Here’s an funny Craigslist listing with the subject line: $850 Looking for total party animal to come and f*** my sh** up

Just kidding! No, the fact is I have a beautiful luxury 600 sq ft apt that I want to share with you in Dumbo…

The poster is looking for a roommate to share the luxury loft on a temp basis, but maybe partying with the animals at the loft on occasion is in the cards?

(Photo courtesy of midtownlunch.com)

The Rickshaw Dumpling Truck is in Dumbo on Washington and Front Street today. The owner Kenny Lao, and the chef, Anita Lo (of Annisa) have received numerous requests from the businesses in Dumbo for the truck to come to the neighborhood, and they’ve responded by coming out today. We spoke with Kenny, who said about the visit, “we are psyched that we got requests to come to your neighborhood and hope that it works out. I think DUMBO is full of people that are doing amazing things in new york city and there is a shortage of food for sure! If all goes well we make make it a Monday DUMBO Dumplings thing!” If you like them, please visit them and grab a snack.

You can track them on their website or on their Twitter page. Check out the Midtown Lunch blog for a review of the dumplings. We used to go to the Dumpling Bar on 8th Street until it closed recently, but their dumplings were addictive. The Peking duck dumplings may not be part of the truck but those were delicious, but they have their classic pork and Chinese chive dumplings, which are excellent too. Did anyone get a chance to get some dumplings today?

(TransBeMan: James Remar and Jane Kim)

Transformer Films, in Dumbo, is across the street from the transformer, at the dead end of Jay Street, against the blue ribbon of the East River. Helmed by Eric Nadler and Bob Coen, they like to joke that this is where they get their power. Their latest film, TransBeMan, a sci fi thriller, directed by Richard Kroehling, asks the provocative question; once you remove death and mortality, what happens to the human experience? Arthur C. Clarke, author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, would be proud. The premise is life can live on in virtual reality— once we get rid of our cumbersome and mortal hardware, our bodies.

The film had its genesis in 2005 in Caracas, Venezuela at the World Congress of Transhumanism. So the film is rooted in scientific fact as crazy as that might sound. It wasn’t too long ago that the idea of a self-aware computer, our friend Hal (“I can’t do that Dave”), seemed preposterous. Now we are wedded to our virtual lives; our cars, our computers and our homes talk to us. According to Coen and Nadler, there is a huge sub-culture of post docs at MIT and Harvard University who are experimenting with and investigating the post-human condition through genetic engineering. I went to the premiere of this film at Galapagos Art Space on February 15th and walked away very impressed.

This compelling feature typifies the type of brainy, cerebral filmmaking of Transformer. Their next film, Anthrax Wars, is a documentary about the 2001 anthrax attacks and a trail of dead scientists. Bruce E. Ivens is one of them. He made national headlines when he was accused of being the anthrax killer. He allegedly killed himself in August 2008. I write allegedly because the Coen and Adler believe otherwise. This material is so combustive that the making of the film is now a book, Dead Silence: Fear and Loathing on the Anthrax Trail, soon to be released by Counterpoint Press from Berkeley.

So who are these men? Eric Nadler is an award winning author, journalist and filmmaker. He has written for Rolling Stone, Harpers, The Nation, and Mother Jones, among others. He has produced programs for PBS FRONTLINE and was the investigative editor for the Peabody Award-winning South African Now. Bob Coen is an award winning journalist and filmmaker from Zimbabwe whose work has been broadcast on PBS, National Geographic and Channel 4, UK, among others. In 1997, he was awarded the Bayeux Award, for Television War Correspondent of the Year.

They like to call Dumbo the “back lot.” They love the energy here; the photo shoots, the artists, the sweeping views of the East River from their production office. They love the local businesses, including, It’s the Sound, Galapagos and Rice. They want their neighbors to know that in addition to being passionate and intelligent filmmakers, they also know how to recycle. Up next they’re working on Pinky, Pinky. Pinky is a ghost. A South African golem who lives in the toilet and attacks young girls. We have our urban myths— the poodle in the microwave, the dead hitchhiker, but nothing like this. I pitched them Ten One Night Stands; my series of webisodes, edgy and erotic, about the new sexual dynamic between men and women. I hope I get to work with them. I hope you see their movies.

