Cobble Hill is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. A small neighborhood comprising 40 blocks, Jackson, Kenneth T., and Kasinitz, Philip. "Cobble Hill" in Cobble Hill sits adjacent to

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, an ...

to the north,

Boerum Hill Boerum Hill (pronounced ) is a small neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bounded by Schermerhorn Street to the north and Fourth Avenue to the east. The western border is variously given as either Sm ...

to the east,

Carroll Gardens Carroll Gardens is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Taking up around 40 city blocks, it is bounded by Degraw and Warren Streets (north), Hoyt and Smith Streets (east), Ninth Street or the Gowan ...

to the south, and the

Columbia Street Waterfront District The Columbia Street Waterfront District is a neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City on the Upper New York Bay waterfront between Cobble Hill and Red Hook and situated on the western side of the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (B ...

to the west. It is bounded by Atlantic Avenue (north), Court Street (east), Degraw Street (south) and the

Brooklyn Queens Expressway Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York ...

(west). Other sources add to the neighborhood a rectangle bounded by Wyckoff Street on the north, Hoyt Street on the east, Degraw Street on the south, and Court Street on the west. Through its early history, the area now called "Cobble Hill" was considered to be part of

South Brooklyn South Brooklyn is a historic term for a section of the former City of Brooklyn – now the New York City borough of Brooklyn – encompassing what are now the Boerum Hill, Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor Ter ...

, Red Hook, or simply the Sixth Ward, or as part of

. The current name, a revival of a name which had died out by the 1880s, was adopted in 1959. Much of the neighborhood, which has "one of the city's finest collections of nineteenth-century houses", is included in the

Cobble Hill Historic District The Cobble Hill Historic District is a municipal and national historic district located in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The national district consists of 796 contributing, largely residential buildings built between ...

. Cobble Hill is part of Brooklyn Community District 6 and its ZIP Codes are 11201 and 11231. It is served by the 76th Precinct of the

New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

at 191 Union Street. Fire services are provided by the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

's Engine Company 206 and Ladder Company 108, located in nearby

History

Early history and development

Cobble Hill – which was named after the conical shaped hill called "Cobleshill" or "Ponkiesbergh", located where the current intersection of Atlantic Avenue, Pacific Street, and Court Street now lies – was originally settled during the 1640s by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

farmers when

Willem Kieft Willem Kieft (September 1597 – September 27, 1647) was a Dutch merchant and the Director of New Netherland (of which New Amsterdam was the capital) from 1638 to 1647. Life and career Willem Kieft was appointed to the rank of director b ...

, the director of

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the East Coast of the United States, east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territor ...

, granted patents in the area. The hill was used as a fort – known as "Cobble Hill Fort", "Smith's Barbette", or "Corkscrew Fort" – during the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

; the British cut off the top of the hill during their occupation, so it could not be used to look down on their headquarters in Brooklyn Heights. They also seized the estate of

Philip Livingston Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great Bri ...

for use as a naval hospital. Cobble Hill was again fortified for the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and was then called "Fort Swift". In 1834, the

Village of Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behin ...

– chartered in 1816 and primarily made up of present-day Brooklyn Heights – became a city and soon expanded south beyond Atlantic Street (now Atlantic Avenue) to include

. Until the establishment of the South Ferry, which connected Atlantic Avenue to Manhattan's

Whitehall Street Whitehall Street is a street in the South Ferry/Financial District neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, near the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The street begins at Bowling Green to the north, where it is a continuation of the ...

in 1836, South Brooklyn was primarily rural. After that time, with the guidelines for a gridiron street pattern already established in 1834, the area developed rapidly. New streets were being laid progressively, and with the development of new buildings – which started nearer to the waterfront and moved inward – the rural community slowly started changing into a middle-class suburban residential community dominated by small rows of houses, which began to be built as early as 1835. The transformation of the neighborhood was nearly completed by 1860; none of the farm houses from the neighborhood's rural period are extant. Warren Place snow jeh

