(Preparation being done for the night market at Pearl Street Triangle)

David Chang, the Momofuku chef is hosting a Night Market in Dumbo tonight. This sold out event is held at The Archway under the Manhattan Bridge and will serve traditional Asian night market street food. 26+ participating restaurants/vendors and 19+ beverage purveyors will be there to serve some of their favorite dishes and drinks. We’ll be there to cover the event eat and hope that more night markets are held in the future.

Inspired by the festive night markets of Asia–from Taipei and Singapore to Hong Kong and Kyoto–LUCKYRICE is throwing a giant party with Momofuku chef David Chang and surprise friends. Centralized under the historical and newly re-opened Archway Under the Manhattan Bridge in Brooklyn’s DUMBO, the outdoor feast will serve up traditional Asian night market grub as well as some not-so-traditional street food interpreted by some of the city’s gastrohipsters. Vendors will be selling Korean tacos stuffed with kimchee, hotdogs topped with Thai pickled cucumbers and mango, mouth-watering Vietnamese baguette sandwiches (banh mi) and other Asian street food–authentic and inspired. There will even be a dedicated Malaysian Pavilion featuring the best variety of Malaysian food in the area. Along with food samples and beverages, we will be pouring beer, cocktails, tapioca tea and more. Admission to event for guests 21 and over only and includes access to our sponsored indoor bar.

From: luckyrice.com/festival/nightmarket

Smack Mellon’s annual fundraiser is tomorrow, Saturday, May 1st, at 4pm. The event is their annual Kentucky Derby Party & Art Auction Benefit. Throughout the Derby-themed event, enjoy mint juleps and home-style southern food. Guests bet on horses (which determines the order in which artwork is selected) and the race is projected large on the gallery wall.

A $250 ticket admits 2 people and guarantees an artwork. Tickets are available by calling 718.834.8761 or online smackmellon.org/index.php?cID=801

The benefit will raise funds to support Smack Mellon’s programs, which include the Exhibition Program which features large scale projects by emerging and under-recognized artists in the 6,000 square foot waterfront gallery; the Artist Studio Program that provides artists with free studio space, access to fabrication and media equipment, and a $5,000 fellowship; and two free educational programs, Art Ready, and Summer Arts Initiative, providing innovative art programming to NYC Youth.

This is a critical time for Smack Mellon. Like many other non-profit organizations, Smack Mellon has had a particularly challenging year due to reduced funding from foundations that were forced to radically cut back as a result of the economic down turn. Support at this time is more crucial than ever. The Kentucky Derby Party & Art Auction Benefit is a great way to enjoy the community, the race, and the art, while helping an important arts organization!

The details, artist list and images of work are available on line. Follow the link to see more: smackmellon.org/index.php?cID=801

TONIGHT! St. Ann’s Warehouse is offering a “Dumbo Night” promotion for their current show Young@Heart. They are offering discounted tickets to the Dumbo community (residents and those working in the area) with the hope that you will come early (starting at 7pm), have a drink and something to eat from the Rice Bar, and meet and socialize, then see a great show for just $25 (regularly $32).

Rice Bar in St. Ann’s lobby will be offering half-price wine and beer as well as an eclectic selection of appetizers. Bring your friends and work-mates and enjoy a great night of theater in your neighborhood. Click HERE for more information about the show and to buy your specially priced $25 tickets. Use promo code DUMBOYH when you purchase your tickets.

Great deal for residents and the after-work crowd!

ABOUT YOUNG@HEART CHORUS

Recently featured in the award-winning documentary Young@Heart (Fox Searchlight, April 2008), the chorus was formed in Northampton, MA in 1982. Under the direction of Bob Cilman, Young@Heart Chorus members typically include those with some prior professional theater or music experience, others who have performed extensively on the amateur level, and some who have never stepped onto a stage prior to turning 80. They are united in their passion for performing rock music. Young@Heart’s repertoire is like a set list of rock’s greatest hits, including songs by Coldplay, Sonic Youth and The Clash, capturing the sheer joy of singing as well as the singular poignancy of aging. Some of the songs they sing are fun, like OutKast’s mega hit, “Hey Ya!” Others are a bit sad in their hands, like The Traveling Wilburys’ “Handle With Care.” The elderly voices and their collective sound cause audiences to hear music and lyrics in a way they never have before.

