Boerum Hill is a nice, small neighborhood. The housing is very nice - federalist style row houses mostly. There is a housing project nearby, but it s not a problem. I lived their over 20 years ago, when things were sketchier. But I go there fairly often now and it s really a nice neighborhood today, especially since Smith Street has become such a restaurant row! There are not a lot of places to buy food. There is one really crummy supermarket on Smith and then there s a Trader Vic s on Court and Atlantic - which is not really reliable for actual grocery shopping but is fun for certain kinds of things. Boerum Hill is very small in area, and there are two other very small neighborhoods right near there called Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens. These three neighborhoods are somewhat similar, since they share either Court Street and/or Smith Street and/or Atlantic Avenue as main drags (each neighborhood shares two of those streets, but only not all three.) Since these neighborhoods are so similar and so small, some people refer to them collectively as BoCaCa. It s an acronym standing for the first two letters of each neighborhood s name. Also, all three neighborhoods are easily reachable by the F line to either Bergen Street or Carroll Street. You can also take any train that goes to Borough Hall station and walk (that would be the R, 2, or 4 trains.)What else do you want to know about the neighborhood?
It s a great neighborhood. I used to live there. Smith Street is a very busy strip of restaurants (some of them really good), bars, and clothing stores (that mostly cater to twentysomethings). The residential blocks are pretty and quiet, lots of families in addition to yuppie singles. As LJ said, there are many Federalist brick row houses, but also some brownstone blocks and some newer buildings, and a few apartments over the stores on Smith. Subway access is good, and it s very close to Manhattan. The biggest downside for me was the high cost of housing -- we eventually left in order to get more space for the same price elsewhere. As with any New York neighborhood, if you are considering living in BH, make sure the place is REALLY in Boerum Hill! [not in Gowanus or another surrounding area that might be less desirable]
excause me....just getting 2 points here....