According to the 1840 tax list and street directory, the neighborhood of present-day Cobble Hill contained 45 houses and 112 residents. Although this housing boom caused prices to rise, in 1850 it was still possible for a clerk to pay rent of $200 a year () for a row house with a large backyard, albeit on a narrow lot. This provoked an influx of new residents from Manhattan. Philanthropist

Alfred Tredway White Alfred Tredway White (May 28, 1846 – January 29, 1921) was an American housing reformer and philanthropist, and was known as "Brooklyn's first citizen." He developed the Home Buildings (1877), Tower Buildings (1879, now Cobble Hill Towers) ...

built two experimental housing projects in the neighborhood. These were the Romanesque revival "Towers" and "Home" buildings (now collectively known as Cobble Hill Towers), at 417–435 and 439-45 Hicks Street, meant as affordable housing for the working class, with adequate light and air for all; and the " Workingman's Cottages" of Warren Place, a one block

mews A mews is a row or courtyard of stables and carriage houses with living quarters above them, built behind large city houses before motor vehicles replaced horses in the early twentieth century. Mews are usually located in desirable residential ...

from Warren Street to Baltic Street between Henry and Hicks Streets, which was two rows of narrow single family houses ( wide) built around a private courtyard. These were intended for slightly more upscale workers. All were built on adjoining lots in 1876 and were designed by William Field & Son; they were restored in 1986 by Maitland, Strauss & Behr. With these projects, which served Native Americans,

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

Norwegians Norwegians ( no, nordmenn) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nation native to Norway, where they form the vast majority of the population. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegians are descended from the N ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

workmen, White became the first builder of low rent/low profit housing in the United States. His philosophy was "Philanthropy plus 5%". Beginning in the 1840s and progressing into the 1870s, wealthier Manhattanites, including bankers and merchants, began to move to various parts of Brooklyn, including Cobble Hill. By 1880, the population of the area was solidly upper-middle class and the cost of houses had almost equaled those in Brooklyn Heights, of which Cobble Hill was an outgrowth. The '' Cobble Hill Historic District Designation Report'' lists the architecture of the neighborhood as including many rowhouses in the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

styles and their offshoots, but also examples of the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, Queen Anne,

French Second Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930s a ...

, and

neo-Grec Néo-Grec was a Neoclassical Revival style of the mid-to-late 19th century that was popularized in architecture, the decorative arts, and in painting during France's Second Empire, or the reign of Napoleon III (1852–1870). The Néo-Grec vo ...

styles.

20th century

The 20th century saw an influx of immigrants into the neighborhood from Ireland, Italy, and the Middle East; some low-rise apartment buildings were constructed prior to the 1920s. After a period of relative quiet, by 1950, brownstones were being rejuvenated and the neighborhood began to experience a renaissance, leading to the revival of the "Cobble Hill" name, perhaps engendered by a real estate agent who saw the name "Cobles Hill" on a 1766 map and updated it. Organized community groups fought against large housing projects, and prevailed on the city to make the area an

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

. The historic district – first designated by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

(NYLPC) on December 20, 1969 and extended on June 7, 1988, – is roughly bordered by Atlantic Avenue to the north, Court Street to the east, Degraw Street to the south, and Hicks Street to the west, with a "bite" removed from the northeast corner of that rectangle. Its area measures approximately twenty-two city blocks. According to the NYLPC, the

is an "unusually fine 19th century residential area" and "retains an aura of the past with its charming streets and architecture". The Cobble Hill Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976. Today on the two main commercial streets – Court and Smith Streets – generations-old family-run stores and businesses such as Italian meat markets and barber shops sit side by side with trendy new shops, restaurants, and cafes. Atlantic Avenue, the northern border of the neighborhood, features one of New York City's largest collections of Middle-Eastern shops, some of which have been there for decades. The northern part of Smith Street is known as Brooklyn's "Restaurant Row" due to the large number of eateries and watering holes that opened on the street during the late 1990s and early 2000s. With a second blossoming of specialized bars along the corridor in the late 2000s, Smith Street became an upscale weekend nightlife destination.

