Ciao, Carroll Gardens!

All good things must come to an end, readers. And tomorrow, after a year and a half of reporting from the idyllic streets of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill and Boerum Hill, my time with Patch must end too. I am leaving to take on a new adventure elsewhere across the Internet.

But before we part ways, I wanted to express what an honor—and, at times, a thrill!—it has been to write about this neighborhood and the people who live here.

From lightning striking the Christ Church Cobble Hill steeple last summer to a Carroll Gardens brownstone collapse in the middle of the night to the 700-unit residential development being built on top of a Superfund site, there has never been a shortage of excitement on the ground in South Brooklyn. 

The neighborhood is constantly changing. We have seen the closure of several institutions, such as Green Onion, Good Food, and Mastellone’s. And we said farewell to a lifelong resident and activist Celia Cacace, after the increased cost of rent finally found her priced out.

Still, not all change has been bad. Brooklyn’s oldest watering hole, P.J. Hanley’s, went bankrupt, shut down, and was reborn a short while later under the new name ‘Goldenrod.’ New York City’s first and only shuffleboard club is being built on Union Street after owners found a common ground with concerned neighbors. And who can forget when resident Lou Formisano took it upon himself to clean up a decrepit lot on his block so he could turn it into a green space.

Then there is the food. Oh, Carroll Gardens, the food. With the arrival of Arthur on Smith, Pok Pok, Dassara, Krescendo, Momofuku Milk Bar and Nightingale 9, the restaurant scene here has never been more vibrant and tasty. (I gained a lot of weight reporting this beat.)

But I think what strikes me most about the past year and a half has been the prevailing sense of scrappiness in South Brooklyn. Whether coming to a neighbor’s aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy or participating in the daily battle to preserve Long Island College Hospital, this community has repeatedly proven that when the chips are down you won’t fold. You go all in. And it’s been inspiring to behold. 

Thank you for sharing your stories with me.

For future news and tips, please contact your new editor Caitlin.Nolan@Patch.com.