The Bridges

79 Bridge Street, Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Is it pungent? Acidic? Steep? Altitudinous? No to all of the above — Vinegar Hill is but a small neighborhood on the East River waterfront at the edge of the Navy Yard, found east of DUMBO and north of Downtown Brooklyn. Neither rich in vinegar nor set upon a hill, the neighborhood’s name comes from the 1798 Battle of Vinegar Hill in Ireland. All of six or so blocks today, Vinegar Hill used to be much larger, extending all the way down to Tillary Street and present-day Downtown Brooklyn. However, a series of construction projects — the Manhattan Bridge, the Farragut Houses, and the BQE — drastically ate away at its boundaries. But, a few short blocks are all Vinegar Hill needs to retain its distinct sense of place within the greater city. This atmosphere is seen in pre-Civil War Greek Revival rowhouses that predominantly line the blocks. A series of unpaved Belgian block streets only heightens that feeling.