1600 to 1700

1654	The first Jewish immigrants began arriving in New Amsterdam; twenty-three of whom arrived aboard the Sainte Catherine from Recife, Brazil after fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition. They establish Congregation Shearith Israel, the first and only Jewish congregation in the United States until 1825.
1660s & 1670s	Asser Levy, one of the first Jewish settlers in New Amsterdam, buys property in Brooklyn.
1664	Britain takes control of New Amsterdam, and renames the colony New York after the Duke of York.
1682	Congregation Shearith Israel purchases land for a new burial ground, known as Chatham Square Cemetery—the oldest surviving Jewish cemetery in the United States. Extant tombstones bear the Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew inscriptions of its original congregants.
1683	Kings County, named after King Charles II, is formed from six townships and several villages: Brooklyn, Bushwick, Flatbush, Flatlands, Gravesend and New Utrecht. These townships define the boundaries of Brooklyn today.

BJHI