Dumbo NYC

Not quite in Dumbo (but billed as “Near the heart of Dumbo” on the website), the Bridgeview Tower development is scheduled for occupancy in the Spring of 2007 (it’s approaching fast!). The building is at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge and will have 58 units on 18 floors. The walk from the F train at the York Street station to Bridgeview took about 8 minutes via Gold Street (perhaps quicker if you walk fast past the Farragut apartment complex).

The design seems to be of Floridian descent with the lined facade design, curbed balcony slabs, and oval naval style windows. I could be wrong, but based on the prefab wall thickness (see 2nd photo below), the windows might not have enough thickness for the soundproofing that this area needs from the cars entering Manhattan Bridge.

  view from the front of the building

Brdigeview Tower
189 Bridge Street (between Concord and Nassau Streets)
Brooklyn, NY

{www.bridgeviewtower.com}
{ BridgeView Tower Condos in DUMBO, set speed}
{A Bridge So Near, Newyorkmetro}
{Bridge View Tower Kicks Off Flatbush Avenue Extension Renewal, Brooklyn Eagle, 6/30/05 (subscription required)}

  J Condo, from under Manhattan Bridge, 10/22/06

You will enjoy delicious and nourishing food, partake in cooking demonstrations, learn self-care techniques, walk away with easy and healthy holiday recipes, and much more!

Thursday and Friday, October 26 and 27
6:00 - 8:00 pm
42 Main Street, 2A
Brooklyn, NY

Call for info or register with Carla Cohen at (607) 222-4439
or email carrotsandkale@gmail.com

A full-fledged article in this month’s Travel+Leisure magazine dedicated to Brooklyn secures our borough as a destination, not just a pitstop. While Dumbo’s Jacques Torres and Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory are featured in the guide to Brooklyn, Peter Jon Lindberg writes about the unique qualities of Brooklyn as a whole. “If someone told you Brooklyn is “the next Manhattan,” they got it dead wrong. Brooklyn is nothing like Manhattan. Brooklyn looks and feels and is like no place else.” Selected quotes:

“Brooklyn was a place people left (Woody Allen, Mr. Kotter, the Dodgers). Manhattan was where people hoped to arrive.
…
Finally, I was seeing Brooklyn for what it was, not just what it wasn’t. I still went to Manhattan—for work, Knicks games, dental appointments. But weekends I spent east of the river, uncovering the mysteries of Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and Brighton Beach.
…
“Well, surprise. In case you haven’t heard, Brooklyn has become a byword for cool, the epitomic local-boy-makes-good—and suddenly, Brooklyn belongs to everyone. When did the “new” Brooklyn emerge? Was it in the 1990’s, when artists transformed Williamsburg into the city’s creative hub? Was it in 2003, when Zagat named the Grocery—a tiny room in Carroll Gardens—the seventh-best restaurant in NYC? Or a year earlier, when Time Out New York ran a cover headlined “Manhattan: The New Brooklyn”?

Whenever and however it happened, the Borough of Kings is back. (Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back.)

  Manhattan view as seen from Dumbo

Some of my favorite Brooklyn restaurants are featured in this guide to Brooklyn. Although I love Babbo in Manhattan, I prefer the pasta of Carroll Gardens at Frankies 457 or Park Slope’s Al di La as my everyday local Italian. Casual and not uptight, these restaurants offer the quality of the $40 entree minus $25.

Until recently, articles about Brooklyn (and the gentrification of the borough) mention that people move to Brooklyn because they are priced out of Manhattan or need more space, but I moved to Brooklyn because I like Brooklyn and chose to live in the borough of neighborhood communities.

{Brooklyn Bound, Travel+Leisure, November 2006}

[UPDATE: As of 11/24/06, the Zoe store is now open. See this post here for an update and pics.]

Zoe (shopzoeonline.com), an upscale women’s and men’s clothing store selling brands from Lacoste to Marc Jacobs, Prada Sport to Juicy Couture, and Miu Miu to Burberry is going into the space in 70 Washington Street in Dumbo Brooklyn next to the lobby. Construction in the space has been pretty active lately and the plans are to open on November 1, 2006.

  Finishing up the interior, 10/20/06

According to a Crain’s article this past May, Zoe founder Lisa Brock signed a 10 year lease for 3,500 square feet for $40 per square foot.

