Brooklyn Local: Living in Boerum Hill

By: Melissa Aki

Boerum Hill is a small, quaint neighborhood located near downtown Brooklyn. The boundaries of the neighborhood include Schermerhorn Street to the north, Baltic Street to the south, and Court Street and 4^th Avenue on the west and east sides, respectively.

The good thing about living in Boerum Hill is that you have the best of both worlds. The neighborhood is lively during the day, but at night, there is minimal noise, save for an ambulance or fire truck going to or coming from the firehouses and hospitals in the area.

Boerum Hill has a mix of families and single people and there is always something to do in the neighborhood. The two main thoroughfares of Boerum Hill are Atlantic Avenue and Smith Street, both of which are lined with restaurants, boutiques, coffee shops, and bars. Boerum Hill and the surrounding neighborhoods are also bike friendly, with many new bike lanes popping up all the time.

Safety is factor in choosing a neighborhood and in Boerum Hill, there are always people walking about, even at night, so you will rarely be the only person on the street. Housing in the neighborhood includes old brownstones which are mixed in with a few new buildings and high-rise, luxury condos are springing up in the surrounding areas.

There are many advantages to living in Boerum Hill. One is being near the Atlantic Terminal where you have access to pretty much every subway train-N. D, 2, 4, and many more. The A and G trains are also a few blocks away from the terminal. Another advantage of living in Boerum Hill is that you are in walking distance of several other great neighborhoods including Fort Greene, Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens. Each of these neighborhoods is lively and filled with many dining and entertainment venues including BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), The Atlantic Center Mall, and The Fulton Mall, which has many new retail developments underway. The new home of the Brooklyn Nets, the Barclays Center Arena is also under construction across the street from the Atlantic Terminal.