The Brooklyn neighborhood of Greenpoint, much like its neighbor Williamsburg, has in recent decades been transformed. Once a working-class area with a local feel, an influx of buzzy restaurants, hip stores and pricey residences has given it the trappings of a global hot spot.
In 2024, Greenpoint was the 22nd most expensive neighborhood in New York City, according to a PropertyShark report, jumping up from its spot as the 32nd most expensive in 2023. Data provided by StreetEasy to The New York Times showed that the median asking rent in Greenpoint rose to about $4,400 last year, up from about $4,150 in 2023. The StreetEasy data also showed that the area’s median asking rent rose more year-over-year than those in several Manhattan neighborhoods, including TriBeCa, NoLIta, NoMad, Greenwich Village and the Upper East Side.
Last year was also when Laurice Rahmé decided it was time for her luxury fragrance brand, Bond No. 9, known for scents inspired by New York City locations, to expand into the neighborhood. In March, it did with the release of “Greenpoint,” the company’s latest perfume.
“Greenpoint has really been on the list for about two years, but I was not so convinced at the beginning,” Ms. Rahmé, 74, said in an interview, explaining that she changed her mind because “so much has happened in Greenpoint, including Michelin-starred restaurants.”
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“I’m saying to myself, ‘Well, maybe the people who live there have a point,’” Ms. Rahmé said. “It sounds very interesting.”
Indeed, when luxury condos and artisanal bakeries move in, Bond No. 9 sometimes follows. Other revitalized places that it has distilled into scents include Harlem and the High Line. So what does the whiff of gentrification smell like?
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