Dumbo NYC

Dumbo Improvement District Executive Director Tucker Reed and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz last evening unveiled the First Annual “Dumbo Light Capades,” a display of holiday-themed light sculptures by local artists scattered about Brooklyn Bridge Park that will be on display until January 7, 2007. State Senator Martin Connor as well as many local business owners were in attendance. Dumbo retailer Jacques Torres offered hot chocolate to attendees, while live holiday music from musicians arranged by Bargemusic kept everyone humming.

After Marty Markowitz spoke about the great borough of Brooklyn and honored the bridge named after it, the architectural lighting installation illuminating the Empire Stores building in the Park was lit in green and red. The lighting is designed by Brendon Boyd, known for his work with such clients as Ralph Lauren, Adidas, Cipriani and The American Ballet Theater.

[UPDATE: Check out the ceremony recap and photos here.]

First Annual Brooklyn Bridge Park Holiday Lighting Ceremony
New Take On Traditional Holiday Lighting Ceremony Fuses Art and Illumination in the Form of Six Holiday-Themed Light Sculptures Along the Waterfront

When: Tuesday, December 5, 2006 at 6:00pm
Where: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Entrance at the corner of Washington and Plymouth Streets
Who: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, State Senator Martin Connor, Brooklyn Arts Council, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, NYC Department of Transportation.

“At six p.m. on Tuesday, December 5th, a once dark Brooklyn waterfront will be illuminated for the holiday season with the lighting of six winning “light sculptures” — the result of a contest sponsored by the Dumbo Improvement District. The sculptures will be dramatically set against the backdrop of DUMBO’s Empire Stores, newly lit with an architectural lighting installation from famed lighting designed Brendon Boyd. Boyd is known for his work with such clients as Ralph Lauren, Adidas, Cipriani and The American Ballet Theater.

The riverfront “turn-on” will transform the cityscape as part of a unique holiday lighting ceremony that blends creativity and ingenuity with the holiday spirit. Local artists, designers and architects participated in the contest; winning proposals were selected by a panel of judges from representatives of the Brooklyn Arts Council, the d.u.m.b.o. Arts Center, Jan Larsen Art Gallery, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Parks & Recreation. The lighting for the Empire Stores building in the Park, was commissioned by local real estate developer Two Trees Management Co. LLC in coordination with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The “DUMBO Light Capades” will be on display in Brooklyn Bridge Park until January 7, 2007″

Holiday reception to follow at:
Water Street Restaurant & Lounge, DUMBO
66 Water Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
6:30pm - 9:00pm

Brooklyn Bridge Park is one of the largest parks proposed in Brooklyn since Prospect Park was created 140 years ago. The park is an 85 acre stretch from Atlantic Avenue to Dumbo currently with unused piers, boating docks, and storage warehouses. The Downtown Brooklyn Local Development Corporation is conducting a $1million study to explore ways for people to get to the park. The Brooklyn Queens Expressway divides the park from Dumbo and Brooklyn Heights, and doesn’t have too many parking options nearby. So the study is considering alternative options to get there.

According to the Brooklyn Papers article:

…On Wednesday, planners also said they would ensure that the aesthetics of any future elevator would be in context with the affluent neighborhood — the city’s first landmark district…

…But already, Brooklyn Heights civic leaders are expressing renewed opposition to such a connection.

“We have concerns about marring the landmark or obstructing the view,” said Irene Janner, a member of the Brooklyn Heights Association. “I have trouble imagining how [a connection] could work.”

I mapped out the five proposed entrances and the nearby subway stations. The Downtown Brooklyn Local Development Corporation is also looking into a stairway or elevator from the Brooklyn Heights promenade, either at or near #3 or #4. I have safety concerns about the tunnel option. A walkway/stairway from the promenade will provide better visibility from a safety standpoint and with the views, it could be a grand entrance to the park. Parking will still be an issue, but if the planning goes well, people should be able to walk from the A/C, 2/3, or F stations nearby.

The proposed park entrances are at:

• John Street (1)
• Fulton Ferry Landing (2)
• Squibb Park at Middagh Street (3)
• Joralemon Street (4)
• Atlantic Avenue (5)

{Google map of Brooklyn Bridge Park area}
{Planners again consider Promenade ‘park’ link, Brooklyn Papers}
{The Park Plan, Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservatory}

StreetsBlog first mentioned the news release from the Downtown Brooklyn Waterfront Local Development Corporation yesterday. From the press release:

The study will kick off with an open public meeting to be held at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 4 at the auditorium at St. Francis College. The meeting will be the first in a series of open public meetings to discuss access issues concerning the new park.

Sam Schwartz PLLC will be leading a multi-disciplinary team of traffic engineers, transportation planners and architects studying various transportation and access alternatives. The study will focus solely on an examination of how to improve transportation and access to-and-from the park. The study will explore a variety of topics including potential vertical connections from Brooklyn Heights, subway access, bike lanes, greenway connections, jitney buses, waterborne transportation and improved pedestrian accommodations on Old Fulton Street and Atlantic Avenue.

