The Dumbo Townhouses, developed by Dumbo based Alloy (the real estate development company that developed 192 Water Street and 185 Plymouth Street) have released plans for the five townhomes on the corner of Pearl and Water Street via their website.

The the five townhouses, all include parking garage, rooftop outdoor space, and six stories:

• 55 Pearl Street, 3,358 sf / 695 ext sf / 466 sf garage, (floorplan pdf)
• 169 Water Street, 3,049 sf / 664 ext sf / garage, (floorplan pdf)
• 171 Water Street, 3,049 sf / 664 ext sf / garage, (floorplan pdf)
• 173 Water Street, 3,049 sf / 664 ext sf / garage, (floorplan pdf)
• 175 Water Street, 3,049 sf / 664 ext sf / garage, (floorplan pdf)

No word on pricing yet, but with demand high for family sized homes in Dumbo with limited inventory, these will probably be north of $4MM or even $5MM+. To compare, one penthouse (PHS) at 185 Plymouth Street (3,056 sf) is on the market for $3,950,000 and the other (PHN) is $3,400,000.

(Photos from dumbotownhouses.com. The Dumbo Townhouses website was developed by Dumbo’s Brooklyn United)

The increase in food trucks in NYC is a great thing for those looking for lunch and dinner options. High quality food being served in neighborhoods that need options is welcome. However in some cases, that has led to turf wars to get prime parking spots. Dumbo has been lucky to get a steady strem of great trucks, but they risk being ticketed or sent away by transit police. The trucks have to park in Dumbo starting at 7am to get prime spots.

But Thomas Yang and his partners at food trucks Bian Dang, Fun Buns, and Fishing Shrimp saw this as an opportunity to make a positive out of a negative. They formed a coop to lease the parking lot on the corner of Jay and Water Street in Dumbo for a food truck lot. We spoke with Thomas about it:

Which food trucks will be in the lot? Will there be other ones that may rotate there?

We will have a variety of food trucks that will rotate in the space. A sample of them will be, Bian Dang, Fun Buns, and Fishing Shrimp, Domo Taco, Mike N’ Willie’s, Big D’s Grub Truck, Korilla BBQ, Milk Truck, Wafels & Dinges, Cool Haus, Palenque, Carl’s Steaks, and Food Freaks.

What prompted you to lease the space?

We like the community and vibe down here. We know people want food trucks, but it seems that there are some people that don’t want us here and the police have been shooing us away. This lot will allow us to be there to provide good food.

What will the hours be there?

We are looking to set up from 11am to 3pm [weekdays]. Also we’re asking [Dumbo] to see if there is interest for dinners from 4/5pm – 8/9pm. Some vendors are looking for a long term strategy to really create a nice space. We’d love to hear from the neighborhood!

Please comment and let them know what you’d like to see in that space. Is there an interst in dinner service there? They also talked about hosting events. If so, let them know in the comments.

Location:
Parking lot at 56 Jay Street, Brooklyn NY 11201
Corner of Jay and Water Street in Dumbo

Previously:
{2012 Summer Season for Food Trucks in Dumbo Brooklyn, 13Jun2012}
{Shorty’s on Wheels Food Truck Coming to Dumbo, 09Jun2012}
{New Food Truck Alert in Dumbo: Real Good Truck, 13Dec2011}
{New Food Truck Option in Dumbo, 08Mar2010}
{Food Truck Monday in Dumbo, 19Jul2010}
{Munch Truck in Dumbo, 10Aug2010}
{Wafels & Dinges in Dumbo, 08Dec2009}
{Taiwanese Cravings Truck Visits Dumbo, 12Aug2009}
{Schnitzel Fridays in Dumbo, 07Aug2009}
{Schnitzel & Things Truck Lands in Dumbo, 27Jul2009}
{Rickshaw Dumpling Truck in Dumbo, 16Mar2009}
{Ice Cream Trucks in Dumbo, 12Jun2008}
{Treats Truck at Pearl St. Triangle, 19Jul2007}

Smorgasburg happens every Sunday in Brooklyn Bridge Park on the Dumbo waterfront at the historic Tobacco Warehouse, featuring packaged and prepared foods, purveyors from New York City and across the region, and other food-related vendors (kitchen utensils, housewares, etc.), for a total of 75-80 vendors.

