Join the Dumbo Improvement District, Gleason’s Gym & halcyon the shop for USABoxingMetro sanctioned amateur boxing matches in The Archway on Saturday, August 1st at 7PM.

Tickets to the Fight are $25 for standing general admission and $50 for reserved ringside seating. Food and drink will be available for purchase at the event.

DUMBO Fight Night 2009 is a fundraiser for the Dumbo Improvement District & The Archway. To purchase tickets, go here.

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

• Zakka Haven For Japanese Subculture, 07Jul09, joshspear
• Program for NYC’s tech/media Incl Digital Dumbo, 07Jul09, NY Observer
• Glacial Pace at 109 Gold St, 07Jul09, Brownstoner
• Summer Kids Cooking Class in Dumbo, 07Jul09, kijiji ad
• Alt Street Parking Suspended in Dumbo, 07Jul09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Earth Added on BBP Pier 1, 08Jul09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Brooklyn Navy Yard To Get a 40k Sqft Grocer, 09Jul09, Crain’s
• “Movies With A View” In Dumbo Pics, 10Jul09, Guest of a Guest
• Western Wind Vocal Ensemble @ Barge Music, 09Jul09, NY Times
• BQE Rehab Comments Due July 22, 09Jul09, Brownstoner
• Bike Parking Woes Continue in Dumbo For B’Stoner, 08Jul09, Brownstoner

(Photo by Josh Derr)

If you walk around Dumbo, you’ve probably noticed some of Dain’s work on the streets. Above is a fairly new one on Dock Street. Some of Dain’s older tile art is either down or have peeled. A few others:

This short video on YouTube is an interesting view into his art studio:

From Rabbit Hole Studio in Dumbo:

Dear Friends,

It’s my great pleasure to invite you to our very first Umuzi photography exhibition. Please join us to view these arresting images of Johannesburg township life, taken by children in the program that you have helped to support! This first glimpse into the lives’ of our South African students will take place on July 9, 2009 (one-night only) at Rabbit Hole Studio in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Doors open at 6:00 pm. See map for direction.

High quality prints will be on sale with all proceeds going towards funding projects at the children’s schools, which sorely need basic infrastructure.

We are also holding a used camera donation drive, and ask you to bring along any old digital cameras you no longer use.

Blue Point Brewing Company will be sponsoring the event. Snacks will be served.

Umuzi is a photography club for primary and secondary school learners in Soweto and other developing communities in Johannesburg, South Africa. Through a series of highly interactive and fun workshops, learners are introduced to photography basics and visual literacy. At each workshop, learners receive their own film cameras, which they carry for a week, playing the role of a documentary photographer. In the following workshops, they scrutinize their prints and build a portfolio of their favorite work, which is bound into an album they keep. The organization strives to uphold the importance of artistic self-expression and critical thinking through the art of photography.

Bring your friends. Hope to see you all there!

Media Circus returns to Brooklyn on July 9th with a night devoted to the future of journalism school.What is the role of a trade school in an era when everyone is a publisher? Gelf’s monthly speaking series on all things media will examine J-school from the eyes of the people closest to it.

Jay Rosen, an NYU professor and renowned media blogger (interview here), will be joined by Stephen Shepard, Dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, and Chris Anderson, not that one, or that one, this one. The work of local artists will be on display, as well.

The event will be held Thursday, July 9, at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm) at the JLA Studios art gallery on 63 Pearl St. in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn—just one subway stop away from Manhattan! Admission is FREE. Drinks will be available.

According to the Department of Transportation, Dumbo is one of 5 neighborhoods in Brooklyn to suspend alternate side parking for two months so they can install signs that reduce street cleaning from two days a week to one. The change goes into effect on Monday for Downtown Brooklyn, DUMBO, Vinegar Hill, Fulton Ferry and Brooklyn Heights. Per the NY Post article, the borders include:

North: East River from Furman Street to Hudson Avenue.

East: Hudson Avenue (included) from John Street to Navy Street, including Plymouth Street, Little Street and Evans Street; Navy Street (included) from Hudson Avenue to Myrtle Avenue; Myrtle Avenue (not included) from Navy Street to Flatbush Avenue; Flatbush Avenue (included) from Myrtle Avenue to Fulton Street.

South: Fulton Street (not included) from Flatbush Avenue to Adams Street; Joralemon Street (included) from Adams Street to East River.

West: Furman Street (included) from Joralemon Street to Old Fulton Street.

The regular no parking signs and meter parking will be in effect during this process. Our neighbor, Brooklyn Heights Blog has a map on their site, which we posted after the jump. Per Robert Perris, District Manager, Community Board 2: “The map above is by itself incomplete. Drivers should bear in mind that Fulton Street and Myrtle Avenue are NOT included in the suspension area.”
Read the rest of this entry »

(Photo by Josh Derr)

Here’s another great shot by Josh Derr, who writes “I was somewhat disappointed the Macy’s Forth of July fireworks display moved from the East river over to the Hudson this year. It did provide a beautiful background to this photo of Midtown Manhattan however…”

Michael (“Buzzy”) O’Keeffe, founder of The River Cafe, which has been around for 32 years (signed the lease in the current Fulton Ferry Landing location in 1974, but The River Cafe did not open until 1977) has opened a gourmet quesadillas food cart at the Fulton Ferry pier at Fulton Landing, Brooklyn called Buzzito. According to the Fulton Ferry Landing Association, his lease with the city includes a specific square footage of the Landing.

The cart serves a chicken ‘buzzito’ and a vegetarian option. We tried the chicken quesadilla over the weekend. It contains shredded and seared chicken breast, fire roasted poblano peppers, red peppers, fresh herbs, pepper jack cheese, Spanish onions, and Filberto’s Secret Spice. How did it taste? It wasn’t spicy, but the quesadilla was pretty tasty with marinated pieces of chicken and veggies. wrapped in an organic flour tortilla. The $6 quesadilla include seats at one of the tables under a tented area on the Landing. If you’ve tried it, how did you like it?

(Photo by Megan on fitnessgurunyc.com)

The Fitness Guru, the Dumbo gym and fitness lifestyle center is offering a Fitness Guru in the Park, FREE Pilates Mat Classes in Brooklyn Bridge Park every Tuesday evening through the summer, beginning Tuesday, July 7th.

The Fitness Guru
77 Front Street, 2nd floor, Dumbo Brooklyn, NY 11201
718.554.3560

(fitnessgurunyc.com, Facebook and Twitter)

Previously:
{Fitness Guru Review in NY Times, 17May2007}
{The Fitness Guru Gym in Dumbo to Open in Jan 2007, 13Dec2006}

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

• Supermodels in Dumbo circa ’91, 01Jul09, Jezebel
• YouTube Dumbo Rainbow (9 sec), 27Jun09, YouTube
• Brunch at Vinegar Hill House, 28Jun09, Just Brunch
• BBP Moves Ahead, 29Jun09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Brooklyn Bridge, 1909, 29Jun09, Bowery Boys
• $3.99 for ATM Fee in Fulton Ferry?, 30Jun09, Brooklyn Paper
• Brooklyn Digital Foundry, July 7, 28Jun09, archleague.org
• Solution for St. Ann’s Warehouse?, 01Jul09, Brooklyn Eagle
• Did BBPDC Win over DOT?, 02Jul09, McBrooklyn
• Hilary Swank Runs Through Dumbo, 03Jun09, McBrooklyn
• Rabbitholestudio: To: Brooklyn, Sincerely: Soweto, 02Jul09, ArtCat
• African Arts Festival, 03Jul09, Examiner