Clinton Hill is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. It is bordered on the east by Bedford-Stuyvesant, on the west by Fort Greene, on the north by Wallabout Bay and on the south by Prospect Heights. The neighborhood is served by the NYPD’s 88th Precinct.[1]

By the 1840s, Clinton Hill had become a fashionable neighborhood for the wealthy of Brooklyn, who could commute to Manhattan by way of stagecoach to the Fulton Ferry in nearby Brooklyn Heights. By the 1880s and ’90s, Clinton Avenue was lined with mansions of millionaires, many of which have survived to the present day. The most prominent of these are linked to Charles Pratt, who built a mansion for himself and one each as wedding presents for three of his four sons (pictured, right). These four mansions can be seen on Clinton Avenue between DeKalb and Willoughby. Pratt Institute, founded by Charles Pratt in 1887, is located a few blocks from his former home. Due in part to the presence of Pratt Institute the neighborhood boasts an increasing arts community, and many bohemians are flocking towards the yet-to-be gentrified industrial areas adjacent to the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Clinton Hill has one of the largest concentrations of row houses from the post-Civil War period.[2]

Also located in Clinton Hill is St. Joseph’s College’s Brooklyn campus and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, which was built in 1858.
The Clinton Hill Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[3] The Clinton Hill South Historic District was listed in 1986.[3]

Notable residents

• American writer and television personality Ted Allen currently lives in Clinton Hill.[4]
• Actress Rosie Perez currently lives in Clinton Hill.[5]
• Actor Adrian Grenier currently lives in Clinton Hill.[6]
• Rapper/actor Mos Def currently lives in Clinton Hill.[5]
• Poet Walt Whitman lived at 99 Ryerson Street while working on Leaves of Grass.[7]
• Former New York Governor David Paterson grew up in Clinton Hill[8]
• In 1967, after first meeting, Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe shared an apartment on Hall Street. [9]
• Rapper Notorious B.I.G. a.k.a. Christopher Wallace grew up in Clinton Hill at 226 St. James Place.[10]

Transportation

Clinton Hill is served by the IND Fulton Street Line (A C trains), with a stop at the Clinton–Washington Avenues station as well as the IND Crosstown Line (G train), with stops at Classon Avenue station and a separate Clinton–Washington Avenues station. Several New York City Transit bus routes provide service to the neighborhood, including the B25, B26, B38, B45, B48, B52, B54, B57, B62 and B69.

Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Navy Yard Admiral’s Row Cadman Plaza Clinton Hill Downtown Brooklyn DUMBO Fort Greene Fulton Ferry Prospect Heights Vinegar Hill