Next One May Show New Historic District
By Dennis Holt
DUMBO — In recent years, there have been a lot of stories about “turning neighborhoods around” here in the city, some applying the word “gentrification” to such activity.
But there has been one development in Brooklyn that goes beyond making things better (or worse) and that is DUMBO. A totally new neighborhood has been created out of old buildings whose original uses were anything but “neighborly.”
And much of this has been done within five to seven years. Accompanying this story are two maps. The one less cluttered is about five years old and the other one was produced this year. These two maps are worth more than a thousand words.
The first one shows the beginnings of this new neighborhood and the new one shows what has happened in about 60 short months, including the erection of two new buildings, one at 100 Jay St. and the other at 85 Adams St. Except for altering the skyline, these two buildings have yet to contribute anything to the new community.
The first map was able to display about 23 retail or gallery outlets, almost all clustered between the bridges. It showed four lonely buildings, only one identified, north of the Manhattan Bridge. On that first map were three parking lots shown.
To people familiar with DUMBO, that first map looked astonishing and was widely published to show what had happened in this historic area, once all of it called Vinegar Hill or in the vernacular of the time, Irish Town for obvious reasons.
The new map is more astonishing than the first for totally different reasons. It now lists 77 outlets and there are so many that the listings are broken up into five categories — food and beverages, shops, housewares, services, and art/music.
The latest map shows tenants in two buildings, only a sample of the new interests that have come to DUMBO. And since the first map, the Main Street Playground, part of Brooklyn Bridge Park, has been completed. North of the Manhattan Bridge, 13 buildings are shown with 30 new outlets.
Where there were three parking areas, there are now nine and the bus routes are indicated on the new map. The new map is physically only about 1/2-inch longer that the first one and no wider.
And an important event is set for April 19. The Landmarks Preservation Commission will hold its first community meeting in DUMBO which will precede the official scheduling for public hearings about the historic landmarking of most of the area.
But to show that this new neighborhood has some old problems, the KeySpan Corporation will be conducting an environmental study of 206 and 218 Front St. where, beginning in the 1870s, there was a gas storage holder.
The study will determine if there are any remedial steps needed, but preliminary research indicates there should be no risk to human health.
Maybe, in less than five more years, there will be yet another new map showing the newer DUMBO and probably the outlines of its historic district.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
All materials posted on brooklyneagle.com are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast, posted on Gotham Gazette.com or any other blog without written permission, which can be sought by emailing arturc@att.net.
Main Office 718 422 7400
