Living in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn (just south of Brooklyn Heights)

Cobble hill is my favorite neighborhood in brooklyn. Henry and Clinton streets are absolutely gorgeous. I used to live down on president street and the walk to the train at borough hall was about 15-20min. My total commute to midtown was around 45min door to door. Agree though that the F train sucks and it is tough making that 20min walk in the wintertime.

I live there and love it. In the last 10 years, I've lived in the UES, UWS, FiDi, and now Cobble Hill (almost 2 years). It's by far my favorite neighborhood, probably in all of NYC. Just enough old-world BK, yet not run-down, along with a good mix of newer, cool bars, restaurants, shops, etc. I live about 3 minutes from the F (and happen to like it), and about 7 minutes from the 2/3/4/5 (Boro Hall), and about 5 minutes from the A/C (Hoyt/Sch)... transportation is a breeze. I happen to be on the Cobble/Boerum border, so I'm close to the F.

Great question Bobble. I'd like to know too, thinking of going to Bkly after 20 yrs in Manhattan. So to add to the OP, what are the subways like on the weekends, b/c there always seems to be track work. And how are the public schools (elementary esp)?

The F train is awful on the weekend, comes about every 10-15min. The 2,3 and 4,5 at Borough Hall come very regularly at all hours on all days.

An ex lived there, so I'm fairly familar with it. I agree with most of the posts above, its a great neighborhood for a lot of reasons, except for transportation. If you're not near Atlantic (meaning you can hop to Boro Hall), then the F is your only option and it is awful slow. For some reason, it seems to wait at every station during rush hour on the way into Manhattan. And it doesn't run so frequently, especially weekends. Expect some cabs.

That being said, great housing stock, Smith Street is probably the best street to be near in Brooklyn for food/shopping/bars - a huge chunk of the Michelin stuff, like Saul, is there. Good vibe, access to a lot of places. And from what I understand, best schools in Brooklyn (Kane street school is fantastic). Folks from Bk Heights try to get variances to go there. If I had a big family and needed a brownstone, thats probably the spot.

So what about pricing / value in Brooklyn Heights vs. Cobble Hill? Any thoughts?

How do people distinguish Cobble Hill from Boerum?

Thanks

Here's a decent neighborhood map.
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/gif/neighbor/neighl.gif

Basically east of smith street is Boerum Hill. Smith/Court on the East to Hicks street on the West and Atlantic on the North to about Sackett street on the South.

Prices in Cobble Hill are in the stratosphere. Unless you have a place in the heights on the promenade with a view of the city, Cobble Hill is a much more desirable neighborhood than bkln heights (IMO obviously).

> So what about pricing / value in Brooklyn Heights vs. Cobble Hill? Any thoughts?

Cobble Hill will actually be a little cheaper than prime BH imho. You are talking about many of the same blocks, so Clinton in BH or Hicks in BH will generally run you a little more than being further down in CH.

A simple way to think of it is, the further down you are from middle of BH, the cheaper things will get (which keeps being true for Carroll Gardens as well). Distance from train always matters, and the only real difference in the pattern is BH has waterfront, and CG/CH have the bque. I feel like Montague and Clinton is 10% more expensive than Clinton and Kane, which is 10% more expensive than Clinton and President... but its an "even" descent.

Also keep in mind that BH gets a little cheaper as you move toward DUMBO on the other end, all the fruit street (basically past the end of the promenade). Its having a little resurgence, but its cheaper than the blocks closer to the main areas...

I love Cobble Hill. A good friend of mine lives there. It's full of great restaurants and shops and actual friendly people that don't rush you for everything. It's also very stylish. The F on weekends is pretty sucky. It's such a beautiful neighborhood that walks aren't so bad. You might also be surprised how easy it is to get a cab.

The F train is kind of creaky but it's actually a quick ride to the city, especially if you're working around the village/e village. Service is fairly reliable; weekends it does seem like there is always something changing the service for the worse, but you get used to it. Most of the other lines at Borough Hall are a 10-15 walk away.

The neighborhood is really wonderful: tons of great mid-priced dining options, sushi galore, botiques, etc. The family element is definitely more pronounced and the mommmy circuit is more the scene here than Brooklyn Heights, but there is a good mix of people. You will definitely see the latest inventions in stroller technology.

If you are looking for less hustle bustle with more space and don't want to lose the convenience to the city, this is about as good as it gets IMO.

> The F train is kind of creaky but it's actually a quick ride to the city, especially if you're
> working around the village/e village.

Well, you are talking about the first stops in Manhattan, so I should hope so. ;-)

But my ex used to budget 45 minutes to get to midtown (times square) on the train itself.. coming from one of the closest neighborhoods in brooklyn, thats pretty bad. She also used to ssay that she'd regularly have to let a couple trains pass because they were so crowded. 25-30 is more what I'm used to from BH, etc, if not less.

And on weekends, ouch...

^ nyc10022 speaks the truth. I do not miss relying primarily on the F-train for my transportation needs.

That's weird... I actually prefer the F. In the a.m., I catch it at 7:17, and it usually within 1 minute of that time every day. And, it seems to come by every 6 or 7 minutes, and it's never crowded. The A/C/2/3/4/5 are way more crowded, at least when I'm riding. Yeah, on weekends, the F does kinda suck, though.

Can someone give us an update on pricing in CG/CH/BH/BrkHeights amid the downturn? What is the discount (if any) to living in UES/UWS comparably sized housing on a ppsf basis? Any comments about the "vibe" of each neighborhood are also welcome (moms/strollers, hipsters, good mix, etc)

Prices seem to be weirdly stable in BH and prime CG. Clinton Hill has some condos in trouble and seems to be a bit harder hit. You can find significant deals on places that are a bit fringe - far from subways, right by the BQE - or have something wrong with them (need work, weird layouts, etc.).

I don't find that there's a huge discount between UES/UWS and Brooklyn Heights. More or less on a par, although BH is of course much smaller in area. BH is considered a very family-friendly area; not particularly hip, although it is near Dumbo if you're craving some St. Ann's Warehouse.

rmrmets, I recently closed on a BH 1-bed for $447k. I was also looking in UES and the prices were more or less the same, around 600-650psft. There was a bit of differences in inventory. Generally speaking, BH had more smaller one bedrooms (probably around 600 sq ft) for 400k, while UES had bigger one beds (700 to 750) for 500k. Having lived in an UES rental for 5 years and now BH, I can say that I definitely think BH is better. Both hoods are quiet, but BH just seems more, idk, serene. There're more families in BH, but not stroller crazy like park slope, while in UES, it's fogey old ladies in Chanel suits west of Park and 22-yr old frat boys east. neighborhood restaurants in both hoods suck, but at least you can walk to smith st in BH.

What about Boerum Hill (closer to Bergen St. train?) It seems kind of block-by-block there.