Smorgasburg Dumbo
at Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park (30 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201)
Every Sundays 11am-6pm, Starting April 7 through November 24, 2013

(Corner of Water Street and Dock Street, Brooklyn NY 11201 Google Map)

Subway
A/C to High St.
F to York St.
2/3 to Clark St.

Bus
B25 to Water + New Dock St.

Car
From I-278/BQE East, take Exit 28A to Cadman Plaza.
From I-278/BQE West, take Exit 28 to Cadman Plaza.
For GPS, use 30 Water St., Brooklyn, NY 11201

(Photo by Ross Reyes)

Ironside, an NBC TV drama is being filmed in Dumbo Brooklyn on April 2 and 5, 2013. According to IMDB, Ironside “centers on Robert T. Ironside, a tough, sexy and acerbic police detective relegated to a wheelchair after a shooting who is hardly limited by his disability as he pushes and prods his hand-picked team to solve the most difficult cases.” The cast includes actors Brent Sexton, Spencer Grammer, Blair Underwood, Pablo Schreiber, and Kenneth Choi.

Filming will occur on the followign streets:

• Both sides of Adams Street between John and Front St.
• Both sides of Pearl Street between John and Water St.
• Both sides of Plymouth Street between Adams and Jay St.
• South side of Water Street between Washington and Adams St.
• Both sides of Front Street between Washington and Jay St.

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

The L Mag’s annual 50 Best Blocks in Brooklyn was posted last week. Among the best included a few in Dumbo, one in Vinegar Hill, and Brooklyn Heights:

Best Urban Palimpsest: Plymouth Street, between Washington and Main streets, DUMBO
“On one side are old Gairville warehouses, repurposed for start-ups and a (now out-of-business) restaurant; on the other, a mod Brooklyn Bridge Park playground. In the middle are belgian blocks cut through with decommissioned rails, driving over which you might spot an aughts-model sports car (as we did the other day).”

Best Honest-to-Goodness Alleyway: Howard Alley, DUMBO
“Watch a Hollywood movie set in NYC, and you’ll likely see at some point a character dash down an alley. But truth is this city ain’t got many alleys, at least not anymore. (It’s the one thing Chicago has on us.) But this back-passage in DUMBO looks just like the genuine article—much cooler than nearby Fleet Alley, a glorified driveway—complete with a scary door at its end we’d dare never approach, let alone pass through.”

Best-Smelling Block: Front Street, between Adams and Washington streets, DUMBO
“We walk down this street to work almost every day and are greeted by olfactory goodness. First the smell of freshly made juices from Foragers, then the toasted bread from the panini grill at Al Mar, and finally the scent of bacon-y goodness from Peas & Pickles. Then, of course, you cross the street and get assaulted by the mysterious sewage smell outside of West Elm and are forced to recognize that happiness is fleeting and garbage is always around the corner. Such is life.”

Cutest Private Street: Harrison Alley, Vinegar Hill
“If you’ve never wandered through the strange few blocks that constitute Vinegar Hill, you really should. Like, just around the corner from the popular Vinegar Hill House restaurant is this alley, basically a driveway, long-since (always?) fenced off by the people who live in the house at its end. (A curious sculpture surrounds their mailbox on the public side of the fence.) Yet it still has an official city street sign, adorably hanging off a crooked pole.”

Best Bike Lane Block: Flushing Avenue, between Washington Avenue and Hall Street, Clinton Hill
“Just in general, Flushing is one of the borough’s most reliable thoroughfares for cyclists, but the stretch along the Brooklyn Navy Yards, starting at Washington? Pure bliss. Here, there’s an actual cement barrier separating you and your bike from oblivious drivers. It’s almost too good to be true!”

(One of) Five Best Blocks to Live On
College Place, Brooklyn Heights
“Love Lane is the one everyone knows, but it’s this side street off that side street that’s really where you’ll find some of the prettiest housing stock in Brooklyn. Get down to the end and it’s just ridiculously European—plus totally secluded, even though you’re a very short walk away from stores and subways.”

Previously:
{4 of 50 Best Brooklyn Blocks in Dumbo, 03Nov2010}

Belgian block restoration on Water and Washington Streets in Dumbo started in May 2009 and completed in September 2011. The NYC Department of Transportation installed a new 14″ thermal block bicycle lane in the center lane of Washington Street, a look that disappointed preservationists. Doreen Gallo told us (in November 2011) that most people are unaware of what is being sacrificed and what the difference is between restoring the Belgian block in an historic, authentic way and the recent execution on Washington and Water Streets.

