Long gone are the times when Cobble Hill was the poor man's Brooklyn Heights. Families who could not afford the Heights moved here in the 80s and 90s next to longtime residents. They are or nowadays mostly were Italians in the center, Hispanics around Smith and Hoyt Streets and some Arabs around Atlantic Avenue. Today Cobble Hill is an upscale neighborhood, which many people prefer to the more formal character of Brooklyn Heights. The three neighborhoods, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens are referred to by certain individuals as BoCoCa (whoever invented this term should be banished to Watertown, New York's version of Siberia). You find a younger crowd here and the shopping and restaurant scene is definitely more hip and varied than anywhere else in Brooklyn. Smith Street, which is shared by the three neighborhoods (or two, depending where you draw the boundaries), is the place to have dinner or lunch.
You find a good mix of residents in Cobble Hill. Stockbrokers, investment bankers, advertising people, artists, normal people like us and many young singles and families live next to some of the area's longtime residents.
Overall the crowd is definitely younger than in the Heights. Bargains in real estate here are long gone - it is expensive regardless if you rent or buy. For choice apartments prices can be as high as in Chelsea or the Upper West Side. Why do people prefer to live in Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens or Boerum Hill instead of Manhattan? I suggest you visit Court or Smith Street on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and you'll know why. It has this wonderful village like neighborhood feel with only a sprinkle of tourists - something you rarely find in Manhattan. Yet it is very close to Manhattan. It takes you less time to go to Lower Manhattan from Cobble Hill than from the Upper Westside or Upper Eastside. But it has these wonderful tree lined streets and rows and rows of historic townhouses. Brits, Aussies, Kiwis and Europeans love it here. A bit like Chelsea in London, in terms of population that is.
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Boundaries: To figure out where Cobble Hill ends and Boerum Hill and Carroll Gardens begin is a science. Neighborhood Associations have overlapping claims. Actually most of the residents don't really care. We guess that Cobble Hill stretches from Atlantic Avenue to the Douglass Street/deGraw Street backyard fences and from the East River to somewhere between Court and Smith Streets. Don't believe anyone who claims to know exactly, especially realtors, the New York Times or New York Magazine. Adjacent neighborhoods: Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens Subway stops: F or G to Bergen St. |
History: Cobble Hill traces its history to Dutch farmers who settled much of Brooklyn in the 17th century. "Cobleshill" was the name of the steep hill at what is now Atlantic Avenue and Court Street. It was called Ponkiesberg by the Dutch. During the Revolutionary War a fort was built here by Revolutionary Forces and named Fort Cobble Hill . George Washington observed from here the Battle of Brooklyn, where his army was defeated. British troops captured the fort, destroyed and flattened the top of the hill to elminate its strategic value.
When the ferry service began from the foot of Atlantic Avenue to Manhattan in 1836 Cobble Hill started to boom. The small farms were divided into lots for row houses. From the 1840's onwards a great number of brownstones were constructed. Henry Street and Clinton Street became very fashionable. You can see some fine examples of Gothic Revival, Greek Revival and Italianate structures here. More modest row houses were built along the side streets. Jenny Jerome, Winston Churchill's mother, the later Lady Randolph Churchill, was born at 197 Amity Street.
The red-brick 1870s Cobble Hill Towers, originally known as the "Home Buildings" on Hicks Street are one of the earliest low-rent housing projects in New York City. A sociological experiment supported by Walt Whitman. They were lovingly restored in the late 1970's and now have 188 rent subsidized apartments. Behind the Cobble Hill Tower buildings is another project sponsored by Walt Whitman: a group of 26 two-story houses brick cottages on Warren Place built for workingmen. The cottages are now privately owned.
Shopping:
Court Street and Atlantic Avenues are the main shopping streets.
Eating Out: You find restaurants, pizzerias as well as a few coffee and sandwich shops for Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens and Red Hook on this list.
post your comments herelast updated: October 15, 2008