Cobble Hill Park

Cobble Hill Park, on Clinton Street between Verandah Place and Congress Street, was created in 1965. The site had been the location of two mansions (the Weber and Whitten Mansions) and the Second Unitarian Church, which was abandoned by the 1940s, when the site was purchased by the Bohack Corporation, a supermarket chain. The mansions were demolished, and in the 1960s the corporation planned to build a supermarket on the site, a proposition which was opposed by the Cobble Hill community, which felt the need for a park for the neighborhood. Bohack sold the site to developers in 1962, who planned to build a low-rise apartment building. The community collected signatures and successfully petitioned the city to create a park. The city bought the property in 1963 and the park was dedicated in 1965. It was reconstructed in 1989, winning the 1988 Annual Award for Excellence in Design from the Art Commission and the Parks Council's

Philip Winslow Award for Public Projects Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

in 1990, the first time it was awarded. The new design reflected the 19th-century brick-and-stone character of the tree-lined neighborhood."Cobble Hill Park: History"
,

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

Education

School for Intnl Studies Court Butler jeh

Schools

* Public School 29, also known as the John M. Harrigan School, is a school located on Henry Street. * The building on Baltic Street that formerly housed Intermediate School 293 – which closed in 2005 due to poor performance – now contains two 6–12th grade schools: ** The Brooklyn School for Global Studies occupies the top floor ** The School for International Studies is on the bottom floor. * Success Academy Cobble Hill, a charter

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

, opened in August 2012.

Libraries

Though there are no public libraries in Cobble Hill itself,

Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two othe ...

(BPL) operates two branches nearby: * The Carroll Gardens branch, located at 396 Clinton Street near Union Street, in

* The Pacific branch, located at 25 Fourth Avenue near Pacific Street, in

Religion

The neighborhood has a multitude of churches, many of them dating from prior to the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Some have been converted for residential use. * Christ Church and Holy Family at Clinton and Kane Streets, built in 1840–41, was an early design in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

Richard Upjohn Richard Upjohn (22 January 1802 – 16 August 1878) was a British-born American architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to su ...

Some of the interior furnishings are by

Louis Comfort Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (February 18, 1848 – January 17, 1933) was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art NouveauL ...

, and date from 1937. Christ Church was the first organized religious group in the Cobble Hill area, having been founded in 1835. The congregation later merged with that of the Church of the Holy Family. * Old St. Paul's Church at Court and Congress Streets was designed by

Gamaliel King Gamaliel King (Shelter Island, New York, 1 December 1795 — 6 December 1875) was an American architect who practiced in New York City and the adjacent city of Brooklyn, where he was a major figure in Brooklyn civic and ecclesiastical architectur ...

and built c.1838, allowing the claim that this church is the oldest Roman Catholic church in continuous use in Brooklyn. The steeple was added in the 1860s, and other enlargements were made. The church front faces Court Street, the chapel and former rectory face Congress Street. The parish was originally largely Irish. *

Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes Congregation Baith Israel Anshei Emes ( he, בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל אַנְשֵׁי אֱמֶת, "House of Israel – People of Truth"), more commonly known as the Kane Street Synagogue, is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located ...

, which splintered off an earlier congregation, is located at 236 Kane Street in Cobble Hill, in the former Middle Dutch Reformed Church, built in the Romanesque style c.1856. It is currently the oldest continuously operating

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

in Brooklyn."Kane Street Synagogue (Baith Israel-Anshei Emeth), Brooklyn, NY Records"
,

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

* St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church on Hicks Street, built in 1860 and designed by

Patrick Charles Keely Patrick Charles Keely (August 9, 1816 — August 11, 1896) was an Irish-American architect based in Brooklyn, New York, and Providence, Rhode Island. He was a prolific designer of nearly 600 churches and hundreds of other institutional buildin ...