Today, The New York Times published an article that the city “has offered to install new cobbles that are aged artificially, like a pair of stonewashed jeans, to appear more worn.”

“Somebody cut those things — thousands of people,” said Doreen Gallo, the executive director of the Dumbo Neighborhood Alliance, a residents’ group. “And we’re careless.”

The Transportation Department has pledged to save as many of the old cobblestones as possible. Some have been retained, but turned 90 degrees to create makeshift bike lanes, pointing in the direction of traffic flow — a visually striking intervention that the city “just made up,” Ms. Gallo mused, to promote cycling.

But many of the stones must be replaced, the Transportation Department said, in part because, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, stones on a crosswalk or sidewalk must vary in height by no more than a quarter of an inch — far less a discrepancy than is found along the typical stretch of Belgian block.

Mindful of some community members’ disdain for the machine-cut cobbles that already exist on Washington Street, the department has promised an exhaustive search for the perfect replica stone. (Technically, cobblestones are rounded and irregular, but New Yorkers generally describe Belgian blocks as cobblestones.)

Andy Wiley-Schwartz, the Transportation Department’s assistant commissioner for public space said that in a citywide study in neighborhoods that retain their historic stones, including TriBeCa, SoHo and the meatpacking district, “…you see a much more uniform color and size of stone,” he said. “In Dumbo, there are a variety of colors and a variety of sizes.”

Residents from the Vinegar Hill Neighborhood Association have posted an online petition to preserve the original Belgian block streets in Vinegar Hill. Their letter states:

To:
The City of New York
As a resident or friend of Vinegar Hill, I oppose the use of mass-produced, modern cobblestones in Vinegar Hill.

Hence, when the planned sewer and water work on Water Street in Vinegar Hill are complete, I oppose the use of machine-made or machine-altered cobblestones of any kind or for any purpose in Vinegar Hill because they are incompatible with the designated historic character of our landmarked neighborhood, of which our Belgian blocks are a vital and irreplaceable component.

I also oppose the addition of a bike lane on Water Street made from anything but our own historic Belgian Blocks.

This measns infrastructure changes to Water Street (sewer work, water work, etc.) should faithfully restore in kind, not replace or redesign in any way, our historic Belgian block street surfaces.

Additionally, any planned changes to curbs and intersections should not include modern materials or designs.
Sincerely,
[Your name]

What do you think about the restoration of the streets in Dumbo?

Previously:
{$20 Million for Phase II of Dumbo Streets Announced, 07Nov2011}
{Belgian Block Paving On Washington Street, 25aug2011}
{Water Street Belgain Blocks Looking Good, 29Jul2011}
{Washington Street Prepped for Belgian Blocks20May2011}
{Belgian Blocks Being Replaced on Water Street, 02Oct2010}
{Water and Washington Street Reconstruction Project Update, 03Dec2009}
{Belgian Block Reconstruction to Begin This Week, 04May2009}
{Dumbo Belgian Blocks, 13Jan2007}

Thursday March 14, 2013
Stop by Aegir Boardworks for an evening of laughs and drinks. Drinks provided by Aegir partner, Zeal Optics. Drinks poured at 6:30pm. Comedy starts at 8:30pm.

Aegir Boardworks
99 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201

We mentioned in October 2012 that 66 Water Street Restaurant was rebranded and reopened. They remodeled and bought in Executive Chef Jonathan Lemon, from The Linc restaurant and Zigolinis to create a new contemporary American cuisine menu that includes entrees such as poached artic char, fettuccine zucchini, and a “Pat La Frieda” burger.

Then less than a month later, Hurricane Sandy hit NYC. You remember that Water Street and Main Street was hit particularly hard, which permanently closed Governor. Almondine Bakery is still rebuilding and hope to open in the spring.

66 Water Street got walloped with 18,000 cubic feet of water, drowning their newly installed kitchen, destroying computer systems, dry storage, liquor supply, furniture and 12 years of cherished memories and everything the restaurant needed to operate. But they’ve since rebuilt and opened late in 2012. They have been hosting weddings, Bar Mitzvhas, Bridal Showers, and events since then and is serving Dumbo residents. Executive Chef Jonathan Lemon has returned and is now open.

