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/

Docracy is a Dumbo based site for free legal documents, provided and curated by the communities that use them. Their mission is to help take the mystery and fear out of legal agreements.

One way they are supporting this mission is by providing a free seminar series called “Legal Stuff Explained“, organized to spread some legal knowledge around the community (legalstuff.tumblr.com).

These popular seminars are taught by local lawyers to the entrepreneurial community of Dumbo and NYC. Join them every Thursdays at the NYU-Poly Dumbo Incubator (20 Jay Street, #313)

Next event topic on Thursday the 12th is “Intellectual Property Law for Small Businesses”. RSVP (or add your name to the waitlist) here: eventbrite.com/event/3236591733/eorg

To view all future events, go here.

Docracy.com
20 Jay Street, #313, Brooklyn NY 11201

(Source: WSJ)

An article over the weekend by the Wall Street Journal discussed the dearth of apartments and commercial space in Dumbo. The Observer’s BetaBeat, Brooklyn Paper, and The Real Deal also reported on the limited commercial space in Dumbo last week.

According to the WSJ article, three large development projects have been created on Water Street (between Jay and Bridge Streets) – 192 Water Street, 205 Water Street, and 220 Water Street:

But developers are betting that with little inventory available in the more-developed part of Dumbo, buyers and renters will be willing to pay similarly steep prices to live along the grittier border with Vinegar Hill, a six-block neighborhood along the waterfront.

“The concept that Dumbo is just a two- or three-block area is a misconception,” said Carre Harnett, director of leasing for the developer, GDC Properties, which developed one of the new properties, 220 Water St. “There are a finite number of developable buildings and a few parts of land, so we’re filling out Dumbo.”

…thanks in part to a rezoning a few years ago to allow for residential conversions and new construction, eastern Dumbo has seen a modest influx of apartments. Construction was sluggish through the recession, but several buildings ahave finished or are nearing completion.

At 205 Water St., Toll Brothers is building a 65-unit condo project that tries to emulate the warehouse buildings in the area, including using reclaimed wood from the Coney Island boardwalk as part of the interior decorating.

In addition, at 192 Water St., Alloy Development and Hamlin Ventures have converted a century-old tea warehouse into nine lofts, most of which were priced just under $2.5 million.

While many of the streets still feel desolate, a mix of stores—from a baby and maternity shop Egg by Susan Lazar to clothing boutiques like Blueberi and Trunk—have popped up.

Other development projects in East Dumbo not mentioned in the article are 37 Bridge Street (residential), 231 Front Street (commercial), 109 Gold Street (now a rental), 185 York Street (residential), and 51 Jay Street (commercial, on the market). I’m sure this contributed to the Jehovah’s Witnesses properties in Dumbo being considered for sale.

Have you heard that Underground Eats (UGE) launched a few weeks ago? We profiled this Dumbo based startup in October 2011, and they’ve had some exciting events and alternative dining events recently. One event they featured was the Mast Brothers Chocolate and Kings County Whiskey Tasting Tour, a perfect combination, in our opinion. Kings County Distillery is one of NYC’s oldest whiskey distillery. They use leftover cocoa husks from Brooklyn’s Mast Brothers Chocolate to produce their chocolate whiskey.

Unfortunately, this exclusive evening of chocolate and whiskey happened last week, but there will be others I’m sure. However, UGE’s member’s only site has lots more unique experiences, like a first class ticket (sold out and not available anywhere else) to an evening of culinary history and decadence, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s last supper. Culinary provocateurs Jonny Cigar of The Noble Rot, Hell’s Kitchen’s Rob McCue and Adam Banks of Bravo’s Chef Roblé & Co. have put together this 7 course experience.

The folks at Underground Eats have set up a special URL that will allow readers to register for teh member’s only site. Go to ugeats.com/DumboNYC to sign up. PSssst, we heard that there’s some special news coming up too, so sign up and get access to your exclusive dining experiences.

Previously:
{Dumbo Start-up Watch: Underground Eats, 11Oct2011}

Half of New York City’s best and brightest technologists live or work in Brooklyn, yet we travel to Manhattan every week for the best tech talks. Not anymore! BK Tech Talks are presentations about the most interesting problems and solutions that New Yorkers are working on. The first BK Tech Talk is next Monday, April 2 in Dumbo’s NYU-Poly Dumbo Incubator (20 Jay St, Suite 312, Brooklyn, NY). Dumbo based Mobile Commons‘s CTO Benjamin Stein, Michael Frumin, Systems Engineering Manager at the MTA, Jeff Maki, head of Transportation at OpenPlans will present the technology behind Real Time GPS Tracking of New York City Buses, including the unique technology challenges rolling out a high profile project in NYC.

meetup.com/BK-Tech-Talks
MTA BusTime: Real Time GPS Tracking of New York City Buses
Monday, April 2, 2012, 7:00 PM

MTA Bus Time is an amazing new project by the New York MTA that allows bus riders to find the real-time location of the next several buses that will arrive at their stop.

