With the help of students from P.S. 307, Tattfoo Tan, a Malaysian-born artist, has installed a mural on Front Street in Dumbo Brooklyn, based on his “Nature Matching System” place mat. The mural is made of 10 inch wood squares painted by the students and is a nice addition to the neighborhood while passing under the Manhattan Bridge.

The project is sponsored by the New York City Department of Transportation and the DUMBO Improvement District. This is the “first installation in the DOT’s Temporary Art Program, which will enliven neighborhoods by working with local artists in partnership with business improvement districts and local community organizations.”

The place mat is available free at Foragers Market (56 Adams Street) and the mural will be on view through January 2009.

(Image courtesy of tattfoo.com)

{NY Times, Home & Garden}
{NYC DOT Press Release (pdf)}
{DOT Unveils First City Temporary Art Program in DUMBO, 26Feb2008, Brooklyn Daily Eagle}

In a follow up article from The Architect’s Newspaper, reporter Matt Chaban attended the Dumbo Neighborhood Association’s press conference yesterday.

The city has not released details about its plan, but a Department of City Planning spokesperson told AN that the area under consideration is much smaller, only making up 12 of the 20 blocks that comprise the Dumbo historic district. Both Gallo and Graziano said they hope to encourage the city to do more.

Like many of the rezonings that have taken place during the Michael R. Bloomberg administration, both the community and city plans seek to update a zoning map largely dating to 1961. A major feature of the older zoning that concerns Graziano and the community is the lack of building height limits in the area’s residential and manufacturing lots, which has led to spindly towers such as Two Trees, where the bulk is stacked up on only a corner of the lot.

As a result, Graziano has proposed a mix of R6, R7, and R8 contextual zones tied to neighboring buildings. This would cap buildings heights between 50 and 120 feet but still allow for high densities, which would simply be spread across the site while eliminating the potential for setback towers. “Because the area has historically been zoned for manufacturing, that allowed for greater densities than were probably appropriate,” Graziano said. “Now that we’re shifting to a residential focus, we can address that.”

According to the Save the Brooklyn Bridge group, the press conference was successful in conveying the plan to the neighborhood:

“The plan is a neighborhood-wide zoning plan that proposes a consistent, context-based, respectful updating of the old 1961 industrial zoning of sensitive parcels community wide including Dock Street and the York Street parking lot next to 70 Washington.

Dock Street Site:
Currently – M1-2 zoning with an industrial FAR of 2.0 and no height limit
Developer Proposal – R8 zoning with a residential FAR of 6.02 and no height limit (currently the 18 story building)
Our Proposal – R7B zoning with a residential FAR of 3.0 and a height limit of 75 feet (just below the height of the Brooklyn Bridge roadway)

York Street Parking Lot:
Currently – R7-1 zoning with a residential FAR of 3.44 and no height limit
Developer Proposal – TBD
Our Proposal – R7B zoning with a residential FAR of 3.0 and a height limit of 75 feet”

According to a story in the Architect’s Newspaper, the City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden announced at yesterday’s commission meeting that the Department of City Planning was undertaking a rezoning of Dumbo. They will be presenting its first official version of the rezoning to Community Board 2, elected officials, local preservationists, and other concerned parties during a closed-door meeting on Thursday.

“Everyone’s been taken aback by how fast this has taken place after the landmarking,” Simeon Bankoff, executive director of the Historic Districts Council, told AN. The Department of City Planning did not return calls for comment, but Bankoff and another source said they have heard talk of rezoning the area R8A.

Such a contextual zoning that would create bulky 10-12 story buildings, which would conform with some of the areas taller lofts but tower over others. The area is currently a patchwork of lots zoned for manufacturing or residential [.pdf]. “It’s looking like they want a high-density residential neighborhood,” Bankoff said. “What will happen to the remaining factories and illegal lofts, we don’t yet know.”

That mix—new condos, converted lofts, and factories, both active and derelict—captures the neighborhood’s meteoric rise over the last decade from industrial hub to artists’ colony to haute ‘hood. As with previous rezonings, this one should update the area’s outmoded regulations while trying to both encourage and control development. The question remaining for those in the neighborhood is what is appropriate development.

