East New York is a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City that is populated almost exclusively by African Americans and Hispanics. Violence is still a problem in East New York, and most residents of the neighborhood are low-income families and individuals.

Roughly coterminous with the New York Police Department's 75th Precinct, East New York has the highest crime rate in Brooklyn and perhaps in the entire city. It can be an incredibly frightening locale for lost suburbanites: the run-down, desolate quality of the neighborhood evokes the feel of cities such as Newark, New Jersey more than it does the feel of much of the rest of New York City, including now-gentrified Manhattan.

East New York, with its declining manufacturing and industrial base, is economically depressed, which has created a host of socioeconomic problems, including widespread unemployment. Additionally, the neighborhood's high school has one of the lowest graduation rates in New York City, at 27.9%.