MTA Bus Time was built on an open source and open standards-based platform using commercial technologies provided by multiple different partners. It uses GPS hardware and wireless communications technology to track real-time bus locations, integrate with route and schedule information, and makes the result accessible across a huge array of interfaces, including the web, a mobile website, on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, SMS text messaging, and via an open developer API.

Bus Time ran as a pilot on the B63 bus line in Brooklyn early last year, was expanded to Staten Island in January of 2012, will launch in the Bronx by the end of 2012, and will be deployed across all of New York City by the end of 2013.

Go here to sign up: meetup.com/BK-Tech-Talks/events/55116342

NY Content Meetup is a monthly meetup in Dumbo for content providers, startups, social media community managers, and anyone else interested in meeting with influencers who are creating community around content online.

From From BKLYNhaus, the organizer:

Connection Through Creation

What does a New York Times Producer, a Founder and Principal at race + vine and an acclaimed Fashion Photographer and Blogger have in common? They are all speakers for our March 21st NY CONTENT MEETUP!

Speakers:

• Emily Rueb (@rueby), Senior Producer, New York Times
  Put A Bird On It: What I Learned About Community Engagement From the Hawk Cam

  Using the New York Times’ Hawk Cam as her case study, Emily will discuss the journalistic challenges of covering a live streaming event that required 24/7 monitoring and where the subjects were not available for comment. Without a strategy and content approach the Hawk Cam could have been just another Yule log, as bill Keller, then the executive editor of the times, called it in an essay. But what she discovered instead was an opportunity to leverage the wisdom of the crowds to build an engaged, active community that took the story to unexpected places/levels.

• Meagan Cignoli, Fashion Photographer & Blogger (Web: @meagancignoli | ilovemeagan.com | meagancignoli.tumblr.com)
  Creation & Connection Intertwined

  Fashion photographer and blogger Meagan Cignoli explains the value of establishing a personal brand through dedicated promotion and active influence. Knowing first-hand the importance of promoting yourself, your work, and getting others to promote you, she will guide you with tips and ideas to successfully market the most important asset you have…. YOU!

• Michael Parrish DuDell, Founder and Principal, race + vine (@notoriousmpd)
  Michael Parrish DuDell is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur, and all-around media renaissance man. He is the founder of race+vine—a consulting firm specializing in content marketing, millennial engagement, and brand advocacy.
  Content Marketing: Meet Your New Business

  For over a hundred years, the publishing industry has remained relatively static. But in the last 5 years the Internet has created a new model, allowing every business the opportunity to enter the content game. In this talk, marketing expert Michael Parrish DuDell shares why it’s absolutely essential for every business to begin thinking (and acting) like a publisher.

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 21, 2012, 7:00 PM
Location: 20 Jay Street, Suite 904, Brooklyn, NY
** FREE wine and other refreshments will be served **

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)

In the startup world, there are those who think about ideas and those who take action on them. By definition, entrepreneurs are ones who see a problem and take the opportunity to solve them. John Petersen is one himself. He is the co-organizer (with Alec Hartman) of NY Tech Day, a science fair for tech startups that is taking place on April 19th in Manhattan’s Flatiron district. NY Tech Day will showcase tech startups of all sizes and be a great opportunity for them to interact with investors, students and the press. Over 200 startups are expected, including several Dumbo-based startups will be participating in the expo and the evening’s awards ceremony. A major sponsor, Digital Ocean was also founded in Dumbo.

We spoke with John, who talked to us about the event, how it differs from other tech events, and what to expect:

What is NY Tech Day?
NY Tech Day is a one day event that gives exhibiting startups some much needed spotlight – enabling them to set up a booth to expose their hard work to thousands of early adopters, supporters, prospective employees and investors.

