Holiday craft fair with local artisans and vendors
Saturday, December 3, 2011, 10:30am-5:00pm
Brooklyn Friends School, 375 Pearl Street, Brooklyn NY

Bring your kids age 4-8yrs for fun with food! Anna Harrington will guide the kids in making modernist fantasy ginger bread houses. We will listen to Christmas classics while working and enjoy apple cider and Swedish ginger cookies as a snack.

Saturday December 3rd, 3:30-4:30pm
*This is a drop-off event*

RSVP to annahconsulting@me.com
fee for the class is $25 per child

Pomme (pommenyc.com)
81 Washington Street, Brooklyn NY 11201
facebook.com/PommeNYC

Grimaldi’s move to 1 Front Street is delayed due to an untimely death in the family and the Department of Buildings has issued a stop-work order at the 1 Front Street location. According to the BOD website, the stop work order issued on 11/28/2011 is for “illegally installed coal burning oven @ 1st floor done w/o propper approvals & presents a potential danger to patrons”.

Russell Ciolli, son of Frank Ciolli, both owners of Grimaldi’s Pizza, died last Wednesday at 39. Our condolences go out to the Ciolli family.

Related:
{Patsy Grimaldi’s Coming out of Retirement to Take Over Original Pizza Location}
{Grimaldi’s Move POSTPONED Due To Death In The Family, Gothamist}
{Grimaldi’s Coal-Oven Troubles At New Location, HuffPo}
{Tragic News for Grimaldi’s, Grub Street}
{City blocks new Grimaldi’s from opening over illegal oven, Brooklyn Daily}

What: DUMBO ART Happening, Curated by ADLER A.F., Berlin/Germany
When: 11/29/2011, 7-10pm
Where: 68 Jay Street, #611, Brooklyn, New York 11201

Dumbo-Hot In A Disco- Art Happening — A ‘pump and grind’ event on November 29th, 7 – 10 pm, 68 Jay Street, Brooklyn, with a diverse group of artists who all share a devout commitment to their craft: John Ensor Parker, Janet Cristenfeld and Emil Memon with paintings, Charles von Herrlich and Manzoni with sculpture, Gregory de la Haba film stills and ADLER A.F. with her eponymous trash art. Its a meeting of visions, themes, ideas and ideologies.

The show’s German, Berlin based curator ADLER A.F. explains, vis a vis her grand motto IN ART WE TRUST:

“It’s sort of a spontaneous guerrilla event, devised between the participating artists and myself from dialogue we shared over the last month about the economy and the artist’s response, feelings, towards it. In this moment & time all the arts the world over are in the crosshairs of an financial ‘perfect storm’; rising rents and production costs amid an economic meltdown within the Eurozone and with ‘frozen’ American banks struggling to survive. It is a new world order where commerce dictates more and more complex interplay between artists, curators, institutions (commercial and non profit alike), dealers, art critic/advisor/writer hustlers, art fares, public or private money, etc., etc., it would be nice to simply cut through all of this with a simple gesture: To find a space and come together to share each other’s work and discuss. A desire for camaraderie amongst all artist types with sincere, unabashed and raucous conversation about our livelihoods, about our art. Art exists only in this transaction between the creator and the viewer. It?s an intimate experience not unlike sex. The disco is getting hotter!”

After Brooklyn Eagle Claw Kung Fu left the neighborhood, there lacked a martial arts school in Dumbo. Last week, Josh Paul opened Aikido of South Brooklyn (AOSB) at 68 Jay Street #509. Aikido is a traditional Japanese martial art of self-defense. Aikido translates as “the way of harmonizing with energy.” It relies on principles of balance, timing, and spacing, rather than size, strength, and might, and is accessible to people of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The goal of aikido’s techniques and philosophy is to control aggression without inflicting injury. It is a system of self-defense and a path to develop positive character. Training at Aikido of South Brooklyn focuses on the technical, martial and artistic aspects of aikido, as well as its potential for individual growth and development.

Classes are available for children ages 6-13 and adults.