Fill for lawns and grading begins to arrive.

photos by Julienne Schaer

Per Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, “the first of 60,000 cubic yards of fill and topsoil began arriving on Pier 1 last week. This fill, which will be imported onto the site through the spring, will be used to create the grading and lawns, including a 25 foot hill, on Pier 1. Landscaping will begin in the spring, with the first section of Pier 1 slated to open winter 2009.” Also reported last week, Mayor Bloomberg is seeking to grab control of Brooklyn Bridge Park. It is currently a partnership of the state and city of New York, but Bloomberg is frustrated with this slow moving project and decided that a city owned park will hold more local interest and be built quicker. There’s currently a $120 million funding gap for the $350 million park, but Pier 1 construction has already begun. Two playgrounds, a dog run and rolling meadows with lush landscaping along the waterfront are slated to be completed by the summer of 2010, according to a Daily News article.

{Mayor Bloomberg announces city will move to take control of Brooklyn Bridge Park from state, 13Mar2009, NY Daily News}
{Bloomberg Grabbing for Governors Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park, 12Mar2009, Observer}

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

• Mr. Toast, ‘Mayor of Vinegar Hill’, 13Mar09, NY Times
• Gabriel Byrne, Anti-Dock St Dumbo, 08Mar09, NY Post
• Dock St, As Seen From All Viewpoints, 10Mar09, Brooklyn Eagle
• 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Fest, 6/20, 11Mar09, societyandstyle
• Thompson TV and Movie Tax Credit Press Conference, 128Mar09, YouTube
• Nancy Webster Named Acting ED Bridge Park Conservancy, 11Mar09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Streetart: Hummingbird, 12Mar09, thescenicsidewalk
• Bloomberg Announces City to Take Control of BBP from State, 13Mar09, NY Daily News
• BKYLN Designs Set for May, 09Mar09, Interior Design
• Bridges, Brunch, and Brooklyn, 09Mar09, femmeiniste
• Murdoch Buys Brooklyn Paper; Movin’ Out of Dumbo, 10Mar09, Observer
• Rocky Beach in Dumbo, 11Mar09, NYDP
• Graffiti war comes to DUMBO, 12Mar09, Brooklyn Paper
• Feral Art in Dumbo, 13Mar09, McBrooklyn
• Day Trip to Brooklyn, 11Mar09, Fodor’s

(Photo by Josh Derr)

When they’re not throwing events, photo exhibits, parties, and releasing music, Halcyon DJs are working the Brooklyn Flea in Dumbo each weekend at 76 Front Street from 11am – 6pm Saturday and Sundays through April 12. If you haven’t checked out the Brooklyn Flea, this weekend is a good chance to come out to the flea and enjoy the sun between the bridges.

Here are the confirmed vendors for the Cool Hunting “Curated Corner” at the Brooklyn Flea this weekend (March 14/15). Cool Hunting (A daily update on ideas and products in the intersection of art, design, culture and technology):

• Cut Brooklyn: handmade custom cutlery
• Kiel Mead: jewelry, design objects, furniture (his “knot” necklace/ring, above, center, is popular)
• Kyle Cuniff: lighting made from melted/”droopy” objects (above, right)
• Matthew Bradshaw: furniture design
• Mast Brothers Chocolate: the bearded boys are back, designing a special limited-edition bar for this weekend only
• Peter Pracilio: far out, conceptual industrial/product design
• Rich, Brilliant, Willing: NYC furniture/object design
• Rogelio: disabled San Francisco man who carves pendants out of keys
• Sergio Silva: Brooklyn-based industrial designer: cinder block-as-furniture adaptation in wood
• Simon Arizpe: product design
• Tokyo Art Beat: edgy T-shirt designers
• Zillion: belts, shoelaces and hats made from the traditional fabric of kimonos

For more Brooklyn Flea updates, go to brownstoner.com/brooklynflea.

During the Community Board 2′s meeting last night, they announced that the USPS will open a storefront in Dumbo ‘in the near future’ to alleviate overcrowding at the busy station, said Cadman Plaza Station manager George Baez, as reported by Brooklyn Heights Blog. Currently, there is a Post Office truck stationed in Dumbo usually on Front or Washington Street during the week. Per Brooklyn Heights Blog:

“…The storefront at 85 Front St., which is between Main and Washington streets, will have an automated postal center, which are the machines that process your post via credit card and without a clerk.”

85 Front is between Washington and Adams, so not sure if CB2 meant that or if the PO will actually be between Main and Washington Streets. Either way, no word on timing, but this is a welcome addition for residents who currently have to take their packages to the Cadman Plaza Post Office.

