Kingsborough Community College (KBCC), part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, is the only community college in Brooklyn, New York. The campus is located at Manhattan Beach which is the eastern end of Coney Island. The 71-acre (283,000 m²) campus overlooks Sheepshead Bay, Jamaica Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. In its early years, there was also an annex known as the Mid-Brooklyn campus.

The college was founded in 1963. It opened in 1964 with 468 students and 39 faculty members. Its first home was in the former Public School 98 in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn. The Manhattan Beach campus opened for its first school year in September 1965. It now serves more than 38,000 students annually and offers both credit and non-credit courses. Since its opening, the college has educated over half a million students.

In the late nineteenth century, the Oriental and the Manhattan Beach Hotels, built to compete with the major resorts of Newport, Rhode Island, occupied the area where the current campus now sits. Subsequently, a United States Coast Guard station occupied the land. During World War II, the station became a training center for the United States Maritime Service. Military buildings were initially rehabilitated for classes. In 1968 construction was begun of 8 "temporary buildings." Five years later, the construction was completed.

The campus is now a modern one, overlooking the three bodies of water, but it still has its own beach and a bandshell.

Most of the college was built under the 28-year leadership of president Leon M. Goldstein, who created many innovative programs at the college. The high school and the Performing Arts center, as well as a playground, are named for him. The current president of the college is Regina S. Peruggi, the former president of Marymount Manhattan College and the Central Park Conservancy. The college serves students from more than 162 nations, who speak over 95 different languages.

The college offers free and affordable arts events and services to the community throughout the year. The college also hosts a free best-selling author series and a Homecoming Day for its alumni. The college's radio station WKRB FM celebrated its 30th Anniversary on May 2008.

Notable alumni

• Andrew Dice Clay, standup comedian & actor
• Jeff Aronson, CEO/Owner, Cash4Gold.com, Albar Industries, Florida
• Pete Falcone, former New York Mets pitcher
• Jeff Koinange, Former CNN Africa correspondent
• Phillipe Nover, TUF 8 Finalist and UFC fighter

External links

• Kingsborough Community College Web site
• BBT/School of Russian American Ballet at Kingsborough. Web Site

References