Permit #NA: June 5 and June 6, 2012

A filming for TV series White Collar (4th season) is taking place in Dumbo Brooklyn in Dumbo Brookyn on Tuesday, June 5, and Wednesday, June 6, 2012.

A synopsis of White Collar: A white collar criminal agrees to help the FBI catch other white collar criminals using his expertise as an art and securities thief, counterfeiter and racketeer.

The TV drama series stars Matt Bomer, Tim Dekay, Willie Garson, and Tiffany Thiessen.

Filming and equipment will take place on the following streets:

• Front Street between Washington and York Street
• Washington Street between Front and York Street
• Cadman Plaza West between Middagh and Clark Street

The following streets will be affected on Tuesday, June 5 only:

• Water Street between New Dock Street and Old Fulton Street
• Old Fulton Street between Front Street and Water Street
• Everit Street betewen Old Fulton Street and Doughty Street

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

The NY Times published an article about the 30 Washington Street building conversion, which will be about 100 rental apartments and will take about a year to renovate. Writer Jake Mooney includes some other nuggest of information, including a reference to how Dumbo’s housing market is doing well.

Brooklyn Paper also mentioned last month that Dumbo rents are higher than most of Manhattan. With the limited inventory in the neighborhood, the average price of a studio in Dumbo was $2,567 per month ($300 more than last year and $458 more than the average studio price in the Lower East Side), writes Brooklyn Paper.

With 205 Water Street, 220 Water Street, 37 Bridge Street (Kirkman Lofts), 192 Water Street, and 133 Water Street added to the real estate mix, real estate developers are trying to meet the demand in the area.

The other item mentioned in the NY Times article is the long-planned 400-unit Dock Street project next to the Brooklyn Bridge is to begin in July. Currently, a parking garage and lot occupy the space where the Dock Street project will break ground (photo above). We spoke with the garage staff who mentioned that they are no longer offering monthly parking there and renters have been notified that they will have to find other garage space by June to prepare for the Dock Street project.

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The old photo above, courtesy of New York City Municipal Archives, from 1908 of Manhattan Bridge shows the bridge under construction. 870,000 photographs of New York and its municipal operations have been made public for the first time on the internet. The city Department of Records officially announced the debut of the photo database yesterday.

Above is one of the photos that was released (on Yahoo News):

“In this June 5, 1908 photo provided by the New York City Municipal Archives, the superstructure from the Manhattan Bridge rises above Washington Street in New York. Over 870,000 photos from an archive that exceeds 2.2 million images have been scanned and made available online, for the first time giving a global audience a view of a rich collection that documents life in New York City. (AP Photo/New York City Municipal Archives, Department of Bridges/Plant & Structures, Eugene de Salignac)”

Construction of the Manhattan Bridge started in 1901 and was open to traffic at the end of 1909. This view looking down Washington Street is a well known one. This 1908 photo also shows the buildings on Plymouth Street, which still stand today (left one is 30 Washington Street and right one is 25 Washington Street).

Here’s another image of the photo from 1908, 1974, and 2009.

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{Dumbo Then and Now, series, DumboNYC}

The conversion process at 30 Washington Street (between Water and Plymouth Streets) to renovate the building into a residential property started over the weekend. The scaffolding has been installed and interior has been cleared for renovation. The change of use from commercial to residential began when Two Trees Management notified the League Treatment Center, that they would need to relocate in 2009. The League Treatment Center (as featured on DumboNYC) serves 100 preschool children and 150 adults (they’ve since found a new home at 470 Vanderbilt Avenue which will server over 300 children and adults). The Dumbo Arts Center was also located at 30 Washington Street until they moved to their current location in Dumbo at 111 Front Street, Suite 212.

According to the job filing on the NYC Department of Buildings website, “Change of use to convert existing building from commercial to residential. relocating floor area to create addition of 7th floor. general construction and partial demolitition throughout.”

The building, also known as 26-38 Washington Street (northwest corner Water Street; 113-119 Water Street) is one of the most attractive buildings in Dumbo, in our opinion. There are 6 stories plus a basement, and has plans for an additional story. The building, an American Round Arch style, was built in 1887 by architect Benjamin Finkensieper, and originally owned by Robert Gair. (See pages 122-125 of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission for details.) A NY Times article reference states the conversion will be for 100 rental apartments.

