Carroll Gardens, originally settled by Irish Americans in the early 19th century, saw a demographic shift as Italian immigrants moved in from the late 19th century to the 1950s. The completion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in 1957 isolated the neighborhood, prompting long-term residents to leave, while young professionals found the area's safety and proximity to Manhattan attractive. The quest for a new name symbolized the residents' desire for community restoration and preservation of the area's unique identity amidst ongoing changes.
For loyal area residents, however, a restoration seemed to be a way to keep longtime residents on the neighborhood's narrow streets, and a new name was one of the first steps.
It may have been the Irish who settled there first, but from the late 19th century to the 1950s, Italian immigrants sought out the area's quiet streets.
Completion of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in 1957 cut off the area from Red Hook, where many residents worked on docks, driving residents away.
The division of neighborhoods during the 1960s attracted some young middle-class professionals, lured by safety and the area's proximity to Manhattan.
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