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”

The following is this week’s anticipated construction work schedule (7am – 3:30pm work hours), field conditions permitting for this week. Please note that parking may be restricted in work areas.

• 8/5/11 through 8/12/11 – Washington Street between York/Water Street – Prepare roadway for the reinstalling the Belgian Blocks
• 8/5/11 through 8/12/11 – Washington Street between Water/Plymouth Street – Continue excavation of roadway for installation of concrete base
• 8/5/11 through 8/12/11 – Water Street between Washington/Adams Street – Start the reinstallation of the Belgian Blocks and install Belgian Blocks bicycle lane
• 8/5/11 through 8/12/11 – Water Street and Main Street intersection – Complete installation of Belgian Blocks

For more information, please call Paul Kidder, the Community Construction Liaison at 718-643-2850 or email: waterstreetccl@gmail.com

For prior construction posts, see dumbonyc.com/tag/construction.

Dumbo based indie pop band, “The Well-Informed” just published a new music video, We’re Only Dreaming. The video features 215 Plymouth Street building (in and out).

Previously:
{Brooklyn Sundry: Episode at Baco Café, 20Apr2011}

Evan Duby and Paul Loren of the Dumbo based indie pop band, “The Well-Informed” drop some Dumbo history while chatting in Baco Cafe. Their original web series features “the two [who] travel the borough of Brooklyn accompanied by great bites and fun tidbits.” The mushroom ravioli with spinach and roasted peppers sauce looks tasty (menu).

The band records out of their studio at Five & Dime Recording Society at 215 Plymouth Street. Watch their video and download the track featured on this episode, “New York (We Love Her)“.

Baco Café (bacocafe.com)
71 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201
tel: 718-694-BACO

Five & Dime Recording Society
215 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn NY 11201

Permit # FF 27: On Wednesday – Friday, April 6-8, 2011 (7pm – 9am)
The Projectionist, a feature film is being filmed in Dumbo on Wednesday – Friday (4/6, 4/7, 4/8) between 7pm – 9am, near the corner of Plymouth Street and Anchorage Place.

In addition to the filming that occurred on Monday and Tuesday, Dumbo had a full week of filming.

If you have further questions you can contact their Locations Department at 646-753-2745.

All filming posts are tagged here: DumboNYC.com/tag/filming

:-( Ouch! The owner of the smashed scooter on Plymouth Street wrote us today asking for any witnesses:

I parked my beloved scooter in front of 143 Plymouth Street, at the corner of Pearl, right across the street from Chambers Paper Fibres Corporation. It looked like a safe spot. But when I returned on Monday this week I found my scooter in literally 100 pieces. Crushed multiple times by something huge and heavy–something like the massive garbage trucks that carry the scrap cardboard to Chambers Paper Fibres. I watched a few minutes later as a huge dump truck carrying cardboard ran over what used to be the front of my scooter as he backed into the narrow bay at 143 Plymouth to unload. Right in front of my eyes, as if it were no big deal. I need a witness to help me get restitution. It’s going to cost a lot of money just to dispose of the chassis, and I could be fined $1000.

If you saw this happen, help out the poor scooter owner by contacting him at 718-306-9746 or emailing newzembla123@gmail [dot] com (without the ’123′).

Rapid Realty has leased space on 1 Anchorage Place in Dumbo. The retail space was formerly occupied by Jan Larsen Art’s outpost retailer The Workshop. Rapid Realty is a residental and commercial real estate brokerage business focused on rentals. At the time of this posting, there are 98 results for Dumbo on their website ranging from $630 for a commercial space to a $5,500 1 bedroom (1447 sqft) condo to a $15,000 ground floor (5,000 sqft) commercial space (“Great for a restaurant or bar; dine by moonlight”). Welcome to Dumbo!

Rapid Realty Inc. (rapidnyc.com)
One Anchorage Place (at Plymouth Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Filming today and tomorrow (9/23-24) between 8am (Thursday) and 6am (Friday) is a commercial for the video game, Rock Band 3, due for release on October 26, 2010 (the game, not the commercial). The filming is on Plymouth Street (between Adams and Jay Streets), Pearl Street (between John and Water Streets), and Adams Streets (between John and Plymouth Streets).

We’ve seen a lot of motorcycles and Vespa scooters around Dumbo. For those who need a place to park, MotoDumbo is a garage for motorcycles and scooters on Pearl and Plymouth Street. They have spaces available in their garage, which has a shared workspace with air compressor, bike lift, work bench etc. We hear they’re planning some BBQ’s and get-togethers over the summer and generally treat the garage like a home away from home. If any Dumbo denizens that ride are looking for a spot, email them at info@motodumbo.com or stop by on a Saturday afternoon. There’s generally someone there, working on their ride.

MotoDumbo (MotoDumbo.com)
52 Pearl Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
info@motodumbo.com

(Photo courtesy of bekka p. from the DumboNYC Flickr Pool. If you have your own pictures related to Dumbo, please feel free to drop them there.)

A tipster sent us an email about the entrance to the 202 Plymouth Street building, which is located within the Dumbo Historic District and features rail tracks entering the building.

Walked down Plymouth St btwn Jay & Bridge the other day to find a massive hole in the ground in front of Gutman/GUMA garage/loading dock @ 202 Plymouth St. The sidewalk there has always been horrible, but their big dumpster trucks finally destroyed the street. They filled it in with sand making quite a mess and then tore up the sidewalk & cobble stones w/ a backhoe and have now poured concrete into it.

See pictures. Unfortunately I didn’t get a pic of the hole, but it was at least a foot wide and a foot or two deep.

I called 311 and they looked up if there was any approved work w/ DOT on the cobble stones or the street and they found none so i entered a complaint. I know the 311 complaint will do nothing, but this was done in complete disregard for the Landmarks designation we are in. Any possible ramifications or will Gutman keep doing as he wishes?