According to the Department of City Planning spokesperson Jennifer Torres, the “proposed rezoning aims to preserve the mixed-use character of the neighborhood, allow for residential conversion of existing loft buildings, promote new construction at densities consistent with the built character of the area, and provide incentives and opportunities for affordable housing development in DUMBO.”

The Dumbo Neighborhood Association is holding a one-hour press conference with Councilman David Yassky at 10:30am today (Wed, Feb. 27) at the PowerHouse Arena (37 Main Street) on protecting the community against inappropriate development.

{DNA Press Conference info (pdf)}

Here’s an event that sounds fun and for a good cause. Public School 107 invites you to: A fundraiser for PS 107′s Library

What: Readings for the 4th Floor: Read & Drink Night
When: Tuesday, March 04, 2008, 7 to 9 pm
Where: powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Authors Phoebe Damrosch (Service Included), David Wondrich (Imbibe!) and Kara Zuaro (I Like Food, Food Tastes Good) discuss respectively life as a waitress at New York’s four-star restaurant Per Se, the fascinating history of mixology in America and indie-rock cooking. Includes cocktail mixing performance by David Wondrich. Moderated by Gabrielle Langholtz, editor of Edible Brooklyn.

The books to be discussed cover a wide range of experience with food. Phoebe Damrosch goes behind the scenes as a waitress at four-star Manhattan restaurant Per Se, while David Wondrich offers a history of cocktail “mixology” in America that includes an indispensible cocktail how-to compendium. Kara Zuaro explores what Indie rockers eat while on the road and investigates what they fantasize about eating once they get home. The book features recipes from the likes of the Violent Femmes to They Might Be Giants and Death Cab for Cutie.

This reading is a part of the 2008 fundraising series sponsored by the PTA of PS 107. Proceeds go towards building the school’s library collection. Tickets are $15 (tax deductible). For advance tickets please visit: ps107.org.

{Admiral’s Mansion, Vinegar Hill, 19Feb2008, McBrooklyn}
{A Federal-Style Gem That Outshines Gracie Mansion, 25Jun2006, NY Times}

 (Photo courtesy of bargemusic.org)

What: Jeff Newell’s New-Trad Trio
When: February 28, 2008, 8PM
Where: Bargemusic is at Fulton Ferry Landing under the Brooklyn Bridge.

Jeff Newell’s New-Trad Trio will present a uniquely contemporary look at traditional American music, from Hank Williams to Cole Porter to 19th Century hymns, in the intimate chamber music setting offered by Bargemusic. With a beautiful view of the Lower Manhattan skyline, this trio of musicians will allow the story unfold, following the common thread that unites all of American music. (Jeff Newell-saxophone, Tricia Woods-piano, Marcus Rojas-tuba)

See www.new-trad.com or www.bargemusic.org for more information.

Now in its ninth year, Movies With A View is one of New York City’s premiere film series and runs for 8 Thursdays in July and August in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park in historic DUMBO, Brooklyn. Each evening we present a full-length feature film, preceded by a short film from an independent filmmaker.

Short films will be screened and selected by our Volunteer Film Committee. Good luck!

The following are selected links from this past week on blogs and websites with discussion about Dumbo (and its neighboring areas):

• Smarties in Dumbo, 19Feb08, NY Times
• DUMBO Gets Smarter By Going to SEED, 20Feb08, metrogreenbusiness.com
• Brooklyn one step closer to becoming centre of the universe, 21Feb08, Quill Blog
• Brooklyn Calling! The London Review Comes to DUMBO, 19Feb08, NY Observer
• Independent Publishers in Dumbo, 22Feb08, Brooklyn Daily Eagle
• 2008 Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Dates Announced, 21Feb08, thuglifearmy.com
• Ford Commercial Filmed in Dumbo, 21Feb08, Blip.tv
• Color Explosion Under the Bridge, 21Feb08, Brownstoner

Lunar eclipse, 20Feb2008. Taken from the roof of 42 Main Street, Brooklyn. (Thank you Jason for the photo!)