As reported yesterday on Brooklyn Paper and by readers of this blog, the west side of Washington St between York and Water Streets changed from alternate-side-of-the-street parking zone into a 2 hour parking zone except Sundays. Residents who park on Washington Street lost approximately 20 spaces. However, businesses along Washington Street benefit from the 2 hour weekday parking while shoppers park there.

Previously:
{Watch for Updated Parking Regulations in Dumbo, 04Apr2008}

Readers have reported recent car break ins on Adams Street over the weekend. According to police patrols, they have started seeing them again in recent days. One weekend isn’t a trend, but can this be due to the tough economic times or does it come with the warmer weather? There’s also reports of gunshot sounds on Gold and York Streets on Saturday. Anyone else hear them?

Be on the lookout for suspicious activity and call the 84th Precinct (718-875-6811 (store this number in your cell phone)) or 911 if you witness any crimes.

Previously:
{Police Nab ‘Squarehead’ But Break-ins Continue, 01Sept2008}

(Nutria NN performance at Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY. Artwork by Blane De St. Croix. Image courtesy of Smack Mellon.)

When I first walked into Smack Mellon Gallery in Dumbo last Thursday night, for its Press Play Series I saw a wall. For a second, I wondered if I had gotten the date wrong. I wondered if the gallery was still working on the installation. The bisected cavernous space looked completely different. And of course that was the point. I was looking at, confronted by Blane De St. Croix’s installation, Broken Landscape. It is an almost literal rendering of the Mexico/US border, over eighty feet in length, in the main gallery space— but monumentally miniaturized. The wall itself is chest high, perhaps a foot wide.

Reaching down from wall, as if a giant knife has sliced through the earth, the piece reveals the underlying geological stratum as neatly and as scientifically as a textbook. The terrain is haunted. It is devoid of human habitation. The border is a ghost town. On the one hand, it is an intimate portrait of the unfriendly, almost menacing topography of this region, and on the other, a charged political statement. The end of the wall is a bisected overpass of a highway that begins and ends in mid-air. In contrast, the beginning of the border resembles the badlands, an almost primeval landscape. It eventually evolves into civilization, the floating highway— yet both look dangerous.

In the smaller gallery is Carlos Motta’s, The Good Life. This is an installation with a multi-channel video presentation with 12 monitors mounted on a four part, two tiered structure. From his notes, this structure references, “the theater and general space of the Athenian Agora, in which citizens were entitled to meet, debate and participate in legislative decisions.” When I walked into this gallery, another confrontation— but this time, highly populated and very vocal. The artist interviewed pedestrians on the streets of South American countries between 2005-2008 on democracy, US involvement in their countries and the idea of leadership. In particular, a man spoke about the horrible conditions of a local hospital. He talked about the flies that landed on his mother’s body. Another woman suggested the US government sticks its nose where it doesn’t belong.

As I peered across the divide, past the badlands, the music began. Nutria NN is the stage name of Christian Torres-Roje. Technically, the music is Chilean folk rock, but obviously fused with other cultures and styles. I loved Tristeza de Lota; a moving anthem about being “lonely, lonely, lonely down in the mines.” The songs were subdued, poignant, melodic— a fitting and apt counterpoint to the politically infused installations. Once again, Smack Mellon has succeeded in curating an evening of music and art that not only reference each other, but illuminate and enrich as well. Once again, superior local beer by Kelso was on hand, and this time, now March, it was warm enough to walk home. Excellent.

(Photo courtesy of Josh Derr)

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

• Check out Paperfinger at 133 Water, 01Mar09, papertastebuds.com
• Sales Halted at 20 Henry, 06Mar09, BHB
• Municipal Art Society’s Concern for Dock St Dumbo, 05Mar09, MAS
• Dock St Dumbo Public Hearing Recap, 05Mar09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Koval, BB Park Conservancy’s Departure, 05Mar09, Brooklyn Paper
• Visual Morphology at Klompching Gallery, 05Mar09, NY Times
• Marty’s Dock St Proposal Unites All Against It, 05Mar09, Brooklyn Paper
• BKLYN Designs Adds House Tours, 04Mar09, NBC
• Brooklyn Bridge Rehab Costs: Up to $1Bil, 02Mar09, Brooklyn Paper
• Ecstatic Truth at DAC, 03Mar09, DAC
• Willem Dafoe Spotted in Dumbo, 05Mar09, Brooklyn Paper
• Bit of Brooklyn History, 04Mar09, wandering educators
• “Street Art Jeans” Hanging in Dumbo, 061Mar09, McBrooklyn

New York Magazine’s Best of New York issue, released this week, has a few Dumbo (and Downtown Brooklyn) winners for 2009:

• Best Bakery: Almondine Bakery, 85 Water St., nr. Main St., Dumbo; 718-797-5026
• Best Playground: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Main St. at Plymouth St., Dumbo
• Best Cubicle Rental: Green Desk, 155 Water St., nr. Anchorage Pl., Dumbo; 718-210-3650
• Best Organizer: Sonia Kashuk Makeup Bag, Target, 139 Flatbush Ave., nr. Atlantic Ave., Downtown Brooklyn; 718-290-1109
• Best DIY Home: Urban Glass, 647 Fulton St., nr. Rockwell Pl., Dumbo; 718-625-3685
• Best Home Bargains: Nova Zembla, 117 Atlantic Ave., Downtown Brooklyn; 718-222-5705

Congratulations! After the jump, NY Mag’s description of Almondine, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and Green Desk.

