
Brooklyn Bridge. There is also an underwater connection to Manhattan through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, which goes deep under New York Harbor and is 9117 feet long. The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge links Brooklyn with
Staten Island.
Founded by the Dutch in 1636, its original name was Breuckelen, after a city in Holland. Incorporated in 1834, it remained an independent city until 1898.