, was part of a complex which included the church, a school, and a hospital. The church and the school have been converted to host condominium apartments. The original parish was largely Italian. * South Brooklyn Seventh-Day Adventist Church at 249 Degraw Street was built in 1905 as the Trinity German Lutheran Church, and was designed by Theobald Engelhart. * St. Francis Cabrini Roman Catholic Chapel at Degraw Street and Strong Place was built in 1851–52 as the Strong Place Baptist Church. It was designed by

Minard Lafever Minard Lafever (1798–1854) was an American architect of churches and houses in the United States in the early nineteenth century. Life and career Lafever began life as a carpenter around 1820. At this period in the United States there were no ...

in the Gothic Revival style. The building was converted into apartments in 2010. * The Second Unitarian Church, known as the "Church of the Turtle" because it physically resembled one, was designed by

Jacob Wrey Mould Jacob Wrey Mould (7 August 1825 – 14 June 1886) was a British architect, illustrator, linguist and musician, noted for his contributions to the design and construction of New York City's Central Park. He was "instrumental" in bringing the Brit ...

and built in 1858 on the site where Cobble Hill Park is today. File:Christ Church & Holy Family Church Brooklyn from Kane Street.jpg, Christ Church and Holy Family Episcopal Church by

(1841–42) File:St. Francis Cabrini Chapel Strong Place Baptist.jpg, Strong Place Baptist Church by

, later St. Francis Cabrini Roman Catholic Chapel, now apartments (1851–52) File:Old Paul RCC Court Congress NE morn sun jeh.jpg, Old St. Paul's Roman Catholic Church by

(1838, with later additions) File:Kane Street synagogue exterior.jpg,

, the oldest Jewish congregation in Brooklyn, is located in the Kane Street Synagogue, originally built as the Middle Dutch Reformed Church (1855–56) File:South Brooklyn Seventh-Day Adventist Trinity German Lutheran.jpg, The South Brooklyn Seventh-Day Adventist Church by Theobald Engelhardt, built as the Trinity German Lutheran Church (1905)

Hospitals

In the northeast corner of the neighborhood, located partially in the Historic District, was

University Hospital of Brooklyn at Long Island College Hospital University Hospital of Brooklyn at Long Island College Hospital (or LICH) was a 506-bed teaching hospital located in the Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York. The hospital was founded in 1858 as Long Island Col ...

, which was founded by German immigrants in 1857. It began a school of medicine, the Long Island College of Medicine, in 1850; the school became a separate institution in 1930, and since 1954 was the primary teaching affiliate of

SUNY Downstate Medical Center SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University (Downstate) is a public medical school and hospital in Brooklyn, New York. It is the southernmost member of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and the only academic medical center for health e ...

. The first private bacteriological laboratory in the United States, Hoagland Laboratory, was built in 1888 at 335 Henry Street, but was destroyed by fire and is no longer extant. The Polhemus Building, now Polhemus Memorial Clinic, was built in 1897 and was designed by Marshall Emery in the French Mannerist style. Dudley Memorial, designed by William Hough was built in 1902. Other buildings were designed by

D. Everett Waid Dan Everett Waid (1864–1939) was a prominent 20th century architect operating primarily in Illinois and New York. As chief architect for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (New York City), he and his partner designed the Home Of ...

and William Higginson. Further expansion took place in the modern era, with buildings raised in 1963, 1974, 1984, and 1988. The

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

was the sixth largest in Brooklyn. After the closure of Long Island College Hospital in August 2014, a freestanding emergency department—NYU Cobble Hill, part of

NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Health is an academic medical center located in New York City, New York, United States. The health system consists of NYU Grossman School of Medicine and NYU Long Island School of Medicine, both part of New York University (NYU), and m ...

—opened in October 2014. The hospital plans to replace the existing facility with a new ambulatory care center and freestanding emergency department at the site, estimated to cost $200 million.

