Dumbo NYC

While we are on the topic of the crumbling townhouses of Old Fulton Street yesterday, it appears that Grimaldi’s (19 Old Fulton Street) is also crumbling (so to speak) under back payments owed to the landlord. Apparently, the long lines at Grimaldi’s isn’t enough for restaurant owner Frank Ciolli to pay back rent of $44,000 to the landlord, Dorothy Waxman. So Ms. Waxman has served eviction papers. “The landlord will ask a state Supreme Court judge in Brooklyn to throw out her famous tenant”, according to the story in the Wall Street Journal. The article states that “Mr. Ciolli also has set aside money to pay August’s rent and $7,000 in attorney’s fees, and can pay the $38,000 for a security deposit, but Mrs. Waxman’s attorney has refused the money. “He’s trying to create a default,” Ciolli’s attorney Mr. Perrella said.”

Even if things end well this week for Mr. Ciolli, he’s lost his right to renew his lease, so the restaurant would likely leave the space next fall. Mr. Ciolli plans to open a pizzeria on Sixth Avenue and 20th Street in Manhattan.

The 1,100-square-foot storefront on Old Fulton Street is part of the city’s pizza lore, in part, because it houses one of the city’s few coal-fired ovens. Patsy Grimaldi, who learned the art from a renowned pie-making uncle, opened the restaurant in 1990, retiring in 1998 and selling the Grimaldi’s name to Mr. Ciolli. The restaurant is one of the city’s top-rated pizzerias in Zagat’s annual survey and has been featured on food shows and in pizza tours.

The city, too, is owed money: nearly $12,250 in property taxes and business improvement district charges, according to the Finance Department. Mr. Ciolli was responsible for paying taxes and city fees under the lease, courts papers say.

With the consistent lines and the recent $2 surcharge for the privilege of picking up pizza (a local’s “special”), why Grimaldi’s cannot pay rent and property taxes are a mystery to us.

[UPDATE: Gothamist reminded us that Grimaldi's had account mistakes in the past. In July 2007, they were shut down for a few hours because they owed the state $150,000 in taxes.]

Grimaldi’s Pizza (grimaldis.com)
19 Old Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718.858.4300

Munch Truck is a relatively new truck stationed on Washington Street in Dumbo. They serve breakfast and lunch foods. For breakfast, egg/bagel sandwiches and omlettes (breakfast menu photo). Lunch items include falafel sandwiches, gyros, chicken burgers, veggie burgers, and fries/onion rings (lunch menu photo). We tried the falafel sandwich with hummus sauce today and was pretty tasty. Let us know what you think.

DinDins Food, an all-natural and organic food delivery service for your toddler announced on their Twitter account, @DinDinsFood, that they have started service to Dumbo. Per their website:

Wasn’t it so easy when your child ate baby food? Don’t you wish there was quick, healthy, organic and all-natural toddler food that you could serve your child?

Rather than resorting to chicken nuggets or veggie burgers again, DinDins provides nutritious, kid-friendly, convenient meals for your toddler. With all the food groups incorporated in one meal, you don’t need to worry about serving a protein, starch and vegetable. No more trying to sneak vegetables into brownies. It’s just serving the foods you want in a way your toddler will love them.

DinDins meals are organic, all-natural and homemade prepared with only the freshest ingredients from recipes devised by a nutritionist and cook. There are no preservatives, additives or artificial ingredients. Because our foods do not contain additives, they come fresh, and are freezer stable for 3 weeks. And, they will be delivered right to your door. No hassles with grocery shopping, cooking nor making dinner in time for your toddler to eat it.

At only $2 – $3 per meal, you can’t go wrong!

For DumboNYC readers and Dumbo residents, they are offering a discount of $10 off your first order. Go to dindinsfood.com and use code WELCOMEDUMBO at checkout; good from now until the end of July.

Monday seems to be the food truck day on Front Street near Washington Street. The Rickshaw Dumpling Truck, wafels & dinges, and the Filafel truck were all seen on one block today.

Speaking of food, Brooklyn Bridge Gardens (5 Front Street) recently put up a slick new website (brooklynbridgegardens.com). How’s the food?

Syfy presents Brooklyn Bridge Park’s 11th Anniversary Season of Movies With A View summer 2010, this year on the newly opened Pier 1. The first one begins tomorrow, Thursday, July 8. The full schedule is below. Ditch Plains will sell prepared meals from the Pier 1 Gatehouse on Thursday nights for Movies with a View, and will be open full-time later in July.

Note: Movies start at dusk. Chairs are not permitted on the lawns and alcohol and glass bottles are not permitted in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Thursday, July 8
Feature Film: Annie Hall (PG) 1977, 93 min
Short: Abbie Cancelled by Dumb Bunny
DJ: Ursula 1000

Thursday, July 15
Feature Film: Monsters vs. Aliens presented in 3D (PG) –2009, 94 min
(no short this night)
DJ: DJ Lupe Loop

Thursday, July 22
Feature Film: The Big Lebowski (R) – 1998, 117 min
Short: Dock Ellis and the LSD No-No by Christopher Isenberg
DJ: Cosmo Baker

Thursday, July 29
Feature Film: Rear Window (PG) – 1954, 112 min
Short: Sketches from Great Gull by Nicholas Laviola
DJ: DJ DRM

Thursday, August 5
Feature Film: Brokeback Mountain (R) – 2005, 134 min
Short: Last Address by Ira Sachs
DJ: Soulstatic

Thursday, August 12
Feature Film: Dreamgirls (PG 13) – 2006, 130 min
Short: S From Hell by Rodney Ascher
DJ: DJ Conquerrah

Thursday, August 19
Feature Film: The Blues Brothers (R) – 1980, 133 min
Short: Mr. Okra by T.G. Herrington
DJ: Soulstatic

Thursday, August 26
Feature Film: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (PG 13) – 1989, 127 min
Short: Jerrycan by Julius Avery
DJ: DJ Emch

Thursday, September 2
Feature Film: Public Vote! Check back at brooklynbridgepark.org for details.