Also now that we are designated a residential neighborhood are there not laws that restrict loud trucks late night, because GUMA runs their dumpsters at all hours of the night…

We walked over early today on our way to work and while it’s not clear in the photos, cement was poured over the area on and around the tracks. We also called 311 to find out more, but did not get details. Nothing on the Dept of Buildings property records for 202 Plymouth indicate work being done there (DOB BIS listing link).

According to the Landmark Designation report, the building was built in 1903 and was a one story brick foundry for the E. W. Bliss Company with gable end facing street and peaked roof (they manufactured machines, tools, presses, dies, and sheet metal), later sold to the Brillo Company (which invented “Brillo” by combining steel wool and a reddish soap to clean metal utensils in what we now know as Dumbo). Bliss invented a machine for stamping out sheet-metal cans which were initially used for kerosene and paint.

If anyone has more info, please let us know or comment below.

The Dumbo Improvement District (BID) has emailed a thorough update on the street reconstruction project on Water Street from Adams Street to Old Fulton Street and Washington Street from York Street to Plymouth Street. We took the above photos to document the process.

While the street work is being done, the Belgian blocks are being taken away and being stored in a secure location until they are reinstalled in the roadbed. The BID has been very involved with monitoring and ensuring the work is being done according to plans.

After the jump, read the New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYCDDC) and Dumbo Improvement District’s report on the work in progress, work completed, and what’s coming ahead in 2010. The project commenced in the Summer of 2009 and is scheduled to be completed in the Summer of 2011.

Information about the project can be found on the NYC.gov DDC site: (PDF download)

{Belgian Block Reconstruction to Begin, 04May2009}

WORK IN PROGRESS:
Installation of:

• 18″combined sewer on Washington Street between Water Street and Plymouth Street.
• 18 new catch basins, new valves and hydrants on:
  • Water Street from Old Fulton to Main Street
  • Old Fulton Street from Front Street to Furman Street

Removal of:

• Belgian blocks from Water Street between Old Fulton Street to Main Street.

WORK COMPLETED:
Installation of the 12″distribution water main on:

• Water Street from Old Fulton to Main Street
• Old Fulton Street from Front Street to Furman Street

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2010

• Continue installation of the 18″ combined sewer
• Commence installation of the 36″ trunk water main at Furman Street and Old Dock Street

There are many improvement slated as part of this project which will help to preserve the character of the neighborhood, including:

• Resetting the old trolley tracks on Water Street at Adams Street
• Installation of new granite curbs and pigmented sidewalks
• Restoration of Belgian block roadways

WATER SERVICE INTERRUPTION
During the course of the project there will be service interruptions. To allow water replacement, the existing water service must be shut off by closing the valves at either end of the section to be worked on. Advance notice will be given for all planned interruptions. Water service will be restored at the end of the day. Residents are advised to fill sinks and containers for essential water needs during the shutdown. When the water is turned on again it may be discolored. This is due to mineral sediments that are stirred up by the shut down. The discoloration is not hazardous and will clear up if the cold water is allowed to run for a while.

PROPERTY DAMAGE
You are advised to inform the DDC or the Contractor of any property damage that you may have, and if the contractor fails to respond within 10 days, you should inform the DDC Borough Director in writing. If you intend to file a claim you must do so within 90 days of the occurence with the New York City’s Comptrollers Office.

SPECIAL NEEDS
Please let the Community Construction Liaison know if there is anyone in your household or building who has special needs (dialysis, wheelchair user, etc.) so that we can coordinate our construction activities.

For additional information
P: (718) 643-2536
F: (718) 643-2805
WATERSTREETCCL@GMAIL.COM

What: Art Show Opening @ Zakka: FUTR WRLD – Book release party
When: Friday, July 3, 2009, 6-8pm
Where: Zakka NYC, 155 Plymouth Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201

Live performance by Shinya Sugimoto (Electric Sound Music) starts at 7:00pm. More info at anti-motion.com and www.monkhaus.com.

Zakka Corp.
155 Plymouth Street, Dumbo Brooklyn
www.zakkacorp.com

Also see reviews of Zakka on Yelp.

We walked by these double doors on the 135 Plymouth Street building. The NYC Buildings records for 135 Plymouth Street (NYC DOB) show that an application for exterior renovation was filed in late April 2009, but there is no mention of ‘change of use, egress, or occupancy.’ Does anyone know what this will be? New double door entrance to the building? A new neighborhood pub? Movie prop?

[UPDATE: Our friends at i'm not sayin, i'm just sayin point out that this is a movie prop for "The Resident". Their photo below shows the details of the finished doorway.]

Previously:
{Red Door to Nowhere @ 135 Plymouth}
{Dumbo Then and Now: Plymouth Street West of Pearl Street}

Alternate-side parking regulations are suspended today in NYC due to the snowstorm. The City Council passed a bill to make the practice law yesterday, just in time for the storm today. Also, there have been a few parking changes in the past day or two in Dumbo and Vinegar Hill. In addition to some of the changes made on Front Street in late November, the following streets have updated parking regulations:

• Plymouth between Jay and Bridge used to be No Parking M-F 8am-6pm and now is No Parking Friday 8-6pm (on the South side of the street).
• Plymouth between Bridge and Gold used to have No Parking signs (unlimited parking) and now is No Parking Friday 8am-6pm (on the South side of the street).
• Jay Street between Front and York Street used to have No Parking M-F 8am-6pm and has become a No Standing Anytime block on the West (or J Condo) side.

There may be other changes being made by the Department of Transportation based on the Community Board 2 vote in October. If there are others, please let us know.

(Plymouth Street between Jay and Bridge Streets)