“We are very excited to have this opportunity to share our art with the DUMBO community,” said Josh Paul, AOSB’s head instructor. “Aikido is safe, practical, and affordable for people of all ages. It is about self-defense and self-improvement. It is not about fighting and competition. We look forward to expanding our already large youth program and growing adult practice here in Dumbo.”

For more information about Paul sensei and Aikido of South Brooklyn, check out their website. Welcome to Dumbo, Aikido of South Brooklyn!

Aikido of South Brooklyn (www.aikidoofsouthbrooklyn.com)
68 Jay St, #509 Brooklyn, NY 11201
718-612-6334
josh@mindbodyartsinc.com
www.facebook.com/aikidoofsouthbrooklyn

Davina Zagury is offering a family portrait promotion in Dumbo on Thursday. For $250, you will receive:

• 30 min. photo session (Maximum of 4 family members)
• Credit of $100 towards ordering custom prints printed on luster paper
• Two high resolution images (can be used for greeting cards and large prints)
• An easy, private-access link to preview and order your images online
• You will also have the opportunity to order extra prints and high resolutions images on a CD for an additional cost.

Style and lighting example as seen in the image above. Because of the style of the photos, it is highly recommended to wear colorful, solid colored clothing such as Red, Green, Purple, Burgundy, Dark Blue. Light colors or patterns are not recommended.

Details:
Date: December 3, 2011
Hours: 10:00am-5:30pm
Location: 10 Jay Street, 7th floor, Suite #709 Dumbo in Brooklyn

To RSVP, go to davinaz.brownbookit.com/schedules/familypromotion

(Photo by Ludovic Bertron)

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

• The real story behind Brooklyn Bridge, 21Nov11, BK Paper
• Renderings Of Proposed Brooklyn Bridge Park Development , 25Nov11, Gothamist
• Listing of the Week: Bachelor Pad Clock Tower, 22Nov11, MSNBC
• What Television Writers Don’t Get About Brooklyn, 22Nov11, the Atlantic
• Eagle’s Report Wrong on 30 Henry Condo Height, 22Nov11, BHB
• BHB Social at Vineapple on 12/14, 25Nov11, BHB
• Brooklyn Bridge Park Development Raises Questions, 23Nov11, BK Eagle
• City shows off big park plans, 23Nov11, BK Paper
• Brunch in DUMBO: Top Ten Restaurants, 24Nov11, About
• Olga Bloom, Creator Of Bargemusic, Dies At 92, 25Nov11, Gothamist
• Olga Bloom, creator of the beloved Bargemusic, dies at 92, 26Nov11, BK Paper
• Patsy Grimaldi to regain DUMBO throne, 25Nov11, BK Paper
• Illegal’ install may KO Grimaldi’s move, 26Nov11, NYP

Less than a week after news broke about Grimaldi’s moving next door to 1 Front Street, the NY Post published an article that Patsy Grimaldi will come out of retirement to open, or rather re-open, a pizza restaurant next to the newly moved Grimaldi’s Pizza. Patsy Grimaldi, the founder of Grimaldi’s sold his restaurant to current owner, Frank Ciolli in 1998. This is not the first time Patsy has come out of retirement. In 2006, he temporarily opened a pizza location at Aviator Sports & Recreation complex at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. The 80 year old Patsy told the NY Times in 2006 that “I’ve been retired — it was a big mistake.” In today’s NY Post article, Patsy tells them “A year after I sold Grimaldi’s, I was very sorry,” Grimaldi told The Post. “So when Mr. Waxman called me and asked if I wanted to come back, I thought I was dreaming. I couldn’t say ‘yes’ fast enough.” Mark (and Dorothy) Waxman, the landlord at 19 Old Fulton Street decided not to renew Ciolli’s lease. Last year, Ciolli and the Waxmans had a falling out over back taxes and lost his right to renew his lease.

