[8] Flatlands was originally known as Nieuw Amersfoort, after the Dutch city of Amersfoort, and was established as a farming community in 1636 when Wolfert Gerritse Van Couwenhoven and Andries Hudde purchased 15,000 acres of land centered on what is now the intersection of Kings Highway and Flatbush Avenue.

[4] The land was ostensibly purchased from the Native Lenape people, who had lived near the fishing rich waters of Jamaica Bay for a thousand years.

The town's growth and development came late, largely due to the lack of a transit system or set of roads connecting it with other parts of Brooklyn.

Oysters and clams were also farmed and harvested from Jamaica Bay, surrounding marshes and basins.

[10] Other historic structures are the Hendrick I. Lott House (East 36th Street between Fillmore Ave and Ave. S, built around 1720), which was a stop on the Underground Railroad[citation needed], and the Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church, founded by Pieter Clausen Wycoff.

[14] In 2018, an estimated 15% of Community District 18 residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City.

Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Community District 18 is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city and not gentrifying.

Residents also commonly shop at the nearby indoor mall, Kings Plaza, located at the border of Flatlands, Marine Park and Mill Basin.

[18] The New York City Fire Department (FDNY)'s Engine Co. 309/Ladder Co. 159 is located at 1851 East 48th Street.

[11]: 11  Community District 18 has a relatively low population of residents who are uninsured, or who receive healthcare through Medicaid.

[11]: 14 The concentration of fine particulate matter, the deadliest type of air pollutant, in Community District 18 is 0.0071 milligrams per cubic metre (7.1×10−9 oz/cu ft), lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages.

[11]: 12 Eighty-one percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is lower than the city's average of 87%.

[24] Community District 22 generally has a similar ratio of college-educated residents to the rest of the city as of 2018[update].

[11]: 6 Community District 22's rate of elementary school student absenteeism is slightly lower than the rest of New York City.