| Bedford-Stuyvesant
Traditionally an off-the-beaten path neighborhood for those disinterested in Brooklyn's rich history, Bedford Stuyvesant started firmly on a path of renaissance in the early 2000's. Nicknamed Bed Stuy, the neighborhood boasts an extensive supply of brownstones, and is quickly shedding its unsavory reputation. The unarguable appeal of the gorgeous housing stock, armed with a breath of refined period details is complemented by area's enviable subway access and its proximity to Downtown Brooklyn.
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| Boerum Hill
Greek Revival red brick, Gothic and Italianate style row-homes dominate Boerum Hill. The minute neighborhood’s mix of lavish brownstones, spectacular gardens, derelict vestiges of industrial warehouses, and trendy boutiques, cafés and restaurants, attract artists, literati, celebrities… Luxury housing is springing out of a handful of remaining dilapidated parking lots within the bounds of Boerum Hill’s 36 blocks.
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| Brooklyn Heights
Just along the East River, on the Brooklyn side, you will find New York’s first historic district—Brooklyn Heights. This elegant neighborhood is home to well-tended brownstones with just perfect stoops. Shop on Montague Street, or revel in unforgettable views of Manhattan skyline from the famous Promenade atop the BQE. Take your camera to document a spectacular sunset, or simply take daily pleasure in receiving your mail at one of New York’s most desired addresses.
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| Carroll Gardens
Large gardens that infuse color and life into elegant brownstones they front are partially to blame for Carroll Gardens’ name—even today, they are famous for their festive light, decadent colors, and serene resonance. Home to some of New York’s most popular restaurants such as Patois, Café LULUc, or Bar Tabac, Carroll Gardens retains an Italian flavor: bocce is the pastime of choice, and the aroma of freshly brewed espresso lingers in the air.
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| Clinton Hill
Home to Pratt Institute, one of the most prestigious art schools in the United States, and once a fashionable getaway for Brooklyn’s well-to-do, Clinton Hill is a small neighborhood, squeezed in between Fort Greene, Wallabout, and Bedford Stuyvesant, well on its way back to fame. Clinton Avenue, once known as the “Millionaire’s Row,” lined with extravagant mansions from the 1880’s and 1890’s, continues to excite architectural aficionados. Clinton Hill of today is an amazingly diverse and dynamic neighborhood, subject to a true real estate development frenzy: nearly every other block is seeing a new building constructed, or an existing one rehabbed. This holds true to many other neighborhoods in the borough, but the trend seems to be at the most robust in Clinton Hill.
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| Cobble Hill
Architecturally, Cobble Hill is home to many a landmarked Greek Revival home dating back to the 1840’s and 1850’s. Tradition has it that Cobble Hill owes its name to cobble stones disposed from the ships that carried them over from Europe as ballast. For the true gourmand, Atlantic Avenue is a true jewel of a destination! Middle Eastern markets offer fresh hummus, olives, delectable cheeses… If haute cuisine is not your niche, check out the surprising variety of antique stores!
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| Crown Heights
Famous for its diverse population, Crown Heights is home to lovely architecture, and owes its popularity to its proximity to Park Slope, and trains. Crown Heights of today is a series of interesting paradoxes from variously hated and top-coated Lubavitcher communities to vegan rasta Afro-Caribbean restaurants. An affordable alternative in the borough of exploding real estate values.
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| Downtown
The third largest central business district in New York City, Downtown is visually defined by towering office buildings such as MetroTech Center and the Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower. Named for the long-gone area that used to comprise the downtown section of the City of Brooklyn, the area is an ever-expanding commercial district. This is where you’ll find Brooklyn’s courts and major colleges, as well as Fulton Mall, a major shopping district. Recently attractive to real estate developers, the area is gaining a significant number of housing units—mostly occupied by professionals working nearby.
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| DUMBO
Just between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges lies DUMBO (³Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass²). Home to countless art galleries and exquisite shops, this formerly busy industrial neighborhood is now an exciting fusion of 19th century warehouses and lavish condominiums, old rails, and stylish showrooms and exclusive boutiques...
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| Fort Greene
Fort Greene, its name an homage to the Revolutionary War general Nathaniel Greene, is a neighborhood rich in history and culture, and architecturally almost as diverse as its inhabitants. Brooklyn Academy of Music, fantastic restaurants, and the ever-growing assemblage of musicians, writers, movie stars and artists, make Fort Greene a favorite destination, and a great neighborhood to call home. Bookstores, cafés, boutiques, splendid galleries, and unforgettable bars line the tree-lined avenues, amidst elegant mid-19th century Italianate Victorian homes.
