Carroll Gardens

Written By Bashir Abdulkareem
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Carroll Gardens, formerly part of what was known as South Brooklyn, was settled by the Irish in 19th century. The name of the neighborhood is connected to Brooklyn's third oldest park, Carroll Park, named after Charles Carroll who helped defend the area during the Battle of Long Island and the American Revolution. The "gardens" part of the name came from a law passed in 1846 requiring that the buildings between Henry and Smith Street have 33ft 5.25 inches between the building and the street for courtyards / gardens. 

According to City Data from 2018, Carroll Gardens is home to 12,853 with the following ethnic breakdown: 90.1% White, 12.3% Hispanic, 2.9% Black, and 1.2% Asian. 50.9% of the residents are born in NY with 29.1% born in another state. 5.3% of the community is below the poverty level while the median income (as of 2016) is $125,260. 

Carroll Gardens has a rich Italian American history dating back to the late 1800's. Italian immigrants made up a lot of the dock and Brooklyn Navy Yard workers who then moved into South Brooklyn into what is now Carroll Gardens. The Irish population that settled the land began to leave in the 1920's leading to the solidification of Italian culture in the neighborhood. This culture change came with increasing suspicion about Mafia activity in the neighborhood. With a history of conflict between Italian Americans in Carroll Gardens and African Americans in Red Hook, separated by Hamilton Avenue and now the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, the suspicions were justified. 

The 1960's brought in middle-class professionals who were attracted to the area for being safe, quiet, and conveniently close to Manhattan. The older residents were not big fans of new residents who were not connected to the history of the neighborhood with the Carroll Gardens Association being formed in 1964 which is still active today with the mission of "Organizing for affordable housing and community based economic development in Southwest Brooklyn" hosting workshops and conversations about economics, immigrant workers, computer classes, and even events such as "Nanny Appreciation Night" 

Many old gems still exist in the neighborhood including F.G. Guido Funeral Home. Serving the neighborhood with pre-planning, embalming, cremation, and burial since 1883. Now located in National Landmark, John Rankin House (1840), originally on President Street until purchased by Frank Guido in 1959 for $60,000 now valued at $1.5 million, the funeral home is the oldest in the United States, owned by the same Family for six generations, now run by Maria-Ray Guido. 

As gentrification continues in Carroll Gardens with an increase in French immigrants in the late 1990's, the Italian community started to decrease from 52% to 22% in 2012. Now, the neighborhood is much younger, the Italian footprint is still visible but as the families who came in raised their kids here, the neighborhood culture is following the youth. Niche coffee shops, vegan markets, yoga studios take up a significant amount of area on Court and Smith street. The Italian footprint is still present. I use this project to explore how old history merges into the new.

A street march Speaking to Judy, Pearl, and Nino, I gained more insight into what the neighborhood was like in the past.  

Nino (Sicily, Italy) originally lived in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn but his father owned two shoe stores in the neighborhood which is what kept him around and now with many stories to tell. Nino was actually one of the first people who resided in the new condos they began building thirty years ago along Columbia Street.

 I spent about thirty minutes speaking to Nino, Judy, and Pearl (not pictured). On the corner of Union and Henry Street, Nino told me about street vendors who would sell food, groceries, and other goods. Nino mentioned to me a man that went by the name "Sal the Hatter" and "if you mention his name to other old timers their eyes light up" just after, a friend of Nino, Nick the Prince of Henry Street, walked by and said "My brother had a hat from Sal the Hatter" and his face in fact lit up.

Nino and Nick spoke to me about the Gallo Gang, famous for having a pet lion named Cleo kept in an apartment on President Street. Nino referred to the gang as "the gang that couldn't shoot straight" but "they kept the neighborhood safe, there's very little gangster influence but they're around" to which I replied "I've probably walked past someone unknowingly" 

Nino had a lot to say about the corner of Henry and Union before speaking on the rest of the neighborhood. It hold a special place to him as "magical" because "a lot of people congregate here, have a coffee, eat a cannoli or something. It's everything you want a city place to be, people know each-other."

