Carroll Gardens

By Marshall Crook | Special to amNewYork

January 25, 2007

Walk through Carroll Gardens and you will encounter neighbors calling to each other from across streets, young couples pushing strollers and an affable sense that it's a neighborhood where everyone belongs.

"I know everybody," says long-time resident Russell Cataldo. "But now the neighborhood's starting to change a bit. New people are coming in."

Traditionally an Italian-American community, Carroll Gardens has become a hip destination thanks to a 10-minute subway ride to Manhattan. Even so, the old-world flavor has yet to evaporate as "old timers" mix with "new timers" at many of the neighborhood's cozy cafes, restaurants and small boutiques.

The Carroll Gardens Historic District is composed of several blocks of brownstones with spacious front yards built in the 19th century. This style of architecture gives the neighborhood its titular "gardens" and offers an interesting juxtaposition with the newer, upscale condos sprouting in other parts of the neighborhood.

Wander Smith and Court streets for both new and old restaurants and experience the blossoming neighborhood nightlife at local bars and taverns. In the winter, holiday displays glimmer in the neighborhood's renowned front yards.

Visual hints of the Italian history are Virgin Mary statues in windowsills and the occasional Italian flag hanging from a restaurant awning.

Find It:
Carroll Gardens stretches from Smith Street to the east, or Hoyt, depending on who you ask, to Columbia Street (west) and from Douglas Street (north) to Huntington Street (south).

Real Estate
It's expensive if you're buying, not cheap if you're renting. The average sale price per square foot is $600 to $700. Many of the single- and multiple-family townhouses are selling at more than $1million.

Because Carroll Gardens is such a small community, houses don't go on the market often. Instead, they tend to stay within families. "But when they do, they [the buildings] are in distress," said Francis Pisani, a realtor for ArdorNY Realty. "Usually (buyers) have to put in a lot of money."

The most general breakdown of apartment types in Carroll Gardens is older brownstone co-ops and newer high-end condominiums. A two-bedroom in one of the new luxury buildings can start as high as $3,700 a month.

Local realtors describe Carroll Gardens as a bubble within a bubble. And while outlying markets are slowing down, Carroll Gardens is not. "We've had no reduction in prices," says Katherine Lanser of Iron Gate Properties Inc.

To Rent:
Studio: $1,400-$1,800
One-bedroom: $1,600-$2,900
Two-bedroom: $2,400-$4,000

What's renting
Three-bedroom on Huntington Street between Clinton and Court streets, $3,200
One-and-a-half bedroom on Clinton Street between Degraw and Kane streets, $2,500