{NY Mag Best of 2008, 05Mar2008}
Green Desk photo credit: Frank Oudeman/Courtesy of Green Desk

Read the rest of this entry »

D-Nice.com‘s True Hip-Hop Stories posts great shorts of hip-hop artists. One titled, “The Homeless Emcee“, posted yesterday, is an amazing story of one homeless rapper talking about his life and times in Dumbo. D-Nice captures the emcee’s view of hip-hop and how it saved him throughout his life, and the choices he’s made to stay up. Some tidbits from the documentary:

On old Dumbo:
“Before all this shit was Dumbo, this was the Docks. You couldn’t pay police to come back here and I used to sleep back here. Walk across bodies and all that dumb shit when I was 11.”

On the new Dumbo people:
“70% of them ignore you, like you don’t exist, unless it’s dark of course and you’re walking behind them and all of a sudden they know you’re there. Another 15%, they be disrespectful, don’t know they can get their shit twisted real fast. The other 15% is cool, them the ones that actually take time out and listen and stop and treat you like a real person.”

Check out D-Nice’s videos, all on-point and tells great stories.

True Hip-Hop Stories: The Homeless Emcee from D-Nice on Vimeo.

We are saddened by the news that our good friend and fellow Brooklyn blogger Bob Guskind has passed away yesterday. He was a pioneer of Brooklyn blogging and we corresponded when both Gowanus Lounge, his blog (now offline), and DumboNYC started. We occasionally saw Bob around Dumbo taking photos and reporting about Dumbo events. We haven’t heard from Bob for a few days, and waiting to hear further news on the cause of his death. We normally exchanged correspondence about news in Brooklyn, and was called by some, the father of Brooklyn blogging for his prolific postings and news about Brooklyn. In the meantime, we extend our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. The above photo is a photo of a scene at Prospect Park, the last photo he uploaded on March 2 on his flickr page, which he regularly posted on. We will miss you.

{OTBKB}
{Brooklyn Paper story}
{New York Shitty}

A festive occasion each month for art lovers. A chance to visit many quality galleries at night in the Dumbo Historic District – galleries showing works from artists of many disciplines, especially photography, while hosting receptions, producing live music performances and curator/artist talks among other highlights.

Let’s not forget the incredible views you can enjoy as you walk from one gallery to the next and the local drink specials afterward. Most of the art is for sale. Printed maps and 1st Thursday cards are available on-site.

Participating galleries may vary each month. For more information contact Zannah Mass at zannah@twotrees-dumbo.com or 718-222-2500 x38.

Check gallery websites for updates.
5+5 Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 210
A.I.R. Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 228
Amos Eno Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 202
Aswoon Gallery, 14 Jay St.
Brooklyn Arts Council, 111 Front St., Suite 218
DUMBO Arts Center, 30 Washington St.
Farmani Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 212
Gloria Kennedy Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 222
Henry Gregg Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 226
Klompching Gallery, 111 Front St.
Kris Graves Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 224
Melville House, 145 Plymouth St.
No Name Gallery, 163 Plymouth St.
Pochron Studios, 20 Jay St.
Powerhouse Books & Powerhouse Arena, 37 Main St.
Rabbithole Studio, 33 Washington St.
Robert Wilson/rw Work Ltd, 111 Front St.
Safe-T Gallery, 111 Front St., Suite 214
Smack Mellon, 93 Plymouth St. @ Washington Street
Spring, 126a Front St.
Umbrage Gallery, 111 Front St.
VII Photo, 28 Jay St.

[UPDATE: The hearing has been delayed. Arrive by 3:00pm; Public testimony: 3:30pm - 6:00pm]

Whether or not you are for or against the Dock Street Dumbo development, come out and testify at the Department of City Planning public hearing today, (Wednesday, March 4th at 11am). The hearing will be at 22 Reade Street in Manhattan and public testimony should go from around 11:30 to 2 pm. Your testimony will be limited to 3 minutes and arrive early (11 am) so that you can sign up to speak. (Per Dumbo Neighborhood Association: Please bring 20 copies of your testimony.)

{Past Dock St Dumbo posts}
{Markowitz In Support of Dock St Dumbo Project, 26Feb2009}

The Promenade Car Service has moved to from 102 Front Street (next to La Bagel Delight) to 151 Front Street (across from J Condo). Anyone know what will be replacing them at 102 Front?

(New location)

(Old location)

There are some mixed reviews on Citysearch, but the few times we have called for them, they were reliable and quick. Please comment below if you’d like to share your experiences with them.

Promenade Car Service
151 Front Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-858-6666