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When I asked Nino, Judy, and eventually Nick the Prince about what's left of the Italian American community and history, Judy said "It's kind of fading away, nobody talks about anything other than us to each-other, but also nobody asks, you asking and listening is keeping the stories alive." The crew shed light on more key points of Carroll Gardens History such as the now nonexistent Cafieros restaurant that Marilyn Monroe, who lived in Brooklyn Heights, frequently went to. Nino came back to the Gallo family with a story, "One night, the night before Judge Leibowitz would convict members of the family, members of the Gallo Gang said to Leibowitz 'Be good to us tomorrow' Cafieros eventually closed." Eventually Nino mentioned spots like Cobble Hill Theater where he would catch a movie as a kid and head to "Cafe Luluc for dinner, they have a good drunch (dinner lunch) there now"  

Continuing on the traces of the Italian footprint, Nino pointed me in the direction of a few more familiar places such as Sam's Restaurant Pizzeria "which is exceptional, I think they make the best pizza in town, it's really a hidden gem."

In time for the continuation of my walk in the neighborhood, Nino mentioned Frankies, a new restaurant, "the pasta is 22 bucks which is expensive but it's well worth it." With the topic of more expensive food, it matches the increasing cost of living in the neighborhood. The neighborhood has been, and still is, going through a lot of development tailored to the economically privileged. "People who grew up here are getting pushed out, they're even pushing people out of the projects" Pearl said. 

Along my exploration, I came across some of the newer retail developments in the neighborhood and got the opportunity to speak to a worker at each to get their insight on how the neighborhood is changing.

I visited Brooklyn Habit, a cafe I had previously not ever seen in the neighborhood. I could tell of first glance that it was very hipster and young. Serving wine, coffee, and tapas, the place definitely has a niche crowd. It's oddly located towards the Hamilton Avenue side of Smith Street.

 

The inside is furnished with mostly wooden tables and chairs, lit by dim lights and some candles, with a bunch of fancy coffee making gadgets and shelved decked out with wine bottles. By the window there are a variety of paintings. Overall there is a clear young aesthetic to the place, it's very calm and quiet. 

I asked Andrew about his experience with the Italian community in Carroll Gardens, he mentioned "older folks on Court Street at the bar Amelie, the landlord two doors down is an old Italian woman" Andrew also introduced me to NYC Municipal Archives, a website that allows you to look at how a building looked in the 1940s and 80's he showed me on his iPad what Brooklyn Habit looked like and it was very representative of the development that has taken place over the years.

My next stop was Planted, a plant based cafe and market also on Smith Street. I met Mathew here. Planted is only a few months old and Mathew is also new to the neighborhood. The inside of Planted Market smells like a bunch of natural herbs and oils with lots of plants around. Mathew shined more light on the consumer base of the store, "most of our customers are French families with money, younger families with kids, people looking for the 'weworkie' feel and are also vegan." Interestingly enough, Mathew admitted that "this place is definitely gentrifying the neighborhood but I do feel it's like a community space."

"When I told my mom I was moving to Carroll Gardens she said 'safe and Italian' " -Mathew

The store is definitely more progressive, offering CBD buds for sale along with pre-rolled joints hand rolled by the owner of the store

The owner of the building is actually a very influential person in the neighborhood according to Mathew. The owner "has been in Carroll Gardens for 25 years, she's always caught trends. At first, people were like 'who is this lady?' because there weren't many outsiders at the time." This point Mathew made definitely illuminated the dichotomy of the neighborhood. Carroll Gardens is where new and old mix, there is a sense of harmony between the older structures, community, and culture and the new. Mathew's comment made me reflect on my position in all this change. As someone who was born and raised in Cobble Hill, neighboring Carroll Gardens, I am part of the new culture that is moving in. For years I was living my life, passing by all this history, all these personalities and individuals who held so much history and stories. Only now, through this project, I was able to engage in that history and do my part in carrying history forward. 

In the grand scheme of things, with all the development happening across New York City, there are constantly histories, people, families, businesses, and cultures, being moved and shifted. Coming back to Nino, he left me with some great quotable gems that I won't forget.

"This was a great neighborhood and it still is on a different level"

"You gotta have city planning with the proper people who know how to make people feel at home"

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Bashir Abdulkareem
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