Zoë DUMBO
70 Washington Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
OPENING NOV. 1ST!
718.237.4002

{shopzoeonline.com}

Today’s Living In article in the real estate section of NY Times features Dumbo. You can read the article yourself, but here are a few descriptions of Dumbo from the article:

• “one of the most expensive and sought-after loft districts in New York“
• on Dumbo life: “there is life on nearly every corner, with strollers and bicycles bumping along the Belgian-block streets, and aromas of eggs Florentine and shiitake mushroom ravioli spilling onto the sidewalks”
• on New Developments: “Each tower [J Condo and Beacon Tower] is almost complete, and sales have already begun, with most unit prices beginning a hair under $1 million and edging upward.”
• Commercial: “Though consumer-friendly commercial activity was difficult to find a few years ago, small businesses have emerged all over the neighborhood.”
• Real Estate: “prices per square foot depend on the views. “I’ve sold way above $1,200 a square foot,” Ms. Heyman said, adding, “It’s about the view.””
• Rentals: “Rentals in Dumbo are hard to find. One-bedrooms can rent for as much as $5,000 per month; there is very little available under $2,000.”
• Eats: “Restaurants, like Superfine on Front Street and Bubby’s at the base of the Clocktower building, keep appearing, as do stores like P. S. Bookshop on Front Street”
• Schools: “Dumbo itself has no schools; many parents send their children to the private and public schools of nearby Brooklyn Heights. At Public School 8 on Hicks Street in 2004-2005, 54.8 percent of students met standards in state and city English language arts tests, versus 60.9 percent citywide; 68.5 percent did so in mathematics, versus 65.1 percent citywide.”
• History: “The names of Dumbo’s streets (Main, Front, Water) reflect its beginnings as a commercial downtown for Brooklyn, starting in the 1600’s.”
• Likes: “A walk through Dumbo is like none other in New York City; without looking at the baby clothing and natural food stores, the near-perfect preservation of its houses of manufacturing and unrivaled waterfront views are highly compelling.”

And residential properties mentioned in the article:

• 1 Main Street (Clocktower)
• 30 Main Street (Sweeney Building)
• 70 Washington Street
• 85 Adams Street (Beacon Tower)
• 100 Jay Street (J Condo)
• 84 Front Street (The Nexus)

Finally the article mentions at the end that a few small markets may not be enough for staples; “a full-scale grocery store is needed. A supermarket, anyone?” As the informative Peter Hyman reported earlier, a Whole Foods supermarket isn’t coming to Dumbo.

{Living In | Dumbo, Brooklyn: From Afterthought to Sought-After, NY Times, October 22, 2006}

  Photo courtesy of KlemZven

• Bring back a trolley!, Brooklyn Papers, Oct 21, 06
• Cheap housing advocates push for more changes in subsidy program, Brooklyn Papers, Oct 21, 06
• Trolley idea is derailed, Brooklyn Papers, Oct 21, 06
• Plan B for 421-a, Brooklyn Downtown Star, Oct 19, 06
• ‘Tears’ & ‘Control’, Courier Life
  

  Safe-T-Gallery in Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood, at 111 Front Street, Suite 214, presents two shows this month: Corey Armpriester’s “A History Of Tears” and Jun-Ah Kim’s “Mind Control.”

  The studio will be hosting a studio session for the crying project, October 21 from 3-7 p.m.; anyone willing and able to cry before the camera is welcome to drop by for a free portrait.

  Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday, 12-6 p.m. and Thursday until 8 p.m. For information, visit www.safetgallery.com

“More than 80 choreographers and dance companies, of just about every artistic persuasion and level of experience, will perform in 15 different programs in this sprawling but oddly cozy annual extravaganza. Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., 5 to 7 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m., at the John Ryan Theater, 25 Jay Street, Dumbo section of Brooklyn; Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. at the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, on the Brooklyn waterfront between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges; (718) 855-8822, whitewavedance.com; free.”

October 19 - November 4, 2006 - Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.-10p.m.

Poor Jacob’s Hamlet @ Spring Theatreworks
Spring Theatreworks presents “Poor Jacob’s Hamlet”, an ultra-minimalist de/re-construction of Shakespeare’s classic text with a focus on the malleability of truth and how our preconceived notions of what seems familiar and true can be manipulated. By restructuring the plot you are drawn to question Hamlet’s intentions and accusations of murder against his uncle Claudius as opposed to accepting them as fact. The show will be performed in Spring’s signature intimate loft space in DUMBO. Thursdays through Saturdays each week at 8pm through November 4th.

Seating is limited so reservations are strongly encouraged! To make reservations, send an email to tickets@springtheatreworks.com with your name, choice of performance and number of seats desired.

www.springtheatreworks.com

25 Jay Street, Studio #203 (btwn Plymouth & John)
917-213-1242

  Photo by epc

I heard from a reliable source that Dellorito’s on 29 Jay Street (next to The Plant) is opening for business on Saturday. Their sign says:

“Dellorito’s, Grill and Creamery
Serving grilled cheese and Panini Sandwiches
Burgers, Soups and Salads
Old Fashioned Ice Cream Parlor (fountain drinks, sundaes, cones, hot coffee)”

This will be a nice complement to Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory or Almondine in the area. Let us know what you think of Dellorito’s if you happen to go this weekend.

UPDATE: A commenter confirmed via an ad in Brooklyn Papers that the opening day is tomorrow.