Clinton St, Carroll Gardens

Cruising from Gowanus Bay in Red Hook all the way up to where Tillary Street becomes the Brooklyn Bridge, Clinton Street undergoes quite a few changes in scenery along the way. Things on Clinton Street range from very clean to not-so-nice, from very quiet to very busy and very noisy.

The area south of the where the street goes under the BQE is relatively industrial (but the street stays pretty busy, as this is a main drag on the way to neighborhood hot spots like IKEA) and none too pretty. It becomes pretty residential after that - at least until you hit the downtown area.

In Carroll Gardens, Clinton Street is nice, quiet, clean, and safe. I've heard that this is a longtime mob neighborhood, but I've also heard that that's why Carroll Gardens is so safe. There are a lot of cool nightlife spots around here as well.

It's obvious when Clinton Street reaches Cobble Hill, because the street is suddenly lined with shops and restaurants and the more expensive real estate looks the part. Cobble Hill is a fantastic place for people who like to sample random shops and places to eat on their own.

In the Downtown Brooklyn/DUMBO area, Clinton Street is much, much busier with both street traffic and pedestrian traffic. It's more difficult to find any parking in this area, and it's another expensive place to live - but less quiet and less leafy.

Clinton passes through Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Brooklyn Heights which are all great neighborhoods. It’s lined with brownstones and a few shops and restaurants, but it’s mainly known as a thoroughfare for cabs heading from Brooklyn back into the city, which can make for a lot of slow traffic. It is nice to know that when you want to catch a cab in the city that you can pretty much always hail one on Clinton, but I don’t know that I’d want to live on such a busy street.

This is a thoroughfare in Brooklyn and is not as jam packed with things to do and places to go. You should try WD 50 for some interesting takes on traditional American cuisine or the Clinton Street Baking company for something really special (they have great cookies).

I really enjoy this part of the city and think that anyone would. It's well accessible and the housing options are plentiful. All in all, a good place to live, work, eat, or shop!