5. Jean-Michel Basquiat lived in an apartment in Boerum Hill
Jean-Michel Basquiat was born on December 22, 1960, in Park Slope to Gerard and Matilde Basquiat. His father was born in Haiti while his mother was born to Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn. In 1966, he moved to East 35th street in East Flatbush, where he began studying and practicing art, attending the nearby Saint Ann’s School and drawing his favorite cartoons.
After his parents separated, he moved to Boerum Hill with his father and two siblings before moving to Puerto Rico three years later. He returned to Boerum Hill in 1976 and moved out in 1978 after creating the fictional character SAMO. Though little is known about Basquiat’s time in Boerum Hill, Nora Fitzpatrick and Gerard Basquiat are photographed with his two sisters in their Park Slope living room at 553 Pacific Street, even though he is absent.