Other points of interest

* The DeGraw Mansion, also known as the Ralph L. Cutter House, at Clinton and Amity Streets, was built in 1845 and altered in 1891 with a tower in order to see the harbor, the view of which had become blocked by the development of the neighborhood. * The former Dr. Joseph E. Clark House, at 340 Clinton Street between Degraw and Kane Streets, was built c.1860, and is "the widest single house in Cobble Hill". * 272 Warren Street, a

house built c.1899, stands out from its neighbors * 174 Pacific Street between Clinton and Court Streets, was built in 1889 as Public School 78 * The commercial building that now houses

Trader Joe's Trader Joe's is an American chain of grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. The chain has over 569 stores across the United States. The first Trader Joe's store was opened in 1967 by founder Joe Coulombe in Pasadena, California ...

, formerly the South Brooklyn Savings Institution and then the Independence Savings Bank, was built in 1922 and was designed by McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin in the

Florentine Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe an ...

style. Located at 130 Court Street at Atlantic Avenue, it was added to in 1936 by Charles A. Holmes. The cornice features one hundred eagles. The site is the location where General

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

watched his troops retreat from the

Battle of Long Island The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn and the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, was an action of the American Revolutionary War fought on August 27, 1776, at the western edge of Long Island in present-day Brooklyn, New Yo ...

Transportation

The Cobble Hill Tunnel, under Atlantic Avenue, was built in 1844 to replace the railroad tracks that ran down the middle of Atlantic Avenue as part of the

Atlantic Avenue Railroad The Atlantic Avenue Railroad was a company in the U.S. state of New York, with a main line connecting downtown Brooklyn with Jamaica along Atlantic Avenue. It was largely a streetcar company that operated its own trains, but the Long Island Rai ...

. Trains used these tracks to transport goods to and from the waterfront during the 1840s, and the tunnel was built to avoid the trains' need to climb a steep hill. The tunnel is now abandoned, but originally ran from

Times Plaza Times Plaza is the historical name for the intersection of Flatbush Avenue, Fourth Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue in the New York City Borough of Brooklyn. The area came to be called Times Plaza for the nearby offices of the Brooklyn Daily Times.' ...

to the

Ferry Terminal A passenger terminal is a structure in a port which services passengers boarding and leaving water vessels such as ferries, cruise ships and ocean liners. Depending on the types of vessels serviced by the terminal, it may be named (for example) ...

. The brick-lined vaulted tunnel is high by wide and long.

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among t ...

, the poet and editor of the ''

Brooklyn Daily Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'', said the tunnel was "a passage of solemnity and darkness".

New York City Subway The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York City and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, an affiliate agency of the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Opened on October 2 ...

service is available at the Bergen Street station on the

IND Culver Line The IND Culver Line (formerly BMT Culver Line) is a rapid transit line of the B Division of the New York City Subway, extending from Downtown Brooklyn south to Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. The local tracks of the Culv ...

(). The (Atlantic Avenue) and (Court Street) bus routes also serve the area. In June 2017,

NYC Ferry NYC Ferry is a public network of ferry routes in New York City operated by Hornblower Cruises. , there are six routes, as well as one seasonal route, connecting 25 ferry piers across all five boroughs. NYC Ferry has the largest passenger fleet ...

's South Brooklyn route started stopping at

Brooklyn Bridge Park Brooklyn Bridge Park is an park on the Brooklyn side of the East River in New York City. Designed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park is located on a plot of land from Atlantic Avenue in the south, und ...

Pier 6 on the border of Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights. There are plans to build the

Brooklyn–Queens Connector The Brooklyn–Queens Connector, abbreviated the BQX, is a proposed streetcar line in New York City. It is planned to operate 24/7 on a north–south corridor along the East River between the boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. A previous plan be ...

(BQX), a light rail system that would run along the waterfront from Red Hook through Cobble Hill to Astoria in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

. However, the system is projected to cost $2.7 billion, and the projected opening has been delayed until at least 2029.

