Stuyvesant Avenue was named after Peter Stuyvesant (born in Peperga, Netherlands, about 1612; died August 1672), who served as the last Dutch Director-General of the colony of New Netherland from 1647 until it was ceded provisionally to the English in 1664 and became New York.
Stuyvesant's accomplishments as Director-General included an expansion of the settlement of New Amsterdam (later renamed New York) beyond the southern tip of Manhattan.
Among the projects of his administration were the protective wall on Wall Street and the canal that became Broad Street, and Broadway.
Stuyvesant was Director of the Dutch West India Company’s colony of Curacao, which played a pivotal role in the Atlantic slave trade.