Cobble Hill & Carroll Gardens

In the early part of the 20th century these neighborhoods were working class communities, driven by European immigration and the explosion in commerce on the expanding Brooklyn waterfront. Today they retain their well-maintained beauty, ethnic influences, and very human scale.  Welcoming a new generation who value the quaint charm of their neighborhood, and who love the short commute to nearby Manhattan. These neighborhoods have seen market leading growth in value over recent years. Both Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens to it’s south share Court and Smith Streets as their main shopping drags, with designer boutiques moving-in side-by-side with the old school businesses, appealing to a new generation of residents who appreciate both.

 

Modern day Cobble Hill benefits from its highly desirable location, close to Brooklyn Heights. Rediscovered by homebuyers searching for more affordable townhouse living. during the 1960s, their civic action got parts of it protected as a Landmarked Historic District in 1969, making it one of the first in the city to receive such a distinction. Like its Carroll Gardens neighbor to the South, it has a proud heritage and influence of being an Italian-American enclave that has left a lasting impression with real Italian bakeries, restaurants, and cafes that are still in operation today. The 1980s film Moonstruck, which was filmed at a bakery at Sackett and Henry Street, also helped gain fame for this beloved and quaint neighborhood. Cobble Hill’s prized townhouses are scarce and sell quickly. There’s often a healthy number of apartments available too. The name Cobble Hill is an anglicized version of the early Dutch settlers name for it, “Cobleshill”—referring to a cone shaped hill where Atlantic Avenue, Pacific, and Court Streets converge today. The hill was high ground overlooking Brooklyn Heights during the American Revolution and fortified by the Continental Army who called it Cobble Hill Fort. The site continued be used on the line of defense for New York Harbor until the War of 1812. It sits adjacent to Brooklyn Heights on the north, Boreum Hill to the east, south to Carroll Gardens to, and the Columbia Street Waterfront District to the west.

 

Was originally settled by dock workers from both Red Hook and the Navy Yard starting in the late 19th Century, it and remains steeped in that culture, with families that have lived here for generations. It too was rediscovered in the 1960s by young professionals, attracted by its convenience to Manhattan, and its reputation as a safe and quiet place to live. The Carrol Garden’s Historic District was designated in 1973, recognizing the unique Neo-Grec and Italianate style Brownstones in this area, with extra-large lots and deep front gardens that are unusual for Brooklyn townhouses; hence the “Gardens” part of this lush neighborhood’s name. Its retail strip on Court Street houses some of Brooklyn’ most popular restaurants like Buttermilk Channel, Frankie’s 457 Spuntino, and Lucali. Carroll Gardens south western border was cleaved away from Red Hook in 1941 by the massive Gowanus Expressway built by the TBTA in 1941 under Robert Moses. The neighborhoods that border it are Cobble Hill to the northwest, Boerum Hill to the northeast, Gowanus to the east, Red Hook to the south west, and the Columbia Street Waterfront District on its west.