Council Members David Yassky and Eric Gioia (photo: center, wearing ties) spoke out for an investigation into the activities of the School Construction Authority’s alleged corruption attached to the project. Kristian Roebling (speaking in the photo) the great-great-grandson of Washington and Emily Roebling spoke out against the building and for preserving the Brooklyn Bridge views from the street and from the bridge itself. According to attendees, the pro-development group tried to disrupt the protest but ‘were overwhelmed by the numbers there in opposition.’

For a recap of the recent controversy surrounding the project, see last week’s open letter on the proposed Dock Street Dumbo project by Andrew Stengel and subsequent response by Kenneth Fisher, the Two Trees’ Land Use Counsel. (Thank you to those who sent in emails about the protest).

{Past Dock Street Dumbo news}

Chocolatier Jacques Torres opened his ice cream store today in the Dumbo Brooklyn location at 66 Water Street. The great weather and visitors to the Brooklyn Bridge Park added to the crowd of people waiting in line for the newly opened shop with tables and outdoor seating. As NY Mag pointed out, last week, there are at least a dozen flavors including chocolate-banana, a vanilla brulee swirl, strawberry, hazelnut with chocolate chunks, and four different sorbets including raspberry and mango. Torre’s ‘wicked’ flavor is also available. We haven’t tried it yet, but if anyone has tried, please comment below.

1 scoop $3
2 scoops $4.75
3 scoops $6

(Photo by Josh Derr)

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

• MediaPost Recap of DigitalDumbo, 28May09, MediaPost
• Model Erin Wasson on VH House, 24May09, Observer UK
• VH House 50 coolest places to eat, 24May09, Observer UK
• One Glass Video Scouting Dumbo Locations, 26May09, Oneglass
• Press Conference Planned by Opponents of Dock St, 29May09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Philip Glass’s American Life, 29May09, Forward
• Money and Politics Meet at the Bklyn Bridge, 22May09, NY Times
• Politics and Developers for Dock St, 26May09, NY Observer
• Both Sides in Dock Street Battle Believe They are Winning, 26May09, Brooklyn Eagle
• 12th Annual Brooklyn Intl Film Fest, 30May09, NYCGrind
• D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival, 23May09, fiberartcalls

Suspended Cirque takes aerial work and acrobatics to another level, creating an evening that is unlike any other Friday night out. The pieces that will be seen throughout the evening are site specific to Galapagos, using the space and the theme of water as artistic guides. Sensual without being burlesquey, artsy without being obscure, entertaining without trying too hard, Suspended Cirque presents an evening that is a little “De la Guarda” meets “O” done Brooklyn style.

Sunday May 31 matinee performance is all ages!

suspendedcirque.com. For tickets, go to https://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showCode=SUS11.

Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
Rock Camp Spring Carnival
Saturday May 30 and Sunday May 31, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Family carnival with mini-lessons in Drums, Bass, Guitar, Vocals, and Songwriting / Band Art / Recording & Video-making / Games & Face-painting / Bake Sale, all benefiting the financial aid fund of Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls’ 2009 summer camp.

163 Plymouth St. (btw. Jay St. & Pearl St.)
Free admission/Activities $0-$10
212-777-1323 | www.williemaerockcamp.org

Love is Possible (at the Pearl Street Triangle) – Photo by Josh Derr

1) The Non-Motivational Speaker Series

When: Thursday, May 28, at 7:30 pm
Where: JLA Studios, 63 Pearl St (between Water St. and Front St.), Brooklyn, NY 11201

BROOKLYN (what?) will be this month’s theme. Speakers include Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver [interview here]; Gersh Kuntzman, the irrepressible editor of Brooklyn’s most irrepressible rag, the Brooklyn Paper [interview here]; and Tom Folsom, author of the The Mad Ones, a biography of “Crazy” Joe Gallo, the Brooklyn mafioso immortalized by Bob Dylan [interview here].

Free. For more info: gelfmagazine.com.

2) BUSTED Exhibition

When: BUSTED Opening Reception, Thursday, May 28, 2009, 7-9pm
Where: The powerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, Brooklyn

Remember when you got grounded in 10th grade for coming home drunk and vomiting on the dog? Or the time you got caught selling fake ecstasy and were escorted out of that after-hours dive? Or how about the time your girlfriend got your password and broke into your Gmail account, only to discover you had an online honey? Man, if you had a dollar for every time you got busted, you’d be able to post bail right about now.

Held in conjunction with the publication of Busted (powerHouse Magazine Issue 5), The powerHouse Arena will host an exhibition of art that celebrates all that goes wrong when you’re up to no good. Come join us to point and laugh at all the failures, fiascos, and hilariously embarrassing situations captured by these talented artists. Busted promises the most eclectic mix of nogoodniks, anarchists, and frisky kids ever caught between two covers. RSVP: rsvp@powerHouseArena.com.

powerhousearena.com/busted

3) Digital DUMBO Drinks #5 : Rock the House With Freedom + Partners

When: Thursday, May 28, 2009 from 6:30 – 8 pm
Where: Water Street Lounge, 66 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Digital design and technology shop Freedom + Partners will rock the house and ring in the Spring season at this month’s upcoming Digital DUMBO. Based on their award winning website for Pearl Jam (www.pearljamtengame.com) F+P will re-fashion the site and dedicate the music, the imagery and visualization to our beloved neighborhood between the bridges. The installation will include tunes reminiscent of Brooklyn’s past and present and the imagery will be of our local surroundings.

