Industrial Brooklyn

Brooklyn’s waterfront docklands, warehouses, and factories were derelict for years, cut off by grim Robert Moses–era elevated highways from the revitalizing, conventionally cozy brownstone neighborhoods. Most DUMBO, Gowanus, and Red Hook residents have been hardy artists and squatters priced out of the rest of the city. The three neighborhoods share the fact that they weren’t built to be residential and only began drawing serious interest in the past year or two. "When I first moved here, I rarely saw an artist," says Richard Van Buren, a sculptor and longtime Red Hook resident. "Now I see them every day, young families too. You see more Volvos." Buyers in DUMBO have the most at stake, but the views, proximity to the Heights, and the size of the apartments should prop up its value. And there’s no place for Gowanus and Red Hook to go but up.— JOEY HOFFMAN

In our archive
• Best of New York: Brooklyn (March 25, 2002)
• Real Estate 2001: Industrial Brooklyn (March 12, 2001)