Creative Week NY, a celebration of creativity in advertising, design, digital media and all the arts that feed and touch those disciplines is taking place in Dumbo Brooklyn this week. There will be thought leadership events at Galapagos Art Space, GE’s live hologram experience (free and open to the public!) on Water Street, the Celebrate Brooklyn Creative Week Digital DUMBO Party hosted by HUGE, and the One Club’s unConference all day Thursday at 111 Front Street.

Several agency partners and firms based in Dumbo are presenting at events during Creative Week include:

• Big Spaceship
• Breakfast
• DDB (Spike)
• Domani Studios
• HUGE
• The JAR Group

We hear the GE hologram experience, THROTTLE UP at 56 Water Street is something you can’t miss (11am-9pm – free and open to the public, May 7-11).

See program of events for the full schedule of events. To attend, go to creativeweeknyc.com/attend. The Dumbo BID is a partner organization.

From the Dumbo BID on First Thursdays (tonight from 6pm):

We know you’re heading to DUMBO for First Thursday – but please head back on Saturday May 5th for Smack Mellon’s Kentucky Derby Party fundraiser. Horse-betting, mint juleps, bluegrass music, silent auction, hat contest, and every ticket in the door gets you & a date into the party and a work of art off the gallery wall for your collection. As if that wasn’t enough, your ticket purchase supports Smack Mellon’s incredible free exhibition programs (like this).

And don’t miss Creative Week 2012 in DUMBO May 7-11. Featuring a major GE Hologram Installation, the Creative unConference, and many other programs throughout the week in DUMBO, including a Jim Henson retrospective, independent film premiers and creative talent from across the globe. Use the code *GOdumbo12* for a discount on tickets courtesy of DUMBO.

May’s First Thursday Picks: Check out GREEN | RED, a site-specific installation for The Archway by Peter Burr and Friends courtesy of the Brooklyn Arts Council. This immersive audio-visual experience features scrolling and cascading video “frames” provide the viewpoint into a computer wilderness, with an accompanying surround-soundtrack. GREEN | RED is part of Scene: Brooklyn: Independent Film and Media Arts, which runs May 2-6.

All First Thursday events are open to the public; most events listed below are free.

Local bars and restaurants also get in on the action – AlMar has 2 for 1 drink specials from 4-6pm. Water Street Restaurant & Lounge has 2 for 1 cosmos for ladies at the bar. Superfine‘s Happy Hour features $3.50 select tap beers, $3.50 well cocktails & $3 Bud/Bud Light. Bubby’s has $5 beers and well drinks at the bar all night long.

DUMBO Improvement District and Tech Triangle partners (the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and the Brooklyn Navy Yard) commissioned an an economic impact study on the economic impact of the “Brooklyn Tech Triangle”. Here’s what they had to report:

The numbers speak for themselves: more than 9,000 jobs; $3 billion in economic output; and all of it could double by 2015. We couldn’t be prouder of how this industry is shaping the future of the Brooklyn (and New York) economy.

A few key take-aways:

• 188 tech/creative firms responded to the survey and DUMBO Improvement District Members made up 83% of them.
• More than 77% of our firms report that more than half of their employees live in Brooklyn. More than 31% say that 100% of their employees live in Brooklyn. Yah, we love it here too.
• 99% of firms already here want to stay and grow here and more than 76% of firms not yet here want in. Today the industry occupies 1.7 million square feet of space, primarily here and in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. That number will increase to 3.1 million by 2015. Wow. That’s a lot of demand. We know the market around here is tight already and we’re working to make more space available. Please reach out if you or a startup you know is having trouble finding space.

An infographic based on data from the study was created above.

Related, there are two venture capital and startup related events on Wednesday, April 25:

1. D3: Dumbo Demo Day, hosted by Digital DUMBO & NYU-Poly at 6:15pm at 20 Jay Street, Suite 312
2. Dumbo Startup Lab – VC Steve Berg Speaks on the state of NYC as a place for startups. 8pm at 68 Jay Street, #718

A link to the full report (Economic Impact of the Brooklyn Tech Triangle) can be accessed at brooklyntechtriangle.com/the-study/

The Dumbo Improvement District is asking tech and creative companies to take a brief survey about your organization and its needs.

Take the survey now (survey will close soon)

Note: This survey is for firms currently located in Dumbo and beyond in Brooklyn and those who want to be here in the future. All answers to the survey will be kept confidential and data will be presented to us in aggregate form.

From the BID:

We’ve teamed up with the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and the Brooklyn Navy Yard and NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn, partners in the recently dubbed Tech Triangle, to study the economic impact and space needs of the tech and creative sectors in Brooklyn. With this info in hand, we can work with our public and private partners to create conditions within the Tech Triangle that nurture and support the growth of your company and many others like it.

