According to a press release from Public Advocate, Bill de Blasio, they have launched a new website that exposes the landlords behind some of the city’s most dangerous and dilapidated buildings including 96 in Brooklyn:

“The Public Advocate’s NYC’s Worst Landlords Watch List is the first resource allowing tenants to look up a current or potential landlord by name and see code violations for other buildings the landlord owns. The Watch List is available online at advocate.nyc.gov/landlord-watchlist.”

According to the city, 311 receives more calls regarding landlord complaints than any other topic, so this site should be a useful resource for residents who deserve better conditions. According to the website, there’s nothing in Dumbo that shows any code violations, but Brooklyn has the most landlord violations. Let’s hope they also follow the new state bill that passed yesterday requiring landlords to tell prospective tenants about bedbug infestatoins at an apartment within the past year.

{Landlord Watchlist site}

The Fulton Ferry Landing Association (FFLA) noted on their blog that contractors have been clearing out 11, 13, and 15 Old Fulton Street to reduce the load on the structures, under the supervision of the DOB’s forensic engineering division, as we posted three weeks ago.

“we have been informed by Landmarks that the owner has retained a new engineer to revise the shoring and bracing plans. (Some of you may have seen him taking measurements at the buildings in the last week.) According to the LPC, it should take one to two weeks before the revised plans are submitted to the DOB and the LPC. Since progress on the stabilization plan continues, the DOB has approved extending the hold on demolition until September 8th.”

However, the FFLA still notes that it does not mean these historic structures are saved. They suggest that you send an email to the “Commissioner of Buildings, Robert LiMandri, the Borough Commissioner, Thomas Fariello, and cc our electeds.” (sample email).

(Thanks to Fulton Ferry Landing Association for the photo.)

Previously:
{Scaffolding Going up on Old Fulton Street, 12Aug2010}
{Full Vacate Order at 9 Old Fulton Street, 10Aug2010}
{Vacate Order on 11-15 Old Fulton Street, 13Apr2010}
{Old Fulton Street Townhomes Under Contract, 30Nov2007}
{Three Vacant Buildings on Old Fulton Street, 18Jan2007}

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

• PaperGirl Rolls Into Dumbo, 26Aug10, RWK
• Man Cave Experts Open Store in DUMBO, 23Aug10, BHB
• Modern Anthology: A Sophisticated Man Cave, 23Aug10, Racked
• DUMBO gets its first traffic signal, 24Aug10, BK Paper
• Cold Storage Warehouse RIP, 25Aug10, Brownstoner
• A Dumbo Visit, 23Aug10, A Baked Creation
• Dumbo Getting Very Own Stoplight, 23Aug10, Brownstoner
• Superfine- Bluegrass Brunch, 26Aug10, NYT
• Storm Troopers Invade DUMBO, 27Aug10, BHB
• T.K. Small Talks Brooklyn Bridge Park Gravel, 25Aug10, BHB
• Walkabout: The Manhattan Bridge, 26Aug10, Brownstoner
• 100 Jay Street, #4D, 24Aug10, Brownstoner
• Brooklyn Bridge Park Tobacco Warehouse RFP, 25Aug10, BHB
• Joyent Launches New Smart Solution for Digital Agencies, 25Aug10, PR

We’ve had many readers concerned about the asbestos mitigation ‘huts’ that have gone up on Washington/Main and Washington/Water Streets a few days ago. We were told that this is was planned, and asked the Dumbo Improvement District for an update.

From the Dumbo Improvement District:

Asbestos abatement, planned as part of Water Street Project (Project Number SEK002355), has started and is scheduled to be completed in approximately 2-3 weeks. Fiber Control Inc. has been hired for the asbestos abatement and will be working in the tunnels on the following streets:

Water St. B/T Washington St. and Main St. (Street & Intersection)
Front St. B/T Washington St.and Adams St. (Street & Intersection)

The work will take place daily, Monday – Friday, from 7:00AM to 3:30PM.

If you have any questions, please contact the Community Construction Liaison, Paul Kidder at 718-643-2850.

Previously:
{Construction Around Dumbo Through 2011+}

Whether you’re a New Yorker or looking to move to NYC, most people turn to neighborhood websites such as Curbed or Brownstoner to find out more about what’s going on. In addition, once you narrow your area of interest to specific neighborhoods, there’s no shortage of blogs in NYC that cover every square block. For information on Dumbo, (we hope) people stumble here (DumboNYC.com). For Brooklyn Heights, there’s Brooklyn Heights Blog. And so on. But how do you sort out the 86 or so neighborhoods in Brooklyn?

NabeWise is a neighborhood ratings and an online resource that helps you find a place that fits your values, interests, and lifestyle. According to their site, you can use NabeFinder to search for neighborhoods based on 24 attributes. They include user-generated content for reviews and photos and from social networking sites such as Foursquare for each of the 266 neighborhoods in NYC.