Here’s a message from 66 Water Street about events in March:

• Every weekday Happy Hour from Noon to 7pm.
• March Madness throughout March with the Final Four and Finals in the UnderWater Lounge ending the month.
• March 6th a Breast Cancer Awareness Fundraiser and Silent Auction and the public is invited.
• March 8 the UnderWater Lounge open at 7pm for an After Work “Loungie” Night with soft music.
• March 10 Sunday Time Out for Hunger 2013 (10%) of sales for Food Bank of NYC.
• March 11 through 21st Dine in Brooklyn.
• March 17th join us to celebrate St Patricks Day with Irish Specials both liquid and Entrees.
• March 20th we will celebrate the beginning of Spring with a SunSet Concert
• March 31st Easter Sunday with Special Entrees added to our Brunch.
• Every Sunday we serve our Booze Brunch from Noon to 4pm.

More to come in April. Check out their newly redone dining room and menu and let us know what you think.

66 Water Street Restaurant (66waterstreet.com)
66 Water Street, Brooklyn NY 11201

The street mural on Water Street (at Pearl Street) in Dumbo was painted over yesterday. That’s the ephemeral nature of street art, and we’re suprised how long it’s been up. Over the years, we’ve seen various art on that wall. In 2007, Revok, Retna, Saber collaborated for their mural. In May 2008, a group of 15 visual artists called Concrete Alchemy replaced the mural with their colorful imagery. Then in September 2008, a project called The Monster Project painted a piece titled “eel goddess”.

From May 2009 until this week, Dumbo artist Craig Anthony Miller (“CAM”), with a group called 303 Collectives painted the now famous elephant mural. The new temporary paint job will be up until the developers demolish the building for new townhouses.

According to a Brownstoner post today, “Alloy, the firm that will be both designing and developing the townhouses on the site (and is also responsible for 192 Water Street and 182 Plymouth Street), confirms that his firm gave the building its new look.”

They told Brownstoner, “we wanted to put something up that spoke to the impact of CAM’s work over the past few years and also inserted some optimism at that particular spot. We view all our work as a contribution to the built environment, hopefully a positive one, and while certainly a change from the wall, we’re excited about what the townhouses might be able to add in this little pocket of DUMBO.”

CAM sent us a note of thanks to convey to the community:

The 303 Collective mural on Water street has come to the end of an amazing run, enduring almost four years. It was humbling to see so many people use the wall weekly for a backdrop. Videos, weddings, engagements, fashion shoots, Television Ads and hundreds of tourist visiting the neighborhood monthly. A mural with a message for a Brooklyn community and embraced by more. Dumbo is a place where change is expected and inevitable, and to be honest I did not think the wall would survive a year being such a popular canvas. The mural made a name for itself and within its own rights became synonymous with the neighborhood. Thank you to EVERYONE who showed love and support for the mural and most importantly thanks to Tom, Blue Barn Pictures and The 303 Collective… Coby Kennedy, John Breiner, TRON, and the last edition Sky Davison.

Craig Anthony Miller “CAM”

[UPDATE: The CAM mural was just painted over leaving the word "bright" on the wall (via twitter @jattenberg)]

(Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Paper)


No date has been set for the development of 55-57 Pearl Street, but the Craig Anthony Miller’s mural will have to go has already been painted over. Brooklyn Paper reported:

The builders at Alloy want to put up modern housing in place of a low elephant-adorned garage at Pearl and Water streets that, like much of the block, once belonged to the Industrial-era paint company J.W. Masury & Son, according to the Historic Districts Council.

Alloy, the developers unveiled its plans for the site to the Landmarks Preservation Commission last Tuesday (Brownstoner), but the LPC raised a few concerns about how the concrete would fit in with the predominantly brick structures in Dumbo. The proposal is expected to be approved, but one of the best murals in Dumbo will be is gone.

(Photo by Josh Derr)

Related:
{Facade Proposal Revealed for 55-57 Pearl St. Townhouses, 07feb2013, Brownstoner}
{New Building Proposed for Dumbo Graffiti Garage, 22Jan2013, Brownstoner}
{Housing planned for DUMBO’s elephant mural building, 11Feb2013, BK Paper}