A tipster sent us an email about the entrance to the 202 Plymouth Street building, which is located within the Dumbo Historic District and features rail tracks entering the building.

Walked down Plymouth St btwn Jay & Bridge the other day to find a massive hole in the ground in front of Gutman/GUMA garage/loading dock @ 202 Plymouth St. The sidewalk there has always been horrible, but their big dumpster trucks finally destroyed the street. They filled it in with sand making quite a mess and then tore up the sidewalk & cobble stones w/ a backhoe and have now poured concrete into it.

See pictures. Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic of the hole, but it was at least a foot wide and a foot or two deep.

I called 311 and they looked up if there was any approved work w/ DOT on the cobble stones or the street and they found none so i entered a complaint. I know the 311 complaint will do nothing, but this was done in complete disregard for the Landmarks designation we are in. Any possible ramifications or will Gutman keep doing as he wishes?

Also now that we are designated a residential neighborhood are there not laws that restrict loud trucks late night, because GUMA runs their dumpsters at all hours of the night…

We walked over early today on our way to work and while it’s not clear in the photos, cement was poured over the area on and around the tracks. We also called 311 to find out more, but did not get details. Nothing on the Dept of Buildings property records for 202 Plymouth indicate work being done there (DOB BIS listing link).

According to the Landmark Designation report, the building was built in 1903 and was a one story brick foundry for the E. W. Bliss Company with gable end facing street and peaked roof (they manufactured machines, tools, presses, dies, and sheet metal), later sold to the Brillo Company (which invented “Brillo” by combining steel wool and a reddish soap to clean metal utensils in what we now know as Dumbo). Bliss invented a machine for stamping out sheet-metal cans which were initially used for kerosene and paint.

If anyone has more info, please let us know or comment below.