Brooklyn Never "Joined" Manhattan — It's a Borough

Brooklyn has never "joined" Manhattan. It is one of the five boroughs of New York City, consolidated on January 1, 1898 under the Greater New York Charter.

The Five Boroughs (Co-equal)

1. Manhattan (New York County)
2. Brooklyn (Kings County)
3. Queens (Queens County)
4. The Bronx (Bronx County)
5. Staten Island (Richmond County)

Brooklyn's Path

• 1646: Town of Breuckelen (Dutch).
• 1834: City of Brooklyn (independent).
• 1854: Absorbs Williamsburg, Bushwick.
• 1896: Absorbs all remaining Kings County towns (Flatbush, Gravesend, New Utrecht, Flatlands) → City of Brooklyn = Kings County.
• 1898: Consolidation referendum (Brooklyn votes 64,744–64,467 — 147 vote margin). Becomes borough of NYC.

Relationship to Manhattan

• Connected by Brooklyn Bridge (1883), Manhattan Bridge (1909), Williamsburg Bridge (1903), Battery Tunnel (1950), subway tubes (1908+).
• Separate county (Kings vs. New York), separate District Attorney, separate Borough President (ceremonial), same Mayor/Council/NYPD/FDNY.

Brooklyn is not a suburb of Manhattan. It is a co-equal borough with 2.7M people (larger than Manhattan's 1.6M) — and if independent, would be the 3rd largest U.S. city (after NYC and LA).