what is the reason behind the decline of community over there?
An effort was made to develop a seaport district, factories and turn the creeks along the coast into canals and part of the island to be used as parkland.
Barren Island, Brooklyn
Developers began dredging ports within Jamaica Bay in 1910, in an effort to develop a seaport district.
where did the barren island get its name from? A group of Lenape Native Americans referred to the archipelago of islands near it by a name alternatively transcribed as "Equandito", "Equendito", or "Equindito", which means "Broken Lands".
wiki:4962187
Barren Island, Brooklyn [SEP] Seaport plans and decline of community
Developers began dredging ports within Jamaica Bay in 1910, in an effort to develop a seaport district. Although the city approved the construction of several piers in 1918, only one was built. That pier, which was built to receive landfill for the other proposed piers, stretched northeast and was wide. By the 1920s, two factories and several residents remained on the island. A municipal ferry service to the Rockaway Peninsula and an extension of Flatbush Avenue were both opened in 1925. The new modes of transportation were part of a proposal to develop Barren Island as a seaport. The creeks along Barren Island's coast were to be turned into canals, and the city had bought the western part of the island for use as parkland.