Great idea to showcase startups in NYC. With the startup scene in NYC booming, this is a great fit. How did your idea become reality?
My co-founder Alec had experience in starting and running tech trade shows in Florida before he sold it. Being entrepreneurs ourselves, running several successful startups, we were looking for expos to showcase startup businesses. When we went to a small business expo at the Javits Center, most of the exhibitors cater to large enterprises. We realized there was nothing like this that helped startups. So we shared our idea with other startup businesses, friends, and industry contacts. We received overwhelming responses, so we knew we had to do it. We modeled NY Tech Day after a science fair style exhibit followed by an awards ceremony. It’s like the poster presentation from your 8th grade science fair, except your mother doesn’t have to drive you to the event.

What’s your take on the startup scene in NYC? Do you feel there’s a bubble?
There is a lot of positive momentum in the NYC startup scene. There are many great companies building some really cool stuff, and we’re excited to see many of them at NY Tech Day. Even with all the positive, there is one thing that concerns me a bit, but it is not specific to NY. There are startups who raise an initial round of funding fully planning and expecting that for the next round. I just get a little nervous when companies start expecting the capital to always be there.

What kinds of startup businesses should showcase at the event? A bootstrapped, pre-launch, or venture backed companies? Who will be attending?
NY Tech Day is open to companies of all stages. When they are accepted for a booth to exhibit, they can use the day the best they see fit for their business. Our focus will be in 3 main areas:

1. companies seeking investment. If you’re pre-funded, the event is a great way to attract the attention of investors.
2. press/media exposure to your company. We’re working with press contacts within the tech industry and outside traditional press coverage to cover the event and exhibitors.
3. Companies looking to hire and recruit talent. One of the biggest challenges in the NY tech environment is finding the right talent. Attendees may be looking for the right companies to work for and we are working with NY area schools to bring talent who are looking to get introduced to companies.

What’s your vision for NY Tech Day?
We want to make this an annual event for NYC area and support the tech and startup ecosystem, which include investors, startups, talent, and the media. We like the idea of creating community. For example, we are planning a pre-event happy hour just for the startup companies to meet eachother to find ways to spark ideas and potential opportunities to work together. We love the idea of keeping it free for attendees and provide value for exhibitors.

With so many tech and media businesses in Dumbo, NY Tech Day is a great opportunity to show your work to a large group of people in one day. The Expo will start at 10am on April 19th and run through 4pm. For more information on NY Tech Day, go to nytechday.com.

Read on to find out about Digital Ocean, a business that started in Dumbo, how they help startups, what attracted them to Dumbo, and why they left Dumbo.

Read the rest of this entry »

With many tech and media businesses in Dumbo Brooklyn, what better place than to advertise for software developers here. Hiring good programmers and techies are hard to find these days. With competition so high, someone pulled this down soon after it was posted.

NY Content Meetup is a monthly meetup in Dumbo for content providers, startups, social media community managers, and anyone else interested in meeting with influencers who are creating community around content online.

From From BKLYNhaus, the organizer:

We are delighted to present an all female speaker-cast for this month’s NY Content Meetup. From Huffington Post, Squidoo and The JAR Group, these women are experts in their field; smart and savvy speakers you should be sure not to miss.

Bianca Bosker, Senior Tech Editor, Huffington Post

Bianca is of the content-creating elite! Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Fast Company, Conde Nast Traveler, and the Oregonian, among other publications. She is the co-author of a book on the cultural history of bowling entitled Bowled Over: A Roll Down Memory Lane and a graduate of Princeton University. Twitter time: @bbosker

Lauryn Ballesteros, VP Sponsorship, Squidoo

Lauren is a partnership, business development and marketing ninja that loves to create high level partnerships with people interested in making a positive impact on the world. A regular contributor to UpMarket, SponsorsWin and her blog where she generally tauts being yourself, authenticity and bravery as it pertains to marketing, sales and creativity. She also twitters: @heylaurynbee

Kendra Clarke, Analytics & Information Architecture, The JAR Group

Part tech-nerd, part writer, Kendra focuses her day to day in the ever-important worlds of analytics and information architecture at The JAR Group. Go ahead, follow her: @maybeimkansas

BKLYNhaus is the source for creative talent. We represent a network of top creative and digital professionals dedicated to producing great work. Online and digital media are fast paced industries that are constantly changing and evolving. It can be tough to keep up. We live and breath this world, because we love it. BKLYNhaus is the company we always wanted to work for. We have a strong focus on innovation, leadership and development and as such are active participants in the industry both as students and educators.

Date/Time: Thursday, February 23, 2012, 7:00 PM
Location: 20 Jay Street, Suite 904, Brooklyn, NY
** FREE wine and other refreshments will be served **