The building across the street, 25 Washington Street was also converted, which began occupancy in May 2011.

It’s expensive to live in Dumbo Brooklyn. It’s still one of the most expensive neighborhoods in NYC. Buying a loft apartment in the area is cost prohibitive for many, with median prices currently at $1,029,990 ($813 per square feet and median size of 1,236 sqft), according to Streeteasy. Even then, the top end of new developments in Dumbo are selling. We don’t have statistics on this, but we’re hearing from sellers and realtors that most of the prospective buyers are people who work on Wall Street or foreigners who have cash to burn. But with limited inventory in the top range, what are they to do if they have to live in Dumbo? They can rent in a premium loft condo until something comes up. Here are three rentals in the $10,000 and up per month:

• 1 Main Street, 14th Floor (Sotheby’s), $17,500 per month (for 2 year lease), $20,000 (for 1 year lease), 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 3,200sqft
• 70 Washington Street, 10G (Sotheby’s), $11,500 per month, 5 bedrooms, 3.5 baths
• 30 Main Street, PHA (Elliman), $10,500 per month, 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, 1,515sqft

For those with lots of cash to burn, there’s the Ultimate Bachelor Pad still available for $23.5MM.

Related:
{One Main PH Sale Sets New Brooklyn Record, 06May2008}
{High Priced Condos at One Main Under Contract ,26Mar2008}

If you’re still looking to get a Christmas tree in Dumbo, there are plenty to choose from at the courtyard next to Rice restaurant on Washington Street, by Adam Park trees. You can also get trees at Peas & Pickles.

According to a Curbed NY post, PropertyShark published their quarterly list of the most expensive neighborhoods (based on median closing price for each neighborhood). PropertyShark noted that Dumbo was one of the most expensive NYC neighborhoods in Q2 2011. In Q3 2011, Dumbo moved up one notch. Curbed writes, “Dumbo continued to rise in the ranks (up from #4 last quarter to #3), and Tribeca overtook Soho for the top spot.” Median sales price in Dumbo for Q3 was $1,460,000, which increased by 39% over Q2 (which was tops in NYC) and percentage change over the year was 99%. PropertyShark’s listings of the most expensive sales in Dumbo last quarter were:

• 30 Main Street, #11G sold for $2.8MM on 7/11/2011. 2,474 sqft ($1,131/sqft), 3bed, 2.5bath, $2,035/mo cc, (PropertyShark listing)
• 31 Washington Street, #15 (aka #6B) sold for $2.8MM on 8/23/2011. 3,194 sqft ($970/sqft), Open floor plan, 2.5bath, $843/mo cc, (Featured on Brownstoner)

A commenter on Curbed notes: “So the neighborhood with the highest rate of appreciation is DUMBO. The neighborhood with the 2nd highest appreciation over the year was Boreum Hill. IN BROOKLYN. So Brooklyn snags the top 2 slots for housing appreciation in all of NYC. Surprised West Village didn’t make the top 10 though.” Is Dumbo WAY too bubbly for its own good?

Related:
{Dumbo Is One of the Most Expensive NYC Neighborhoods (Q2 2011)}

The installation of the Belgian blocks started Washington Street this week. We noticed they are installing new granite blocks in the middle of the street, not seen in the other streets that are being repaved with Belgian blocks. The Community Construction Liaison is calling it “a new 14″ thermal block bicycle lane”.

Other activities being done this week:

• Washington and Water Street – removal of existing street lights/energize newly installed street lights
• Washington Street from Plymouth to Water Streets – Place temporary asphalt around all the manhole covers and Gas head
• Water Street between Washington/Adams Street – Continue reinstallation of the Belgian Blocks, install Belgian Blocks bicycle lane and granite crosswalks

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

A new massage therapy business, called NYC Massage and Healing has opened. The space is tucked away at 33 Washington Street, part of Rabbithole Studio. NYC Massage and Healing offers the following services: Swedish/deep tissue, Shiatsu, and pregnancy massages. For more information, go to their website: nycmassageandhealing.com.

Siobhan Towey, L.M.T.
NYC Massage and Healing
Tel: 646-221-5800
Email: siobhan@nycmassageandhealing.com
33 Washington Street, Brooklyn NY 11201

Related:
{Green Stone Spa}
{Health and Body Edition}
{Wellness Lounge}

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.