I personally hope that Brooklyn Bridge Park will be like Vancouver’s Granville Island, an urban planning success story. It has wonderful public spaces, a great farmer’s market and restaurants, local crafts, stores, and brings in local people and tourists. Parking is tight, but controlled and there are other means of public transportation to the area. Brooklyn Bridge Park has the luxury of more space and a long waterfront, so let’s hope community organizations such as Brooklyn Bridge Park Defense Fund and local politicians can learn from other urban success stories. What’s your ideal BB Park?

Also seen on:
{Checking Back in on Brooklyn Bridge Park, Gowanus Lounge}
{Aiming to Reduce Car Use Around Brooklyn’s New Park, StreetsBlog}
{Waterfront Park Aims to Reduce Car Use, Brooklyn Record}

   Photo by alba

Date: Thursday, September 21, 2006
Location: Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park

Grab a blanket or lawn chair and go to Movies With a View for a special double feature of
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure at 7:00 p.m.
The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert at 9:00 p.m.

Shows are FREE!

Movies With a View features fresh-popped popcorn, beach chair rentals, refreshments by RICE, and one of New York City’s most spectacular views.

Visit BrooklynBridgePark.org for more information.

82 DECIBELS by Larry Keigwin
Sun, Sept. 17, 1:30 and 5:00 PM
Tues., Sept 19, 6 PM
Tobacco Warehouse in Empire Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park
FREE!!!

“A wacky romp for 25 pedestrians and dancers, inspired by the actual sound level at the Tobacco Warehouse, and by the nature of city sidewalk traffic. Expanded from the seven-minute work Keigwin created for last year’s BREAKING GROUND- A Dance Charrette.”

From NY Times:

Last summer Dancing in the Streets presented its first “dance charrette,” in which five choreographers were asked to fashion a short dance for a site they were told about only five days before. There has already been a second installment this summer, but a hit from the 2005 show, Larry Keigwin’s “82 Decibels,” will be presented again this week in expanded form (20 minutes, not 7) at the 2005 site, the picturesque Tobacco Warehouse in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Last year this involved 23 dancers gabbing into cellphones and being propelled horizontally along one of the warehouse’s brick walls. Today at 1:30 and 5 p.m. and Tuesday at 6 p.m., rain or shine, Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, (212) 635-3505 or dancinginthestreets.org

For more details, go to www.brooklynbridgepark.org.

“CITIZENS BY ANY OTHER NAME”
with Don Byron and Music For Six Musicians, Alejandro Escovedo, and Suzanne Vega
4 - 7 PM, gates open at 3:15 pm
Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park section of Brooklyn Bridge Park

This free late afternoon concert, outdoors on the dramatic Brooklyn Bridge Park waterfront, features three great musical stars plus special guests. The virtuoso clarinetist / composer Don Byron and his Music For Six Musicians ensemble, and two brilliantly articulate singer-songwriters - Austin, Texas-based Alejandro Escovedo and New York City native Suzanne Vega - will each perform sets of original music on a theme of the Immigrant Society in today’s America.

For more details, go to www.brooklynbridgepark.org.

Navy Street (Sands St. to Hudson Ave)

The Brooklyn Greenway Initiative is a project to create a connection between numerous waterfront communities now divided by highways and transit infrastructure for waterfront access, bike trails along 14 miles of Brooklyn waterfront.

The planned pathway spans from Greenpoint to Navy Yards, Vinegar Hill, and Dumbo down to Red Hook. For joggers, bikers, and pedestrians, the route through Vinegar Hill and Dumbo would give a good view of the bridges and the waterfront:

Route in Vinegar Hill - Ideal route for Brooklyn Bridge Park and proximity to waterfront is Gold St. to John St. to the Jay St. park gateway. This could result in a segment of unique character through an historic neighborhood.

Looks like the project may finish by the time the Brooklyn Bridge Park is scheduled to finish around 2010.

{Brooklyn Greenway Initiative via The Brooklyn Record}

With features like The Battle for the Soul of Brooklyn in NY Magazine or Time Out New York’s “Battleground: Brooklyn” series, there are some sharp areas of disagreement on keeping the Brooklyn neighborhood’s sense of place rather than recreating Manhattan in Brooklyn.

An editorial viewpoint in today’s Brooklyn Daily Eagle writes that there is a school of thought that the changes in Brooklyn is an “invasion from Manhattan to destroy Brooklyn as we know it:”

An aversion to ‘Manhattanitis’ would have prevented DUMBO from happening. After all, weren’t old lofts and factory buildings in Tribeca and SoHo converted to homes? Then it shouldn’t have been done in DUMBO.

On the other hand, Forest City Ratner’s planned “Miss Brooklyn” is at least original as are the plans for Brooklyn Bridge Park, which are not replicas of anything…”if all of it can be built as designed, there will simply be nothing quite like it anywhere.” Not sure if I agree with the scope of Bruce Ratner’s proposed 22-acre Atlantic Yards development with 19 to 58 story glass and steel buildings, but I guess it’s pretty unique.
{Brooklyn Development: Not Just a Copy of Manhattan, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 8/24/06}