What Are Bensonhurst’s Real Neighborhood Boundaries?

According to Google Maps, the neighborhood becomes Dyker Heights north of 14th Avenue, Bath Beach south of 86th Street, and Borough Park and Midwood to the northeast of 60th Street. To the southeast, Bay Parkway, Avenue P, and McDonald Avenue create the oddly-shaped border between Bensonhurst and Gravesend.

The boundaries of Bensonhurst’s Precinct, the 62nd, are a bit more generous. They put the neighborhood’s northern perimeter at 14th Avenue, extending all the way down to the water, and its northeastern border a block south at 61st Street. Most differently, the 62nd Precinct’s southern border is 26th Avenue, Avenue U and McDonald Avenue.

The area’s zip code is much less neat in reflecting Bensonhurst’s borders. The 11214 zip code encompasses most if not all of the neighborhood (depending on who’s talking), but dips as far south as Coney Island Creek.

Community Board 11 represents both Bensonhurst and Bath Beach. Its maps provide no delineation between the two nabes. The Board’s boundaries extend from 14th Avenue 26th Avenue, Avenue U to McDonald Avenue, and 61st Street to Gravesend Bay.

In 2011, The New York Times published a profile of Bensonhurst that gave a very strict set of boundaries for the neighborhood: 86th Street to 65th Street and 14th Avenue to Bay Parkway.

“I consider Bath Beach to be separate, though it’s true that it’s traditionally been thought of as Bensonhurst. There seems to be a different feel south of 86th,” one commenter responded to our article on the Times’ proposed perimeters.

What do you consider the borders of Bensonhurst to be? Do you count Bath Beach as part of Bensonhurst? Let us know in the comments.