The new Patsy Grimaldi restaurant will be called Juliana’s, after his late mother and plans to open in March 2012. Patsy plans to be at the restaurant daily. More importantly, Patsy will take over the coal-fired brick oven, which is said to give pizza a unique smokey flavor and a crisp crust that is just not possible with gas, convection, or wood ovens. Ciolli on Monday told the Post “he welcomed “competition” and would apply for city permission to acquire another coal-fired brick oven”. However, “environmental regulations also make it hard to build new coal ovens. Nowadays in New York City, coal ovens can only be rebuilt or replaced under an environmental grandfather clause — not installed from scratch. Pizza makers have become architectural historians, seeking out spaces that once housed a coal-burning oven, like old bakeries or restaurants.” (ref. NY Times, 10 June 1998) A list of coal oven pizzerias on the Slice list include Grimaldi’s and Totonno’s in Brooklyn.

While the Grimaldi’s and Juliana’s pizzerias will be neighbors in Fulton Ferry Landing, both Frank Ciolli and Patsy Grimaldi seem to welcome a friendly competition. Patsy says “There’s enough business in that area for three Grimaldi’s to do well,” and Frank tells the Post that “he welcomed competition”. With Wild Rise Pizza (68 Jay Street), Ignazio’s (4 Water Street), and Front Street Pizza (80 Front Street) in Dumbo, the pizza game will be on!

Patsy Grimaldi (left) and Frank Ciolli (right) (Photo by Brigitte Stelzer, The Brooklyn Paper)

According to a Curbed NY post, PropertyShark published their quarterly list of the most expensive neighborhoods (based on median closing price for each neighborhood). PropertyShark noted that Dumbo was one of the most expensive NYC neighborhoods in Q2 2011. In Q3 2011, Dumbo moved up one notch. Curbed writes, “Dumbo continued to rise in the ranks (up from #4 last quarter to #3), and Tribeca overtook Soho for the top spot.” Median sales price in Dumbo for Q3 was $1,460,000, which increased by 39% over Q2 (which was tops in NYC) and percentage change over the year was 99%. PropertyShark’s listings of the most expensive sales in Dumbo last quarter were:

• 30 Main Street, #11G sold for $2.8MM on 7/11/2011. 2,474 sqft ($1,131/sqft), 3bed, 2.5bath, $2,035/mo cc, (PropertyShark listing)
• 31 Washington Street, #15 (aka #6B) sold for $2.8MM on 8/23/2011. 3,194 sqft ($970/sqft), Open floor plan, 2.5bath, $843/mo cc, (Featured on Brownstoner)

A commenter on Curbed notes: “So the neighborhood with the highest rate of appreciation is DUMBO. The neighborhood with the 2nd highest appreciation over the year was Boreum Hill. IN BROOKLYN. So Brooklyn snags the top 2 slots for housing appreciation in all of NYC. Surprised West Village didn’t make the top 10 though.” Is Dumbo WAY too bubbly for its own good?

Related:
{Dumbo Is One of the Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods (Q2 2011)}

A commercial building with 3 loft units at 46 Old Fulton Street just came on the market on Friday. Brownstoner featured one of the 5,000 sqft lofts for rent last month for $12,000 per month, still listed by Awaye Realty. This 1925 built building is 41 x 98.58 sqft with 8 full baths and 16,000 sqft was sold for $2,900,000 in August 2010, according to Everyblock.

There are two commercial spaces on the ground level and 3 floor through lofts, one per floor. The Fillmore listing says that the “side wall has a billboard which can be rented for $15,000 per month.” For 20% down ($1.4MM) and loan amount of $5.6MM, that’s roughly $30k per month of mortgage (at 5%). If half that can be paid for by the billboard, leasing 3 lofts for $5k covers the mortgage.

Is there a hitch? Unless there isn’t an updated Certificate of Occupancy on the NYC.gov website, the listed C of O of the building states that it cannot be used by more than 2 families. Are we reading this wrong? Either way, it’s an attractive building (for investment potential) across the street from what will be Grimaldi’s new home at 1 Front Street, next to the Eagle Warehouse coop building, but with plenty of traffic passing it.

[Update: A reader pointed out, "If you look closer at the C of O pdf, you will see that there are actually 2 distinct properties included in the 4 pages. The latter half, with the 2 families notation, is not for this building."]

(Photos from Awaye Realty)

{NYC.gov BIS: 46 Old Fulton St}
{Propertyshark.com listing for 46 Old Fulton St}