Why does Carroll Gardens have such deep front gardens?

Carroll Gardens is famous for the unusually deep front-yard setbacks on several of its blocks, especially the "Place" streets like First through Fourth Places and parts of Carroll and President Streets. These were laid out in the 1800s by surveyor Richard Butts, who set the building lines far back from the street to create generous front gardens, a rarity in New York. Those gardens give the neighborhood its name and its distinctive green, low-density feel, and they remain a prized feature that adds real value to the homes that have them.