There’s a new yoga studio in Dumbo called Abhaya Yoga. There’s a grand opening celebration, tonight, April 29 from 6-10:30 PM. There will be a class with live musical accompaniment, Kirtan and a dance party to follow. Please go here to RSVP.

Also between 8am to 2pm today, they are offering an open house with $5 classes on the hour.

Abhaya offers a full schedule of classes in a gorgeous space overlooking the river with views of the bridges. The classes are taught by teachers with either Anusara Certified or Inspired status and offer Immersions and Teacher training, as well as outdoor classes on the waterfront (as weather permits) starting May 1st.

They are offering our readers introductory specials:
- First Class $10
- Unlimited First Week $35
- Unlimited First Month $99 (until May 1st)

Welcome to Dumbo, Abhaya Yoga and check them out. Tell them you saw them on DumboNYC.

Abhaya Yoga (www.abhayayoga.com)
10 Jay Street, Suite 600, Brooklyn, NY 11201

(Image courtesy of Sean Capone (2009))

From our neighbors/friends at DAC, the annual fundraiser is tomorrow, Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 7-10pm. The event, “THE SECRET GARDEN BENEFIT PARTY” is being held at Dumbo Arts Center (DAC), 30 Washington Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201.

In this year of across-the-board cuts to arts organizations, your support is more important than ever! Please join us this Thursday for what will be Dumbo Arts Center’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Help us keep our doors open and continue to provide a home for emerging art in Dumbo, Brooklyn!

The Secret Garden celebrates the arrival of spring and promises a night of surprise performances, music, dance, silent auction, and all round festive fun. Guest art includes: an interactive animation projection by Sean Capone, performances by Olek, music by Amir of Kon and Amir and more.

Special thanks to Sarah Tombaugh, Architect for Interior Design, and Patricia Abouchahine for Graphic Design.

DAC presents year-round programs of exhibitions in its 3,000 square feet gallery space, holds Artist Opportunity Workshops, which aims to empower artists with information, practical know-how and encouragement in order to advance their careers, runs the High School Internship Program (H.I.P.), which provides a unique learning opportunity for area high school students interested in art-making, community involvement and arts administration, and of course has produced The D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge Festival® (DumboNYC archives), which is the largest urban forum for experimental art in the United States, transforming Dumbo into a public art arena each September. We’ve enjoyed these events and hope they continue to provide quality programming for artists. (disclosure: DumboNYC donates banner space for DAC.)

Please consider attending the benefit. Tickets are $75 per person prior to event, or $85 at the door. For ticket purchase call 718-694-0831, email gallery@dumboartscenter.org or visit dumboartscenter.org/benefit_events.html. If you are not able to attend, please make a tax deductible donation to DAC.

A NY Times article mapped the NYC Transit station-by-station ridership in 2009. Some areas of NYC went down in ridership, such as Midtown, “which has lost tens of thousands of jobs since 2008, dropped at more than twice the rate of the system as a whole…In all, the system had 1.58 billion rides last year, officials said, a decline of 2.7 percent from 2008.” So how did the Dumbo-area subway stations do in 2009? York Street (F) station increased ridership by 3.2% and High Street (A, C) decreased slightly by 1.8%:

• High Street (A, C) – Avg daily riders, 2009: 5,173. Percent change, 2008-2009: -1.4%
• York Street (F) – Avg daily riders, 2009: 5,243. Percent change, 2008-2009: +3.2%
• Clark Street (2, 3) – Avg daily riders, 2009: 4,674. Percent change, 2008-2009: +4.8%

For other stations, check out the NY Times interactive map of the subway ridership.

Daniel Bernstein, founded Blue Phoenix Acupuncture with the intent of helping people improve their quality of life after finding that alternative medicine and acupuncture helped him recover from a bronchial issue. He is a licensed acupuncturist since 1995, and has trained in hospital settings and in the Acupuncture Detoxification protocol at the Lincoln Hospital, where it was established. Mr. Bernstein, a Dumbo resident, also has a Dumbo office with clients in the neighborhood. We’ve heard only positive feedback from neighbors who are clients of his, so we interviewed him.

