Empire Stores and Dumbo Comic


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Here’s an oldie but goodie from Octupus Pie. Octopus Pie is an ongoing comic series about two women living in Brooklyn, NY – their jobs, social circles, and some problems. In this episode, the dialogue is about the Empire Stores and how Dumbo was named.

“You know why this neighborhood’s called Dumbo, right?”
“It’s an acronym, let’s see…District of Urbania’s Most Blatantly Overpriced, right?”
“Har har.”
“It was cheap in the 1970s. The artists who moved into these run-down factories named it.”
“They thought an ugly name would deter contractors from moving in.”
“Oh please, leave it to bohos to sanitize a scaary place and get mad when the yuppies arrive.”
“They meant well. I can’t blame them, really.”
“After all, Dumbo was always beautiful. It just took a bit of marketing for people to notice.”

And notice they did.