DUMBO neigborhood: Having quite the moment - by Alexandria Sica

Alexandria Sica,
DUMBO Improvement District

DUMBO, that tiny artsy waterfront neighborhood nestled among the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan Bridge, is having quite the moment: New residents, a booming commercial real estate market, news-making public art, all the while maintaining the feel of village-like community. Walking around, you know you’re in a special slice of New York. There is street art, Belgian block streets and the rumble of the trains going over the Manhattan Bridge.

For the last 40 years, DUMBO’s industrial buildings have been transforming into the waterfront destination it is today. First occupied by artists and storage companies - the neighborhood eventually began to attract increasing numbers of families and creative tech companies. Today, the tech scene is one of the hottest in the city - with 70% of DUMBO’s offices occupied by innovative companies like Etsy, Huge and Big Spaceship. Many of these companies started in DUMBO, attracted by affordable spaces across the river and the remarkable views to inspire their creative ideas. They in turn attracted like minded companies – and suddenly a major hub was formed. Today, that hub has spread throughout the greater Downtown Brooklyn area – creating the thriving Brooklyn Tech Triangle comprised of DUMBO, Downtown and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The neighborhood is also a major tourist destination – with sites that include Brooklyn Bridge Park, Jane’s Carousel, DUMBO Walls – the street art loop, trips to Grimaldi’s and Juliana’s Pizza, and an epic photo op at the top of Washington St. which gives you a clear view of the Empire State building through the Manhattan Bridge.

The DUMBO Improvement District is the local BID and has been working with artists, residents, companies, property owners and public stakeholders since 2006 to help create this unique part of the world. Known for hosting only-in-Brooklyn public events – like monthly dance parties and World Cup viewing parties in the Archway under the Manhattan Bridge, the DUMBO Improvement District strives to bring the creativity happening in DUMBO’s offices and studios out onto the street.

Next on the list: the Brooklyn Flea launching this month in the Pearl St. Triangle and Archway and a farmers market launching on Wednesdays starting in June.

Over the next two years – a lot of the DUMBO Improvement District’s planning efforts will be paying off: Brooklyn Bridge Park opened up a new John St. section of the park at the east end of the neighborhood. St. Ann’s Warehouse opened its doors in the Tobacco Warehouse this fall; the Empire Stores rehab project is transforming an abandoned warehouse into an epic retail experience; and the buildings formerly occupied by the Jehovas Witnesses (now known as the DUMBO Heights campus) will be full of tech and creative companies starting this summer. And thanks to the two bridges and “natural barrier” of the BQE, DUMBO will still maintain that village like charm and interesting neighbors for daily inspiration.

Alexandria Sica is the executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District, Brooklyn, N.Y.