12/15/15 4:49pm

Keanu Reeves in Dumbo

New York fans of Bill & Ted, Point Break, and The Matrix have been reporting Keanu Reeves sightings across the city since October, when production began on the sequel to the action star’s surprise hit John Wick. A classic revenge pic with a healthy dose of Hong Kong-style “gun fu,” John Wick was popular with moviegoers and critics alike, and was a comeback of sorts for the 51-year-old Reeves.

Today Gothamist reported that Reeves was filming on a rooftop in Dumbo, along with Matrix co-star Lawrence Fishburne. No word yet on why Wick is seeking out revenge this time — we hope his replacement dog makes it through the film all right — but Fishburne appears to be playing some sort of pigeon hobbyist. Maybe Wick needs some pigeons to fly in the background during a slow-motion, John Woo–style fight?

Dumbo bridge photo by Phil Roeder via Flickr

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12/11/15 5:51pm

brooklyn-doors-poster-for-sale

On September 22, Brownstoner launched an Instagram photo challenge in honor of the iconic “The Doors of Brooklyn” poster. Yesterday, they released the final re-creation featuring 30 stunning doors collected from all of their submissions. Click here to own one of these Brooklyn statement pieces.

The campaign paid homage to Sweeney, the successful local architect, Brooklyn resident and gifted photographer who made the original poster in 2004. To commemorate the first anniversary of his passing, we asked our readers to submit their own photos of their favorite Brooklyn doors. Printed in Brooklyn, this limited-edition giclée poster is printed with archival-quality ink.

Feeling lucky? Enter the raffle for a chance to win a free poster!

11/11/15 9:01am

One Main Street and Empire Stores

 

The short answer: DUMBO stands for

 

“Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass”

 

According to Crane Davis, a writer and producer who lived in the neighborhood from 1976 to 2006, he was part of the “naming committee” in 1978:

A naming committee consisting of Selby Beebe, Crane Davis, Monte Davis and John Donovan was appointed. After much sitting around and drinking beer, to a point where none of us could remember who had suggested what, we came up with two alternatives:

DUMBO: Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass
DANYA: District Around the Navy Yard Annex

The choice was presented to the community at a huge loft party and the results weren’t even close. It was DUMBO by a landslide. Everyone agreed that it had just the right kind of Dadaist anti-marketing positioning to protect our turf from developers: who, after all, would spend a million dollars for a loft in a place called DUMBO?

Who, indeed.

That seems pretty clear. But is that what it should stand for?

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