Long before the apartment towers, the neon-lit nightclubs, and the morning rush for bagels on Emmons Avenue, Sheepshead Bay was little more than marshland and open water, a quiet outpost where fishermen hauled in nets of the sheepshead fish that gave the place its name.
The neighborhood, cradled between Brighton Beach and Gerritsen Beach on Brooklyn’s southern shore, began as an extension of Gravesend — a farming and fishing community with dirt roads and salt air. But by the 1840s, word of the bay’s bounty spread. Hunters, anglers, and summer visitors from Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn arrived, and soon hotels and restaurants clustered along the shoreline.
The real turning point came in 1880, when the Sheepshead Bay Race Track opened. For three decades, horses thundered across the oval as wealthy socialites packed grandstands and dined along what became known as “Millionaire’s Row.” When betting was outlawed in 1910, the track faltered and was later converted to an auto-racing venue before closing entirely. By the 1920s, the land was carved into lots for homes, setting Sheepshead Bay on a path toward residential life rather than spectacle.
The waterfront was no less transformed.
The bay, once the eastern entrance to Coney Island Creek, was dredged in 1916 to accommodate fishing fleets. Though city planners once dreamed of turning it into a commercial shipping port, residents resisted, fighting to keep the waters for small boats and charters. The compromise held, and to this day, rows of piers stretch into the bay, lined with fishing vessels and day cruisers instead of cargo ships.
If the 1930s gave Sheepshead Bay its commercial heart — with Emmons Avenue widened and dotted with shops, and Lundy’s Restaurant cementing itself as a Brooklyn landmark — the postwar years brought waves of new residents. Farms vanished, replaced by brick homes and apartment blocks. Jewish families arrived in the mid-20th century, followed later by immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who joined Italians, Albanians, Turks, and Chinese newcomers to shape the neighborhood’s identity.
Sheepshead Bay has seen moments of triumph and tragedy. In 1978, six firefighters lost their lives in the devastating Waldbaum’s supermarket fire. At the same time, disco beats echoed from the Sheepshead Bay Roll-A-Palace, a roller rink that drew thousands each weekend at the height of the craze. By the 1990s, real estate booms brought new condominiums, shopping centers, and a revival — albeit brief — of Lundy’s.
Today, Sheepshead Bay is a neighborhood defined by contrasts. On its quiet side streets, modest brick houses stand where fields once stretched. Along Emmons Avenue, luxury towers rise beside seafood markets and neon-lit banquet halls. Avenue U hums with the bustle of Brooklyn’s second Chinatown, while Russian cafés spill music and conversation onto the sidewalks near the water. Car culture has left its mark too — from enthusiasts gathering near the Regal movie theater to Russian-language license plates like “Gray Wolf,” a nod to folklore known across the diaspora.
What hasn’t changed is the bay itself.
Its crooked shoreline, a relic of creeks long since filled in, still draws fishermen at dawn and families strolling at dusk. A century after the horse races and the “Millionaire’s Row,” Sheepshead Bay remains what it has always been: a place where city and sea meet, and where Brooklyn finds a bit of its saltwater soul.
And some neighborhood favorites remain — among them, locals told us:
- Delmar Pizzeria, where Gus still runs the shop, and a framed pizza paddle that survived Superstorm Sandy hangs on the wall.
- Randazzo’s Clam Bar, now in its fifth generation with siblings Paulie Jr. and Elena carrying on the family tradition at a corner they’ve occupied since 1986, and on the block since 1932.
- Roll-N-Roaster, still serving roast beef sandwiches and “cheese on anything you please,” with a beloved prize wheel locals can spin on their birthday.
- Bernie’s Bait & Tackle, the last shop of its kind in the neighborhood, a 75-year-old institution where locals like Charles and Ryan still pick up tackle and talk fishing.
- Fuel, a juice bar that’s been in business for 30 years, where owner Taylam still blends protein-packed shakes alongside a menu of healthy staples.
- Wheeler’s, the dive bar with a “No Sushi” sign — a tongue-in-cheek protest against the sheer number of sushi spots nearby — that remains a gathering place for a diverse crowd.
There are also local landmarks like the United Artists movie theater, Walkway Bridge, the Holocaust Memorial Park, the Sheepshead Bay Yacht Club, and even the famous sanitation depot.
And, depending on who you ask about the neighborhood’s boundaries, there’s Brennan & Carr, the roast-beef sandwich shrine near Avenue U that some insist is part of Sheepshead Bay — and others swear is not.
