A fire at the 89 John Street Con Ed substation in Vinegar Hill Brooklyn broke out yesterday (on Plymouth Street between Gold and Bridge Streets) at approximately 5:15pm. News first broke on Twitter before we called 911 to report the incident. Neighbors heard an explosion, followed by a fire and thick black smoke. FDNY controlled the fire by 6:30p and no injuries were reported.

This is the second such fire at the ConEd plant in the past year.

Watch the video of the fire:

By the way, anyone have any information on future plans for the John Street ConEd substation?

Photos and videos by Chris Frank

Just after 9pm, lights along Plymouth Street went out temporarily. Reader Chris Frank send us this note:
“A transformer exploded at 913PM tonight in the John Street ConEd substation in Dumbo. The sprinkler system worked flawlessly & the fire was out within 10 minutes. Fire dept rolled in with 4 pumpers and a hook & ladder, but didn’t even have to bust in to extinguish and they’ve moved on 30 minutes later. Good job 911, ConEd & the NYFD”

It’s premature to say that a decision has been made to repurpose the ConEd plant along John Street in Dumbo and Vinegar Hill as part of Brooklyn Bridge Park, but an article in the Brooklyn Eagle says that it’s not out of the question. After all, the original plans for Brooklyn Bridge Park was originally planned to stretch only betwee Piers 1 and 5. Pier 6 was added later because the Port Authority owned it. The plans for the park end at Jay Street and John Street. Related to the land near the ConEd plant, last week, politicians decided not to veto a residential building at the John Street plot, but reduced the proposed 17 story building to a 12 stories. DUMBO Neighborhood Alliance’s Doreen Gallo argued the following point in her editorial piece in the Brooklyn Paper.:

“The John Street site should remain public — a great open space to see the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges together on the waterfront. With the power plant closing this year, we should be looking at this site in its entirety up to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and not be thinking about the immediate real estate greed of the present administration.

Any building on the John Street site will eliminate this parcel and future Con Edison waterfront parcels to be considered part of the park and wall off the entrance of the surrounding communities of Vinegar Hill, Farragut and Bridge Plaza.”

A building on John Street could potentially close off the East-West access from Pearl Street towards Gold Street on the waterfront. The Brooklyn Eagle mentions that the ConEd plant in Vinegar Hill will be torn down, which Brownstoner mentioned last year, but for the land to become part of the Brooklyn Bridge Park, several pieces would need to come together for it to happen (environmental surveys, finances, clean up, etc). If the land were repurposed, it would be a nice way to connect the waterfront from the Navy Yards to Pier 6.

Two coffee bars are opening in Dumbo on the corner of Jay and John Street. The Dumbo businesses and entrepreneurs will appreciate the additional coffee options. The Brooklyn Roasting Company Cafe will be opening within two weeks at 25 Jay Street. The coffee bar features a “French Roast-toned blackened and waxed steel countertop and hand-milled teak bar face”. The bar has a 360 degree view of the roasters and will serve snacks, sandwiches, and light lunch. Brooklyn Roasting Co (“BRC”) is also launching three mini-cafes aboard the new NY Waterways Ferries. NY Waterways is offering free travel for its first two weeks of operation and BRC is serving commuters free coffee during the same period.

Also opening later is an espresso bar in the former Priviledged clothing boutique space at 14 Jay Street (which is part of the 20 Jay Street building shown below). We don’t have the name yet, but will report back once we have details.

We’ve taste tested the coffee in Dumbo, and looking forward to some more options for espressos in Dumbo.

Brooklyn Roasting Company (brooklynroasting.com)
25 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201

Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Committee on Alternatives to Housing, with the assistance of Bay Area Economics Consulting, is conducting the second of two public hearings to solicit comments from the public on alternative sources that could be relied upon to finance the on-going operations of the park in lieu of revenues from the Pier 6 and John Street development sites.

As part of the Brooklyn Bridge Park development, the park must be self-sustaining. One method is to build market rate housing on the park as a source of revenue for the park. The park has begun receiving revenue from One Brooklyn Bridge Park on Furman St. However, the first residential development will be in Dumbo on John Street. According to the Brooklyn Eagle, the John Street site needs approval. If approved, the project will start in July 2011 and expected to take two years to complete. The John Street building would be 170 feet tall and 16 stories high with 130 units. Another two sites at Pier 6 sites would be 315 feet tall and 31 stories high with 290 units; the other one would be 155 feet tall and 15 stories high with 140 units.

(John Street site in Dumbo)

Thursday, December 9, 2010, 6pm – 8pm
St. Francis College*, 180 Remsen Street
Founders Hall Auditorium, 1st floor

The public is encouraged to submit written comments in lieu of, or in addition to, verbal testimony. The deadline to submit written testimony is 5 p.m. on Monday, December 13, 2010. Please submit written testimony to Bay Area Economics at bbptestimony@bae1.com.

More:
{Housing in Bridge Park Still a Question Mark, 01Dec2010, BK Eagle}
{First New Condo in Brooklyn Bridge Park Would Be in Dumbo, 02Dec2010, Curbed}
{Francis to NY1: No Turning Back Once Housing is in Brooklyn Bridge Park, 01Dec2010, BHB}
{The Future of Brooklyn Bridge (Condo) Park, 03Dec2010, LMag}
{Alternatives to Housing in Brooklyn Bridge Park, Washington Sq Park}

There is a film shoot on Adams and John Streets on Monday, May 11, 200 between 3am and 11pm for a project called “Factory Pictures”. Not sure what that is, but if anyone knows, please leave a comment. Thanks.

 Photo courtesy of Neighborhoodies

A few Dumbo retail news:

1. 20 Jay Street: According to neighborhoodies.com, they’re planning a retail store on 20 Jay Street: “Our newest store opens June 1st on Jay Street in Brooklyn! As you can see we already took out a former concrete wall on the exterior and fit it with another glass front. … Notice too the progress in clearing the interior. …We’ll keep adding photos as work progresses…” Neighborhoodies is headquartered in Dumbo on 45 Main Street.
2. 14 Jay Street: Aswoon/Susan Woods (www.aswoon.com) is going to be opening a store/showroom at the corner of Jay & John Streets at 14 Jay Street.
3. 20 Jay Street: A doggy day care will open on Plymouth Street in 20 Jay Street building. All dog owners in the neighborhood will have a place for their dogs to be pampered.
4. 67 Washington Street: The Two Trees Real Estate office and their new website, twotreesre.com is open for business. Previously reported on March 29 here on DumboNYC.
5. 70 Washington Street: There’s some activity on the retail level in this building on the Front Street side across the street from Bo Concepts. Drywall has been put in and the space is being cleared out. No word yet on what this will become. Stay tuned…

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}