{Dumbo, Are You Happy With Your Mail Delivery?, 02Apr2007}
{84 Front Street Retail Space Rumors, 16Nov2007}

While its true that people in the real estate business say that newly gentrified neighborhoods, where prices have boomed until last year are falling hard, Dumbo doesn’t seem affected too much, at least not yet, according to a few who work in Dumbo real estate. Prices in areas such as Williamsburg, LIC, Harlem, and even parts of lower Manhattan have seen reductions of 10-30%+. According to one Dumbo broker, who requested not to be named, said to us, “Dumbo’s condo prices have lowered somewhat around ~5%, it seems to be weathering the economic downturn due to its proximity to Manhattan and the fact that the neighborhood is very small.” (I realize that 5% number is anecdotal, but I’m still researching for hard facts.) To be fair, Williamsburg is also close to Manhattan, but the inventory of condos outpaced demand and real estate marketing seemingly expanded the boundaries of the neighborhood to attract buyers. It could also be that Dumbo sellers are holding onto their properties until the market for sales improves.

According to Street Easy, there are 88 listings for Dumbo with a median price of $890,500 (median size 1,100 sqft) and median price per sqft of $878, which is high relative to the other neighborhoods in the borough.

There are 10 listings above $2 million, all of them condos at 1 Main, 30 Main, and 70 Washington Streets, except for one townhouse listing (sold as a pair) in Vinegar Hill (though marketed as Dumbo).

The two townhouses on the market (shown above and below) are 202 and 204 Front Street at $1,620,000 and $2,250,000. The townhouses sold as one pair is a 7 unit investment property, both a 3 story brick house. 202 Front (Corcoran listing) has 3 units and 204 Front (Corcoran listing) has 3 two bedroom apartments in the front house and there is a rear 2 story carriage house with 2 bedrooms.

Two questions that can’t be answered yet are: How much will the Dumbo condo prices go down until there’s a recovery? Will the Vinegar Hill townhouses sell at these prices?

PowerHouse Arena is hosting a celebration for the paperback release of the Fortune Cookie Chronicles by author Jennifer 8. Lee and a talk with food writer Sarah Murray about “adventures in the world of Chinese food.” There will be a DJ, beer, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory goodies and fortune cookies prizes.

From powerHouse Arena:

Jennifer 8. Lee’s remarkable journey into the secrets world of Chinese restaurants reveals a cultural phenomenon with far greater influence and intrigue than we ever realized.

In her quest to understand Chinese food and the people who make it, Chinese-American Jennifer 8. Lee traveled the world and almost every state in the country. Her journey provided fascinating insights into the surprising origins of the fortune cookie; the debate over the true inventor of chop suey: and what can only be described as The Great Kosher Duck Scandal, a window into the special relationship between Jews and Chinese food. The story of Chinese food is a tale of immigration, assimilation, and adaptation. For anyone who has ever found wisdom within a fortune cookie, Jennifer 8. Lee’s chronicles will offer revelations, with pleasure and wonder.

About the author:

Jennifer 8. Lee, the daughter of Chinese immigrants and a fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese herself, grew up eating her mother’s authentic Chinese food in her family’s New York City kitchen before graduating from Harvard in 1999 with a degree in applied mathematics and economics, and studying at Beijing University. At the age of twenty-four, she was hired by the New York Times, where she is a metro reporter, and has written a variety of stories on culture, poverty, and technology. Her middle name “8” connotes prosperity in Chinese. She lives in Harlem. You can visit her website at www.fortunecookiechronicles.com

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 7–9PM
The powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn
For more information: (718) 666-3049
RSVP: rsvp@powerhousearena.com

The Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective, a non-profit organization is producing a one night event called Broadway Under the Bridge on Sunday, March 29, 2009. The event will benefit the organization, which provides low-income young mothers with the vision to plan and the tools to build their future. It is a Dumbo event that involves two Dumbo residents at a Dumbo venue. This event features Dumbo’s Ana Gasteyer and Kate Reinders, among other Broadway talent at Galapagos Art Space. In addition to Ana Gasteyer, the event features Broadway’s Sarah Litzsinger (Beauty and the Beast), Megan McGinnis (Little Women), Kate Reinders (Wicked), Cathy Trien (Gypsy), Christopher Sloan (Cabaret) and Jessica-Snow Wilson (Spelling Bee).

One of the organizers is offering a Buy One, Get One Free offer to Dumbo residents for both the $75 and $125 ticket levels. If you’re a Dumbo resident who would like to take advantage of this offer (for a good cause), purchase your ticket here (nycharities.org/event/event.asp?CE_ID=3571) and then send an email to cjmasimore@bymcinc.org to let them know that you’re a Dumbo resident and will have a guest with them at the event. (The offer is available up to a week before the event (March 22).) Full details in their release here (pdf).