Cobble Hill is bordered by Atlantic Avenue to the north, Hicks Street to the west, Smith Street to the east and Degraw Street to the south. Cobble Hill sits adjacent to Boerum Hill and Brooklyn Heights with Carroll Gardens to the south.
Cobble Hill (or Ponkiesbergh as it was first called) was originally settled during the 1640s by Dutch farmers. The name “Cobble Hill," according to local tradition, came from cobble stones being disposed in the site. The cobble stones were used as ballast on trading ships arriving from Europe; South Brooklyn being a major cargo port.
The Cobble Hill Historic District covers the majority of the neighborhood. Historically an Italian then Irish neighborhood, today Cobble Hill consists of about 40 square blocks filled with a diversity of residents, beautiful historic brownstones, a half-acre park and a superb elementary school; a highly desirable neighborhood to live as well as visit.
Family-run shops can still be found mainly on the Court Street commercial strip. You can still see bastions of the old neighborhood like Stabulitz Italian Meat Market, Esposito's Pork Store, Court Street Bakery and Sam's, a "red table cloth" Italian restaurant–all mixing right alongside trendy new restaurants like Van Horn, Brucie, La Vara, and Henry Public.
Cobble Hill Park, at the intersection of Congress and Clinton Streets, was reconstructed in 1989 and reflects the brick and stone character of this tree-lined neighborhood. Cobble Hill is also renowned for its private Italianate style brownstone and brick row houses. Many of these buildings were remodeled according to regulations dictated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as the gentrification of the eastern and southern borders of this designated Historic District took hold.
Even though Cobble Hill is in Northwest Brooklyn, do not be surprised if you hear old-timers call this neighborhood “South Brooklyn." Cobble Hill was once south of the city of Brooklyn, where Brooklyn Heights and Downtown Brooklyn are today. In fact, Cobble Hill’s one-way streets, bluestone sidewalks and turn-of-the-century buildings–now often apartments or coops–give you the sense of having slipped back a century or two.
The closest subway stop to Cobble Hill is the Bergen/Warren Street Station, F /G, however many people walk directly to the Brooklyn Heights trains.
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