In terms of vibe and view – D.U.M.B.O. is my favorite neighborhood in the city. (D.U.M.B.O. is an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, by the by.) Curly shows why it is, to my taste, almost a poetic neighborhood – in a gritty urban way. The place is just RICH with atmosphere. I was in a reading over there before it became the hip new place – and it was pretty much solely industrial, cobblestone streets, the massive columns of the bridge, the far-off views of Lady Liberty … but really NOTHING there. Not residential at all. I don’t know what the changes have been in the last couple of years – but I LOVED my brief theatrical stint over in D.U.M.B.O. Click-clacking the heels over the cobblestones, hurrying to rehearsal in the big drafty artists’ space on the river’s edge … I still think: if I could CHOOSE, and money were no object, I’d live in D.U.M.B.O.
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Fortunately, I’m within walking distance but there’s no way I can afford to live there. I love walking around that neighborhood. It’s the perfect marriage of industry and art. God, I would kill to have one floor in a warehouse with enormous windows and views of the bridges and the river. One of these days… Party at my place when I do!
curly – sigh. We can both dream, can’t we? yeah – the entire place feels … inspirational to me. In a strange ugly-beautiful urban way. Love that bridge towering over the whole thing, too.
Whenever I go there, I feel inspired but I also can’t help but feel frustrated b/c the area of NJ where I grew up had really interesting-looking warehouses and industrial buildings. Instead of integrating them into the landscape and renovating them for practical purposes, the town either let them crumble or knocked them down and replaced them with multiple-family dwellings with zero character. Grrr! I shake my fist at vision-less town council members.
The second a Starbucks or a Gap goes to DUMBO it’s all over. Is it still primarily industrial?
I just looooved the sort of desolate concrete cobblestone vibe of the place. Such “scope for imagination” as Anne of Green Gables would say.
Well, there’s a West Elm there now. I didn’t see a Starbucks but I wouldn’t doubt one is on its way. At the same time, there are loads of unique businesses which outnumber the chains. Everyone relies on fresh direct.com for groceries because there are no supermarkets. I think the locals will revolt if a Gristedes were to open. Whole Foods, maybe, but definitely not Gristedes.
There are some great brunch places there. When your schedule lightens a bit, come over to Bklyn and we can stuff our faces and explore.
Isn’t Grimaldi’s over in DUMBO? and the Ice Cream Factory? and the River Cafe? and a stop for the Water Taxi? I think it’s been pretty much discovered…the clock is probably ticking on the neighborhood right now. It’s a big spot on the weekends for the East Vilage and LES crowd who don’t feel like waiting 2 hours to get into the Clinton Street Baking Co. for brunch. I’m guessing it won’t be long until we see DUMBO featured on The Apprentice.
Grimaldi’s is there. But still – the block it’s on is kind of deserted. You have to know where it is.
is it a stop for the water taxi? I didn’t know.
I’d still love to live down there. It’s like this weird urban fantasy I have.
Yup, the Water Taxi stops at Fulton Landing which is right across the street from Grimaldi’s. It’s definitely becoming more well-known around there but I’m not sure a lot of those people realize there’s a labyrinth of warehouse-lined cobblestone streets behind them. It’s always fun to take someone there for the first time.
I remember one night after my reading – the cast and I all traipsed through the deserted streets to find Grimaldis. It was me and about 10 Iranians. hahaha Great cast.
We were in nowheresville. Barbed wire, warehouses, cobblestones – NOBODY around.
And then – like a weird glowing gem in the middle of the darkness – was Grimaldi’s. It was like an Edward Hopper painting. Urban isolation, but warmth – in the middle of the darkness.
And we just whooped it up until midnight at Grimaldi’s – we were the only people in there.
Unforgettable night.
Also, Michael: No one said it hadn’t been “discovered”. I’ve been aware of the coolness of DUMBO since I moved here 10 years ago. Most people are.
I’m sorry if I sounded condescending, Sheila (and Curly). I didn’t mean “discovered” as in nobody knows about it. I meant “discovered” by developers who are going to put the Starbucks, etc., in the neighborhood, tear down the buildings and warehouses, and in general, “yuppie” the place up. (Read: “the new ugly green building on Astor Place”) In a way, with MetroTech just a few blocks away, and the new sports arena going up over the LIRR rail yards, this is probably already in progress. I’m a native Brooklynite, and it kills me when people cannot afford to live in the neighborhood in which they grew up. I loved DUMBO back in the day when it wasn’t DUMBO. It was referred to as just “by the Brooklyn Navy Yard”. They did it to the Heights, they did it to Williamsburg. I just feel that they have their sights set on DUMBO next. There are neighborhoods in Brooklyn that have been renewed without destroying the feel of it: Park Slope, Bay Ridge, etc. They didn’t destroy, they renovated. This is the point I was trying to make. Sorry again.
michael – thanks for clearing that up!!
Yeah – it’s the corporatization which – bums me out. Because then everything just starts to look the SAME. everywhere.
Argh.
It hasn’t happened where I live yet – although there is a Walgreens. But everything else is a non-generic mom-and-pop store. A bit more inconvenient, sure – and I can’t get the specific kind of mustard I like – unless I will settle for yellow Gulden’s or Grey Poupon. Which I won’t. I can’t abide either of those choices. so that’s “inconvenient” – although I just buy my damn mustard elsewhere. hahahaha
DUMBO is inconvenient I imagine – for residents. You can’t just walk out your apartment (ahem – warehouse) and go to the corner store. but it’s got CHARM, baby!!!
I remember a couple years ago there was some huge article in … maybe Time Out – about the coolness of DUMBO – and I thought: shit. Now EVERYONE will know.
It’s like when your favorite little hole in the wall restaurant gets a good write-up in The Times. I feel this moment of despair and loss, like: DAMN! Secret’s out!!! Say good-bye to ever being able to have a quiet don’t-have-to-make-reservations dinner there ever again.
Progress and all. It’s inevitable, I guess – but it sure does bum me out.
DUMBO – is that in Brooklyn?
(I mean, I know Manhattan pretty well, but I have little idea of Bklyn yet)
mitch – yeah, it’s in Brooklyn. Right on the edge of the East River – the city of Manhattan looks so close from there – that you feel like you can touch it.
And the Manhattan Bridge soars over the entire neighborhood like this colossal dinosaur
It’s spectacular – mostly warehouses and fish markets and unheated artists lofts – as well as the best pizza joint in New York.
Great neighborhood. Definitely go and check it out next time you’re in town. You can even walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and get there.
It’s how I feel about The Mews. Now it sucks and I refuse to go there.
Don’t hate me because I was lucky, but in the early 90s I had a sublet for four years in one of those apartments “in a warehouse with enormous windows and views of the bridges and the river.” The apartment was on the 7th floor of the Eagle Warehouse. Depending on who draws the lines that is or is not DUMBO but right on its edge, across the street from Grimaldi’s, which was then called Patsy’s. The ice cream place wasn’t open yet. And yes, it was a wonderfully fun, but inconvenient, neighborhood to live in. There is a gallery of photos taken from my window, showing the Brooklynm Bridge, lower Manhattan, the WTC, and so on at my still in-progress photoblog here