The Van Brunt family was a well-established early Dutch family who settled in New Utrecht. This street may be named for Rutgert Van Brunt who was a member of the NYS Assembly from Kings County from 1783-1784.

In 2017 the New York Times wrote an article 

19th-Century Diary Suggests Slaves Are Buried in Brooklyn Lot

about Van Brunt's diary and his description of the death and burial of a 12 year old black girl, Nancy,  in 1828.  

The Van Brunt family enslaved people, five in 1810.  It is known that the diary author Adriance Van Brunt freed two slaves in 1821, six years before the practice was outlawed in New York. Where Nancy, and other were buried is not known and a subject of ongoing research.

Adriance Van Brunt lived in Gowanus, above what is now considered Red Hook, but it likely he was typical of other land owners of the area.

The diary can be viewed at the New York Public Library.