It’s clear that her paintings touched everyone who passed by the giant J Condo construction site. In an interview by Michael Surtees, Pasqualina Azzarello says that she:

“values making use of public spaces when making and sharing my art. Whether I am making a mural, creating a proactive public dialogue through performance, or selling my artistic wares on city streets, I appreciate the integration of object and place.”

The construction workers watched the paintings grow daily and “Having art around added some cheer,” said Jim Spence, a superintendent at the site. They had to be taken down to make way for the new sidewalk, and now exhibited at Retreat (147 Front Street) through January 31, 2007. 100 wooden panels will be for sale at the gallery between $100 and $1,000.

{Slope painter sells a wall in DUMBO, Brooklyn Papers, 12/9/06}
{Dumbo artist paints construction fence, DumboNYC.com, 8/7/06}
{Pasqualina Azzarello Interview, design*notes, 11/7/06}

  Image courtesy of NY Times

After selling Grimaldi’s, the Dumbo Brooklyn pizzeria considered New York’s best pizza, to retire from pizza making six years ago, Mr. Patsy Grimaldi is back in business. However, Mr. Grimaldi isn’t planning on opening up shop in Dumbo again:

At a yet-unnamed stand in a former airplane hangar at Floyd Bennett Field in southeastern Brooklyn, Mr. Grimaldi is again making pizzas the way he was taught by his Uncle Patsy in East Harlem at age 10. His new venture is part of the Brooklyn Food Hall of Fame, a food court of sorts inside Aviator Sports and Recreation, a two-month-old sports complex that will also offer local delicacies like Junior’s cheesecake and Jacques Torres chocolate.

PMQ.com has a nice history of Grimaldi’s and the quote from Mr. Grimaldi, shows how much he misses making pizza:

“I sold it when I was 65 years old, but I am still involved in the restaurant. I trained all of the guys there and still go in at least once a week to make sure the quality is the same. I make sure the new owners do everything the way I did. It’s my name up there and I don’t want anyone to embarrass me – and they don’t. The pizza served there now is very close to what you used to get in my uncle’s place.”

I asked Patsy if he missed the day-to-day in the pizzeria. “I was 65 when I sold it and we worked long hours and I had to take care of my son. Do I miss it? Oh, very much – very much. I miss the celebrities and the people. I loved the attention I got. It was a nice feeling.”

We went to Grimaldi’s tonight and as always, the pie is fresh and hot, crispy on the bottom, and a bit chewy on top. This is the advantage of living in a neighborhood with the best pizza. Glad to see Patsy Grimaldi back in the pizza business.

 Patsy Grimaldi

{A Pizza Master, Back in the Twirl, NYTimes, 12/10/06}
{New York’s Landmark Pizzerias, pmq.com}
{Coal Miner: Patsy Grimaldi hangs on to nearly lost art of cooking with coal, Pizza Today}

 Jane Walentas with her Carousel, October 13, 2006

  Photo courtesy Jane Walentas

An article in The New York Sun today describes the carousel’s opening at 65 Water Street on Friday:

“Friday at noon, at 65 Water St., a 1922 carousel painstakingly restored by Jane Walentas — the wife of David Walentas, who through his firm Two Trees Management owns 13 buildings in of the neighborhood — will open to the public (for viewing only, no rides). The carousel is a beautiful ornament on an already delectable stretch of Water St., which includes Jacques Torres Chocolate and the French bakery Almondine, not to mention the River Cafe at the end of the street.(Ms. Walentas referred to this as the “street of dreams.”)”

  Photo courtesy Jane Walentas

I had the priviledge of chatting with Jane Walentas at the opening. Ms. Walentas purchased the carousel in 1984, and after 22 years of her labor, the historic carved wood carousel has been restored to its original condition. The decorative carvings and vibrant paint, leafed in 24k gold and palladium are beautifully embellished with faceted jewels and 1200 lights. The temporary space where the carousel is housed is unfortunately too small to allow the public to safely ride the carousel, but Ms. Walentas is looking forward to the day when a Carousel Pavillion will be in the Brooklyn Bridge Park will have a permanent home. We’re looking forward to it too.

  The lighted Carousel at night

We also asked Ms. Walentas about the Empire Stores. Her dream is to provide a place where artists can display their artwork in lofts and galleries. We hope it becomes a place of art but when that will happen is still TBD. Thanks to Ms. Walentas for her “dreams” and for her beautiful restoration work.

Jane’s Carousel
56 Water St. Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY
The First Carousel on The National Register will be open Fridays through Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.

{David Walentas, Neighborhood Creator and Patron of the Arts, New York Magazine, October 13, 2006}
{The Paradox Of DUMBO, Art Around Town, The New York SUn, October 13, 2006}

The Real Deal came out with an interview of the unofficial mayor of Dumbo, David Walentas. Mr. Walentas, the owner and president of Two Trees Management Company — a Dumbo, Brooklyn-based firm that he founded over 35 years ago and that has developed, owned, and managed almost $1 billion in real estate since then. Mr. Walentas purchased eight buildings — 2 million square feet — at $6 per square foot in 1978. For almost 30 years, he’s persisted and has gone through the ups and downs of trying to redevelop Dumbo while keeping the neighborhood character. Some highlights:

What has been your biggest contribution to society?
My kid, Jed, who is terrific. But, in a larger sense, probably Dumbo. As a large urban development, it is one of the few things that will matter in 100 years.

You make it sound like you are solely responsible for Dumbo.
I am solely responsible. My wife Jane, who has been my partner, certainly she was responsible, but we didn’t get a lot of help from the government and nobody wanted to work with us for a long time. Nobody really got it. The planning people didn’t get it. The community board voted against every rezoning we proposed down there. The banks all quit. My partners all quit, so we ended up with all the marbles.

What is your greatest achievement professionally?
Clearly Dumbo has defined my life for the last 25 years, my whole adult life. And it has been entirely successful on every level. When I first got there, it was vacant industrial buildings. We bought 2 million square feet from Harry Helmsley for $12 million. We are going to sell one apartment in the Clock Tower [Building] probably for twice that.

{The Closing: David Walentas, The Real Deal, October 2006}

Seen on Craigslist: “I see you walking to work sometimes in the morning and you’re really beautiful but you never seem to smile…what gives?”

Smile! You live in a place called Dumbo.