O’Crepes in Dumbo has been shut down by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. According to a @ocrepes Twitter status last week, “because of Landlord refusing to provide a restroom on the site Health Department closed us yesterday. What’s left for small business-hope!” OK, let’s hope they can reopen soon.

[UPDATE: O'Crepes posted a note (photo below) to let us know that they will "reopen soon." (Ed: Come on! Spell check and proper English please.)]

[UPDATE 2: Vik from O'Crepes commented to say that Green Desk has been helpful and supportive of their business. They are working to comply with city regulations. Oh and we didn't mean to give them a hard time
on the sign (I'm certainly not great with my English):
"Green Desk has been an amazing part of our business venture and we apologize for our twitter post that was unclear.There are some new city regulations that new york city business has to comply with--such as having a restroom directly on the site. These regulations are rather recent and therefor very unexpected.
Health Department shut us down at the middle of the lunch, leaving us very upset as to the chances of a small aspiring business such as O'crepes to survive. However, we found great support from Green Desk and we promise to open soon with more diverse menu, varied prices and delicious summer addition to our toppings.
We love you DUMBO and will do our best to keep your lunch and dinner options as healthy and delicious as possibly."]

Some people love taking photos of their food and blog about it. And others love sharing their opinions about food on sites like Yelp. Food critics have been around for a long time, but these days, they are like rock stars with groupies (or foodies) following every restaurant they review.

Join Gelf and other Big Apple gastronomes in a discussion of food criticism and the encroaching influence of blogs when Media Circus returns to the Brooklyn waterfront on June 17. Robert Sietsema, longtime restaurant critic for the Village Voice and contributor to the erstwhile Gourmet (interview here); Alex Vallis, editor of NBC’s new food blog, Feast (interview here); and Gabriella Gershenson, Editor of Time Out New York’s dining section and blog, The Feed (interview here), will cut up and digest food writing in the world’s hungriest city.

The work of local artists will be on display, as well.

The event will be held Thursday, June 17, at 7:30 pm (doors open at 7:00 pm) at the JLA Studios art gallery on 63 Pearl St. in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn—just one subway stop away from Manhattan! Admission is FREE. Drinks will be available.

Wafels & dinges, the food truck, will be parked in Dumbo on Mondays this summer! Per their Twitter message, @waffletruck says: “In a moment of mental clarity, we have decided. DUMBO Mondays for the summer (Front & Washington from 8am-5pm, Front & Adams from 5pm-10pm).”

(Photo by brandontonio)

Look for them on Mondays in Dumbo from 8am-5pm at Front and Washington Street and 5p-10pm on Front Street at Adams Street. For their menu, go to wafelsanddinges.com/menu.html

 [+ click for larger]

We love maps, so when we saw this one from AD:60, a small digital advertising agency in Dumbo, we thought it would be useful to post AD:60’s “Top 10 food & drinks places” in Dumbo for people. Of course, if you work in Dumbo, you’re familiar with these.

1. reBar
2. Choice Market
3. Rice
4. Miso Sushi
5. Food cart on Pearl/Water St
6. 68 Jay Street Bar
7. Bridge Coffee Shop
8. Superfine
9. Galapagos Art Space
10. Pedro’s Bar

What’s your top place to eat or drink in Dumbo?

[UPDATE: We were sent a bottle of liquor (and nothing else) and promptly shared it, so therefore this is a sponsored post. Here's why we posted about stoop life and its relevance to Dumbo.]

Tonight is the annual Brooklyn Blogfest at The Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope. This year, Spike Lee will make an appearance to kick off the summer with the new, very limited edition of ABSOLUT Brooklyn. Spike Lee designed the bottle in a way that represented Brooklyn the best, a photo of his Brooklyn stoop with a Spike Lee enhanced cap on the logo of the bottle. The stoop step represents the place where Brooklynites meet, hang out, sell stuff, and sometimes drink, which is what unites the community. While stoop life defines Brooklyn, Dumbo doesn’t have any stoops. Its large former factories and warehouses, Belgian block streets, and views of the two bridges and Manhattan skyline define Dumbo’s old world feel (think Once Upon a Time in America). What unites this historic Dumbo is the creative community (artists of all types- painters, sculptors, and the digital type), the dynamic entrepreneurs who navigate their business worlds with will power and hard work, and the new residents. Dumbo’s online presence in social media, websites, and services is our version of the stoop life.

This is why we’ve partnered with groups in the digital world (offline) to help foster a community that supports area artists, entrepreneurs, and residents to sustain the creative community Dumbo is known for. DumboNYC co-sponsored the last Digital DUMBO, and raised nearly $1000 for the Brooklyn Community Foundation at the May 26 event. We felt that partnering with area non-profits that benefit the community goes along with the Dumbo stoop life.

Spike Lee sent us a bottle of ABSOLUT Brooklyn, and naturally thought to share it with the good folks at Carrot Creative and the New York Digital District (NYDD). On the bottle, there’s a quote from Lemon Andersen’s spoken word poem “Somewhere in the world Brooklyn in da house and you know we won’t stop spreading love cause that’s our way.” The NYDD in Dumbo shows the world how it’s done, and glad to see the Brooklyn community is supported by way of a $50,000 donation by ABSOLUT Vodka to the NYC Habitat for Humanity.

Cheers!