The event will be hosted in the Bonita lounge, located in the downstairs area of Water Street Restaurant. Just walk in and make your first right down the stairs! digitaldumbodrinks.eventbrite.com

The following is a response from Kenneth Fisher, the Two Trees’ Land Use Counsel, who emailed us the below letter in response to Andrew Stengel’s open letter about the Dock Street Dumbo development posted earlier this week. As a forum to provide all sides of Dumbo-related issues, we’ll post the letter in full, but as stated in the earlier post, the content and opinions expressed in the letter do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they an endorsement against (or for) the project by DumboNYC. Thank you to all sides for providing their take on this controversial topic. We hope they provide the community with various viewpoints allowing us to have an objective take on Dock St Dumbo.

As Two Trees’ Land Use Counsel, one of the consultants to whom Andrew Stengel refers in his open letter, I’m surprised he didn’t share any of these concerns when he came over to say hello to me at the City Council hearing on the Dock Street plan. It’s not that I don’t understand the opponents’ frustration with the approval process. What I don’t appreciate is the attitude that their failure at every step leading up to the City Council means that the process is flawed – the fact is that their argument is unpersuasive because other people who review the actual, accurate, proposal consistently don’t see things their way.

[Please click the link to view full letter.] Read the rest of this entry »

(Photo by Josh Derr)

A collaboration by a group called 303 Collectives (named for the studio number at 135 Plymouth Street in Dumbo) painted the Water Street wall (between Jay and Pearl Streets) over the Memorial Day weekend. I spoke with Craig Anthony Miller (aka Cam) yesterday, who was kind enough to speak about how it got started and the images in the painting while traveling in his car. 303 artists include Cam, Demon 202, Tron, John Breiner and One 9 (who wasn’t there for the painting).

If you know Dumbo, you’ve seen Cam’s work on Pedro’s wall and on reBar’s wall, which has a recognizable stylized images of faces and animals. The Water Street wall started when Cam and Demon 202 contacted the wall owner, who ok’d the project. The theme is one of harmonizing artists of different styles with the 4 elephants representing each artist. The message that in life, there are obstacles and barriers that are lifted away to result in success.

The middle of the mural of two elephants passing eachother symbolize communication. These elephants bear the name of the artist, Demon 202 (cool way of incorporating words without looking like traditional graffiti. See an example of Demon’s prior piece (from artcrimes.com) that show this.) The elephant ears are like speakers. Cam’s elephants, to the left and right of Demon’s elephants have a Ganesh style to them; something Cam’s been into lately. The right one is a full body Ganesh and the left a partial one. Ganesh or Ganesha is a Hindu elephant deity of success and remover of obstacles.

The 2 angels represent guidance and protection from the barriers in life; the left one done by Tron and the right by Cam. The wolves in each corner (John Breiner) symbolize life’s surroundings and that we all need to be aware of the negatives lurking in the background. These images of life moving through a bamboo forest are brought together by the message that our interactions with eachother can create a community of harmony.

Speaking with Cam, you get the sense that he’s a spiritual and grounded soul who has artistic talent. Both Cam and John, who I spoke with, know and respect the history of the artwork on that wall and wanted to bring a similar note of ‘brightness and peacefulness’ to Dumbo. We look forward to more collaborations from these artists and they’re looking to do something for the 2009 D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival, which will take place on September 25-27, 2009.

Please comment below on your feedback on their work and your ‘interpretations’. You can see more of their work on craiganthonymiller.com and johnbreiner.blogspot.com.

{DumboNYC Flickr set of 303}
Previous Water St art:
{Concrete Alchemy Street Art Displays Their Talent on Water Street, 17May2008}
{Revok, Retna, Saber Live Wall Painting on Water Street, 06Aug2007}

[UPDATE 2: Kenneth Fisher, the Two Trees' Land Use Counsel responds to Andrew Stengel's letter.]
[UPDATE: David Yassky's office sent us the following statement in response to Andrew Stengel's letter below: "I commend Andrew Stengel, my appointee to CB2, for making the FOIL request that uncovered disturbing documents from the School Construction Authority. His diligence and engagement in this critically important issue for our community has shined a bright light on a clearly flawed process that has not taken the best interest of our kids and all New York City taxpayers into full account. I reiterate my urging for SCA and DOE to comply with the FOIL and release all documents that were requested five months ago before the vote in the City Council."]

The below is an open letter on the proposed Dock Street Dumbo project by Andrew Stengel, who is a member of the Brooklyn’s Community Board #2 and its Land Use Committee and Dumbo resident who opposes the Dock Street Dumbo project, which was a subject of the City Council meeting last week, which is at the final stages of the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure for rezoning. The land use committee is expected to vote on the proposal within the next two weeks. It then goes to the full City Council for a vote on June 10th.

The content and opinions expressed in the letter do not necessarily reflect the views of nor are they an endorsement against (or for) the project by DumboNYC. To be fair, please visit Two Tree Management’s website to read letters from the supporters of the plan.

An Open Letter on the Proposed Dock Street Dumbo Project:

I am a Dumbo resident who sits on Brooklyn’s Community Board #2 and its Land Use Committee. I oppose the Dock Street Dumbo project, and when the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) application was before the our committee I proposed a resolution—that passed 10-1 with two abstentions —- to limit the development on the site to no higher than the 75-foot-high Brooklyn Bridge roadway, as the community board decreed unanimously in 2004. I am also the person who made the Freedom of Information (FOIL) request that resulted in the release of several troubling documents by New York City’s School Construction Authority (SCA).

[Please click the link to view full letter.] Read the rest of this entry »