CARROLL GARDENS

Carroll Gardens is a beautiful residential neighborhood in Brooklyn. Once, this neighborhood of South Brooklyn was considered to be a part of Red Hook. In the 1940s, however, the southern tip of Red Hook was cut off from the rest of the neighborhood by the construction of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and Gowanus Expressway, and the area now known as Carroll Gardens took on a separate and distinct character. Carroll Gardens has become more middle-class, while Red Hook remains a low-income neighborhood. Today, Carroll Gardens is more associated with Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill, because they share a similar vibe. Carroll Gardens has long been an Italian neighborhood. Even though a lot of this Italian feel got lost, some Italian markets, butchers and bakeries can still be found there.

Smith Street, which stretches from Boerum Hill to Carroll Gardens, is a good example of relentless and rapid gentrification. It was targeted for urban renewal in the 1990s, and today it’s one of the trendiest strips in Brooklyn. It has come to be known as the borough’s Restaurant Row. Besides good and affordable restaurants, Smith Street also offers many trendy cafés, bars and boutiques.