Tell us about what you do and your practice philosophies.
As an acupuncturist for 15 years, I’ve learned that one of the most important things I can do as a practitioner is to listen to what my clients are telling me. This is especially true since I am also a certified hypnotist. That pairing of modalities isn’t as odd as it might sound at first; they simply approach healing from different angles. Acupuncture uses energetics to affect change on deep levels, whereas hypnosis accesses the wonderful inner resource known as the unconscious to create shifts. Using both for a condition often accelerates the rate of healing pretty dramatically. Some of my specialties include pain and stress management, weight control, GI issues and anxiety and infertility, among many other conditions. What resonates with many of my clients is the shifts they see in themselves after treatment, without having resorted to medication or surgery in order to get there.

You have offices in both Manhattan and Dumbo. How long have you been in Dumbo and what do you like/dislike about the neighborhood?
I’m a relative newcomer to Dumbo, since I moved here in September of 2007. I love it here, with its cobblestones, its bridges, the park, and the funky yet adult feel it has. As someone who lived in Soho from 1975 to 1992, I can tell you the two share many similarities. Maybe I simply like places that feel less than completely residential, or else I’m attracted to creative undercurrents. This place certainly has those in spades. I just hope Dumbo doesn’t turn commercial the way Soho has.

My Dumbo office, on Water past Bridge, is a spacious second bedroom that I transformed into a work space. What my clients love about it is that it’s quieter than any place you could find in NYC.

What else should clients in Brooklyn know about what to expect?
As a member of this community, I’m happy to give your readers a 20% discount, whether they visit me in Dumbo or at my Manhattan office. For more information, they can log on to bluephoenixacupuncture.com, or, starting in early May, at bluephoenixwellness.com. They can also email me at drbernsteinnyc@gmail.com or call 212-777-7191. And thank you Hide, for the interview.

—

Thanks Daniel for the interview and the discount offer for readers! Some residents do need acupuncture and alternate treatments so glad you’re Dumbo. Call/email Daniel to find out more or to make an appointment, and be sure to mention you saw him on DumboNYC.

We’ve seen a lot of motorcycles and Vespa scooters around Dumbo. For those who need a place to park, MotoDumbo is a garage for motorcycles and scooters on Pearl and Plymouth Street. They have spaces available in their garage, which has a shared workspace with air compressor, bike lift, work bench etc. We hear they’re planning some BBQ’s and get-togethers over the summer and generally treat the garage like a home away from home. If any Dumbo denizens that ride are looking for a spot, email them at info@motodumbo.com or stop by on a Saturday afternoon. There’s generally someone there, working on their ride.

MotoDumbo (MotoDumbo.com)
52 Pearl Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
info@motodumbo.com

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

• DUMBO: A Tale of Two Views, 23Apr10, Matrix
• Toren Lands Upscale Supermarket, 22Apr10, Brownstoner
• Brooklyn Bridge Park: Pier 1, 20Apr10, cheeryobservations
• New Meters for Dumbo, 22Apr10, Brownstoner
• 271 Cadman Plaza East, 20Apr10, Brownstoner
• Foundation Goes in at P.S. 8 Addition, 20Apr10, Brownstoner
• Green Desk Mini-Mall Half Full, 20Apr10, Brownstoner
• Vinegar Hill House Review, 21Apr10, peckthebeak
• Brooklyn Festival Grows, 20Apr10, NYT
• Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1 grass Opens, 23Apr10, BK Paper
• drop.io’s Steven Greenwood, 19Apr10, BHB
• BBMG Leases at 20 Jay St, 18Apr10, Crain’s
• BKLYN Designs Sneak Peek, 22Apr10, Inhabitat

Wow that was fast. This 70 Washington Street penthouse (PH-L) that was on the market on February 4 closed its sale on April 12 for $3,850,000 ($1,808 per square foot). The listing entered into contract on March 5, only a month after being in the market. The asking price was $4,200,000, so the sold price was -8.3%.

Elsewhere:
{Brownstoner: Last Week’s Biggest Sales, 20Apr2010}
{Streeteasy.com listing}
{On the Market: Gorgeous 70 Washington PH, 05Feb2010}