Each firm that fully completes the survey and enters a contact email will be entered in a drawing to receive:

• a private boxing lesson for up to 20 people (complete with Grimaldi’s pizza-fest) at the legendary Gleason’s Gym,
• lunch or dinner for up to five (5) people at La Defense in 2 MetroTech Center,
• or a guided tour of the Brooklyn Navy Yard for ten (10).

The DUMBO Improvement District asks that you please also help us spread the word! We want firms both inside and out of DUMBO to take this survey. Whether they’re interested in getting out of a living room or relocating to this thriving tech community, we would love to better understand their needs. Tweet the survey link using #techtriangle.

(Photo by bekka payack)

Two Trees Management announced a new commercial tenant at One Main Street today. Aegir Boardworks, a surf and snowboard shop. Aegir Boardworks will be moving to a newly converted 1,000 square foot retail space that was formerly a barren loading dock. Located near the waterfront, Aegir’s official address is 99 Water Street.

Aegir joins One Girl Cookies (1,400 square foot space on the corner of One Main Street; now 33 Main Street) and a restaurant space being developed by the team behind Colonie at a 1,700 square foot home at 15 Main Street.

From Two Trees reps:

“The DUMBO community has been wonderful since our grand opening in January,” said David Crofton, Co-Owner of One Girl Cookies. “Two Trees has been an incredible partner in our growth here and we’re delighted with the reception that our business has received here on the Brooklyn waterfront.”

The group behind Colonie, who have been previously celebrated for their support of the Brooklyn food community, will be opening their newest restaurant in May at One Main Street. This new establishment will provide its DUMBO neighbors with a much-needed place to drink and dine. Also slated to open in May, Aegir Board Works is acompany tailor-made for the Brooklyn waterfront and is poised to become the premier surf/snow shop in New York City.

Both restaurant and surf and snowboard shop is scheduled to open in May, 2012.

(Photo from Brownstoner)

The sidewalk on Plymouth Street betwen Jay and Bridge Street is being finished in front of the Toll Brothers building at 205 Water Street. The Dumbo BID and Dept of Transportation are working together to ensure the work complies with the Landmark requirements.

openhousenewyork (ohny.org) announces a new series – openstudios- designed to provide exclusive access to the architecture studios and the individual architects and designers whose work make New York City a vibrant and sustainable place to live and work. This series will also highlight the individual neighborhoods throughout the city that have become burgeoning hubs of architectural creativity and design innovation.

Organized in collaboration with The Architect’s Newspaper, Two Trees Development, and the DUMBO Improvement District, the series kicks off on Saturday, February 25, 2012 from 1:00 – 5:00pm in DUMBO, Brooklyn. More than twenty-five established and emerging architecture and design firms will open their studios to discuss their practices. Visitors will have the opportunity see models, renderings, and drawings, and get insight from the architects and designers themselves into the influences and challenges that shape their practice.

For a list of the participating firms, visit the Dumbo BID website. To attend, purchase your tickets here for $30. Tickets will be sold on the day of the event for $35 ($25 for students). Check in is at 81 Front Street on the day of the event.

(Photo courtesy of MANIFOLD.ArchitectureStudio (10 Jay Street, #309B, Brooklyn NY))

(Photo from DUMBO Improvement District)

The DUMBO Improvement District announced today that 30 new “Hoop” racks have been installed in Dumbo this week. The DUMBO Improvement District applied to NYCDOT’s Cityracks program for the new racks last fall.

From DUMBO Improvement District:

The Hoop design was developed for NYC Cityracks by Danish designers Ian Mahaffy and Maarten De Greeve (Bettlelab) after the duo won a bike rack design competition (judged by DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Sarah Coffin & Matilda McQuaid from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, and even well known cyclist and Talking Head, David Byrne.) Hoop is a round rack and horizontal crossbar that DOT says evokes an abstracted bicycle tire.

Alexandria Sica, Executive Director of the DUMBO BID and avid bike commuter, said of the new racks, “Biking is a major mode of transportation for so many of us and a key part of the DUMBO culture. Our racks have been overflowing for some time, so we’re thrilled DOT worked with us to bring more to the neighborhood. And, they look great to match your Surly.”

More detail: DUMBO Improvement District

The First Thursday Dumbo Gallery Walk is tomorrow, Thursday, January 5, 2012, between 6-9pm. Gallery specific information will be published on the Dumbo Improvement District website, dumbo.is.

The gallery walk is free. (Thank you to Dumbo Improvement District for the images).

Happy Holidays from DumboNYC! Hope you had a great year and hope 2012 will bring you joy.

[DumboNYC.com is taking a vacation. In the meantime, take a look at some photos of Dumbo (in the DumboNYC Flickr Pool) or submit a story or event about Dumbo. We'll be back next week.]