So where does Dumbo rank? Dumbo has a reputation for being “trendy, artsy, industrial, upscale, gritty, and expensive” according to a word cloud on the Dumbo page. Out of 266 neighborhoods, Dumbo’s highest rankings were:

• Beautiful People (8th)
• Gay/Lesbian (9th)
• Median Home Price (12th)
• Liberals (13th)
• Exclusive/Prestigious (15th)

Beautiful people is subjective, but maybe its the filming of movies or area celebrities that add to this ranking; Gay/Lesbian community is strong, and home prices are tops in Brooklyn. Overall lowest were:

• Parking (183rd)
• Rent (2BR) (136th)
• Public Transportation (94th)
• Parks (93rd)
• Quiet (86th)

Yes, parking is more difficult to come by with the ongoing construction and increased residents, rent (and real estate) is expensive, and Dumbo has never known to be quiet. However, I’m not sure if I’d agree with parks or public transportation. Brooklyn Bridge Park access and subway access is not bad with the A, C, F in the area.

Check out the Dumbo scorecard on NabeWise, and put in your two cents if you agree or disagree. What words or phrases come to mind when you think of Dumbo?

Related:
{NYMag’s Most Livable Neighborhoods List, 12Apr2010}
{Dumbo Named Best Manhattanized Brooklyn Neighborhood, 19Oct2007}

(Photo by Jane Kratochvil)

As mentioned in the press, the Brooklyn Bridge is being rehabilitated and repainted (funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). Its ramps and approaches have been rated in poor condition. According to the Brooklyn Heights Association (as reported by the Brooklyn Heigths Blog), overnight closures of all three Manhattan-bound traffic lanes on the Brooklyn Bridge, started on Monday August 23rd.

Most of the construction will occur during overnight hours:

• On weekday nights: the closing hours are 11 pm – 6 am
• On Saturdays: from midnight to 7 am
• On Sundays: from 11 pm to 9 am.

During the daytime, single lane closures may occur in each direciton during off-peak hours. Other notes:

• The bridge will reopen to traffic in both directions each morning.
• All Manhattan-bound traffic will be detoured to the Manhattan Bridge or other crossings.
• All Brooklyn-bound traffic will be maintained, and there will be no closure of the pedestrian/cycling promenade.

completion is scheduled for 2014. Further details on the Department of Transportation notice (brooklyn_bridge_brochure.pdf) and on NY Daily News.

Seen: Street art on a street sign in Dumbo with commentary about reality tv via an image that looks like a movie poster. The sign reads: “Reality Killed the Video Star” The Horror – The Terror – The Implants

You may have seen other works by Russell King, such as this sunflower under the Manhattan Bridge.

Previously: posts tagged “streetart”

Since we posted about the 25 Washington St progress in July, construction on the top addition has begun, according to
Brownstoner. Steel beam frames are in place for the penthouse floors.

Also, the 25 Washington Street is on the agenda at the next Landmarks Preservation Commission hearing on September 7, 2010. An application has been submitted “to establish a master plan governing the future installation of windows.”

Previously:
{25 Washington Rentals to Open in March 2011, 23Jul2010}
{25 Washington St Progress, 14Jul2010}

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

• 11-15 Old Fulton Update, 20Aug10, FFLA
• Foursquare Mayors Compete for Stabber Park, 18Aug10, NYT
• Dude, The BBP Bike Path Is Open!, 20Aug10, Brownstoner
• Dumbo General Store Review, 16Aug10, whoatethebigapple
• Grimaldi’s Gets One More Year, 16Aug10, LMag
• New Facade at TRUNK, 16Aug10, Trunk
• Bike Lane Victory, 16Aug10, Ink Lake
• Ridiculous Lines at Grimaldi’s , 16Aug10, McBrooklyn
• Brooklyn Tech: Etsy, 19Aug10, BHB
• Dumbo Dubbed an “Urban Wonderland”, 15Aug10, Curbed
• Deluka in Dumbo, 17Aug10, onelouderphoto.com
• Do You Have Brooklyn Cred?, 18Aug10, LMag
• LPC to Review 25 Washington St, 19Aug10, BK Eagle
• Your travel photos – Down in DUMBO, 20Aug10, StarNews
• Dumbo’s SnapGoods, 21Aug10, WSJ
• 25 Washington Rooftop Addition In View, 20Aug10, Brownstoner
• Checking in on 100 Gold, 20Aug10, Brownstoner
• P.S.8 Topped Out, 16Aug10, Brownstoner
• Bike Path To Connect Brooklyn Bridge Parks, 19Aug10, Gothamist

Another development that shows that Dumbo is ‘growing up’ (read: gentrified), Dumbo is getting its first stoplight on the corner of Jay and York Street. The DOT crews were pouring concrete in the foundation this afternoon to install the base of the streetlights (photo of base). This corner is near the F station entrance and gets busy with pedestrians in the morning and afternoon.

We guessed correctly, after the Dumbo Improvement District tweeted a message with a photo yesterday of lamp post being removed. Not confirmed yet, but there are talks about having other stop lights on Washington and York Street and on Front and Pearl Adams Street. [correction: There's a request for a stop sign (not light) on Front and Pearl, and not Adams as originally posted.]

We’re no city planners, but with the increased number of pedestrians in the area, the lights should help avoid any accidents…in theory. Do you think this will help our neighborhood? Are there other corners that need a stop light?