I’m a lifelong New Yorker and a Brooklyn resident for 13+ years. My boyfriend and I recently set up house in Red Hook. After living in Park Slope for the more than a decade, I jokingly like to say that coming here is our version of chucking it all and moving to the sticks without actually having to leave Brooklyn. Aside from the light and openness, impossibly elegant warehouses, and haunting industrial ruins that are among Red Hook’s prize qualities, one of the most profound draws for us is the strong sense of community–something I saw dwindle in Park Slope as the property values shot up and developers eager to cash in fueled what felt like a crushing development/population boom. I’ve found in Red Hook the kind of small town vibe I’ve been missing and like many residents I can attest that once you’ve discovered its charms you can’t imagine living elsewhere.

The startling views from the Beard Street Esplanade are one of the neighborhood’s most potent draws. This Civil War era warehouse (pictured) now home to everything from glass blowers to New York Water Taxi to the Blue Man Group’s costumers is a remnant of Red Hook’s glory days as a bustling maritime center and the cornerstone of its revitalization.