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| Gowanus
Once hailed as one of the most important waterways in the world, Gowanus Canal became famous for odor caused by decades of stagnant water lingering in the Canal after a fracture of a propeller that brought in fresh water from New York Harbor. The canal’s fate corresponded with the decline of domestic shipping via water. Finally on a road to recovery, the place where even industry died is now welcoming a new wave of residents, spearheaded by a vibrant artistic community. The area’s ideal geographic position (between Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, and Boerum Hill) is a major factor in a revitalization attempt, and a renaissance of real estate development. Industrial buildings surrounding the Canal continue to attract residents moving in from more expensive neighboring areas.
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| Greenpoint
Brooklyn¹s northernmost neighborhood, Greenpoint is a waterfront area bordered by Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Queens. This working class haven is sometimes referred to as ³Little Poland² given its large proportion of Polish immigrants. Greenpoint is the other point of refuge for artists priced out of Williamsburg. Its proximity to Manhattan make it the next destination for a real estate development boom.
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| Park Slope
Synonymous with upscale, organic, vocal, professional, opinionated, wealthy… is Park Slope, one of Brooklyn’s most coveted neighborhoods. Immediate proximity to Prospect Park and Park Slope’s sloping from the Gowanus Canal to Prospect Park are to blame for neighborhood’s name. At least notionally, Park Slope is divided into three smaller areas—North, Center, and South Slope, with both North and Center sections being the core of the sought-after fashionable refuge of many an expat Manhattanite. Brooklyn’s favorite playground, Prospect Park, borders and seeps into Park Slope: every Saturday, at the entrance to the Park, organic food connoisseurs revel in fresh offerings of a seasonal green market. Park Slope’s outstanding brownstones and fabulous restaurants, cafés and craft stores justify a visit on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
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| Prospect Heights
Adjacent to Park Slope is Prospect Heights, a magnificent neighborhood—though long overshadowed by its illustrious neighbor—and home to cultural giants such as the Brooklyn Museum, and the 52-acre Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Instantly recognizable silhouette of Grand Army Plaza’s Memorial Arch is the neighborhood’s claim to visual fame. Turn-of-the-century brownstones, and an assortment of prewar elevator buildings along Plaza Street East and Eastern Parkway make up for the limited yet attractive housing supply.
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| Prospect-Lefferts Gardens
Only one stop past Park Slope on the Brooklyn-bound Q train sits Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Named after Prospect Park, the Lefferts family homestead, and the Botanical Gardens, this neighborhood is stylistically Caribbean to the core. Caribbean culture dominates petite stores, corner bodegas, lovely boutiques, beauty salons, and even the exterior decoration of buildings. Limestone homes, stucco Tudor-style row houses, shingled Victorians, and an occasional brownstone make up most of the neighborhood’s housing stock.
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| Red Hook
Named after the red clay soil, and the point of land projecting into the East River, Red Hook’s full frontal view of the Statue of Liberty is a tremendous tourist attraction. Infamous as a once-home to Al Capone, Red Hook of today is home to a growing artist community, and to hope of renewal and renovation. Civil War-era warehouses, large living spaces, vigorous small businesses and sophisticated shopping venues, complete Red Hook’s promise of bounty to home-seekers on a quest for amazing views, glitz of high-end living and urban decay.
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| Williamsburg
In short, the trendiest of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods is young, edgy, hip, artsy. Home to a concoction of artists and ethnically thoroughly diverse residents (Latinos, Hasidic Jews, Italians, Eastern Europeans, to name but a few larger groups), Williamsburg is an enclave of factory lofts, groovy bars, stylish boutiques and mouth-watering eateries. Trend-watchers claim that “when you’re young and artistic, you live in Williamsburg. When you grow up, or decide it’s time to have kids and/or dogs, you move to Park Slope.” Williamsburg, Brooklyn’s version of the East Village, boasts a chock full of galleries and is home to many art festivals and events. East Williamsburg, on the other hand, continues to attract residents fleeing Williamsburg (and other more expensive neighboring areas) on a quest for still affordable, yet humongous artist lofts.
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| Windsor Terrace
Windsor Terrace is a petite, family neighborhood of 16,000 residents just south of Park Slope. Situated along the F line, Windsor Terrace is bounded by the vast greenswards of Green-Wood Cemetery to the west, and Prospect Park to the east. A small commercial strip differentiates the neighborhood’s northeastern corner. Brick rowhouses and wood-frame homes dating back to the turn of the century, complemented by quiet, tree-lined streets, define Windsor Terrace, quite possibly home to the most delicious bagels in the whole of Brooklyn (Terrace Bagels).
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