Notable residents

Martin Amis Martin Louis Amis (born 25 August 1949) is a British novelist, essayist, memoirist, and screenwriter. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and ''London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his memoir '' ...

(born 1949), writer *

Lady Randolph Churchill Jennie Spencer-Churchill (; 9 January 1854 – 29 June 1921), known as Lady Randolph Churchill, was an American-born British socialite, the wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the mother of British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill. Early ...

(1854–1921), mother of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

, was born in a rented house on Amity Street; note that the plaque at 426 Henry Street is incorrect, the Jeromes lived there before she was born. *

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

and

Rachel Weisz Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award. We ...

Mike D Michael Louis Diamond (born November 20, 1965), better known as Mike D, is an American rapper, musician, and music producer. He is best known as a founding member of the hip hop group Beastie Boys. Early life Diamond was born in New York City ...

(born 1965), musician *

Michelle Goldberg Michelle Goldberg (born 1975)"Michelle Goldberg". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2016. Retrieved via Biography in Context database, January 28, 2017. is an American journalist and author, and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Tim ...

, author and ''New York Times'' op-ed columnist *

Garth Risk Hallberg Garth Risk Hallberg (born November 1978) is an American author. His debut novel is '' City on Fire''.Brian Appleyard, "Manhattan Project", ''The Age'', "Good Weekend", pp. 20-22 Hallberg was born outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana and grew up in Gre ...

(born 1978), fiction writer *

Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...

(born 1979), singer *

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

(resident from 1961 to 1969), filmmaker * Alex McCord, performer on the

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

program ''

Real Housewives of New York City ''The Real Housewives of New York City'' (abbreviated ''RHONY'') is an American reality television series that premiered on Bravo on March 4, 2008. Developed as the second installment of ''The Real Housewives'' franchise, it has aired thirteen ...

'' *

Todd Rosenberg ''Odd Todd'' is a website owned and operated by Todd Rosenberg, who has created a series of humorous Flash cartoons depicting the world of unemployment, after becoming unemployed himself. Rosenberg's first cartoon, ''Laid Off: A Day in the Life, ...

, cartoonist known for the website ''

Odd Todd ''Odd Todd'' is a website owned and operated by Todd Rosenberg, who has created a series of humorous Flash cartoons depicting the world of unemployment, after becoming unemployed himself. Rosenberg's first cartoon, ''Laid Off: A Day in the Life, ...

'' *

Jenny Slate Jenny Sarah Slate (born March 25, 1982) is an American actress, comedian, and author. Born and raised in Milton, Massachusetts, Slate was educated at Milton Academy and studied literature at Columbia University, where she became involved in the ...

(born 1982), actress and comedian *

(1802–1878) and Richard Upjohn Jr., architects, lived at 296 Clinton Street, which they designed; it was built in 1843 and added to in 1893 by Richard M. Upjohn. *

Thomas Wolfe Thomas Clayton Wolfe (October 3, 1900 – September 15, 1938) was an American novelist of the early 20th century. Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels as well as many short stories, dramatic works, and novellas. He is known for mixing highly origin ...

(1900–1938), writer, lived on Verandah Place between Henry and Clinton Street in the 1930s.

In popular culture

* Cobble Hill Park is the setting of the inciting incident in the English translation of

Yasmina Reza Yasmina Reza (born 1 May 1959) is a French playwright, actress, novelist and screenwriter best known for her plays '' 'Art and ''God of Carnage''. Many of her brief satiric plays have reflected on contemporary middle-class issues. The 2011 bla ...

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

-winning play ''

God of Carnage ''God of Carnage'' (originally in French ''Le Dieu du carnage'') is a play by Yasmina Reza that was first published in 2008. It is about two sets of parents; the son of one couple has hurt the son of the other couple at a public park. The paren ...

'' (2009). * In the TV show '' White Collar'' (2009–2014), main characters Peter and Elizabeth Burke live in Cobble Hill.

References

External links

* {{Brooklyn, state=collapsed Neighborhoods in Brooklyn