Hove Beach[edit]
This is the first area heavily featured in the game and is based on Brighton Beach. Like Brighton Beach, Hove Beach features a population made up of predominantly Eastern European immigrants.
Hove Beach is the citywide headquarters for the Russian Mafiya controlled by mob bosses Mikhail Faustin and Kenny Petrovic and home to the Mafiya owned Comrades bar and Perestroika cabaret club. Like all neighborhoods in the game with a gang presence, behaving recklessly in Hove Beach will draw the attention of the local gangsters who will not hesitate to protect their turf. The Russian gangsters of Hove Beach tend to patrol the area on foot and in black luxury cars.
The neighborhood was named Hove Beach because Hove and Brighton are the names of neighboring beach front towns in the UK.
Firefly Island[edit]
Based on Coney Island, Firefly Island features the closed Funland amusement park in addition to a beach and boardwalk where you can find the Memory Lanes bowling alley. Like Coney Island, Firefly Island is not presently an actual island. Russian Mafiya can occasionally be found here, but nowhere near as abundantly as they are in Hove Beach.
Firefly Projects[edit]
While there is a real life housing project called the Coney Island Houses, which no doubt served as an inspiration for the name of this neighborhood, the area also has a strong resemblance to the housing projects of other Brooklyn neighborhoods such as Brownsville.
The Firefly Projects are controlled by the African-American gang known as M.O.B.
Beachgate[edit]
Beachgate is an affluent gated community based on the Sea Gate neighborhood in Brooklyn. Populated with mansions and fast cars, it is also the location of the home of Russian Mafiya boss Mikhail Faustin.
East Hook[edit]
Also called the Broker Navy Yard, this is where Niko Bellic takes his first steps on American soil after disembarking from the container ship, Platypus. It would appear to be based on both Redhook and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In addition to the docks the area is home to steroid and status nut Brucie Kibbutz' Executive Autos garage and chop shop.
Outlook[edit]
Outlook Park is located in central Broker and is based off of Prospect Park. The Soldiers Plaza monument and the traffic circle surrounding it are found to the northeast of Outlook. Like nearby South Slopes, Orthodox Jews can often be found here.
South Slopes[edit]
Located to the west of Outlook Park, South Slopes takes its inspiration from Park Slope and has a large population of Orthodox Jews.
Downtown[edit]
Clearly based off of Downtown Brooklyn, Downtown is generally a business district where suits can be found walking about discussing business while drinking overpriced coffee. Of interest is an underground gun shop run by the Angels of Death OMG located down an alleyway through an unmarked door.
Rotterdam Hill[edit]
An historical neighborhood with a cobblestone overlook offering a view of BOABO, Algonquin, and the Broker and Algonquin bridges; Rotterdam Hill is based on Vinegar Hill.
BOABO[edit]
Based on the DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area, BOABO stands for Beneath Of the Algonquin Bridge Overpass. Directly north of the Broker Navy Yard, BOABO appears have been working class neighborhood like East Hook, but like DUMBO is becoming a more hip neighborhood due to it's proximity to Algonquin. Niko and Roman Bellic's friend Brucie Kibbutz, a materialistic steroid junky obsessed with being a "winner," calls BOABO home.
The Angels of Death OMG also have a notable presence in the area.