DUMBO
A New Chapter in the Residential Revolution
Yelena Lukyantseva
Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: Society
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Take one subway stop from Downtown Manhattan and you are in DUMBO - Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. DUMBO was the very first port neighborhood in Brooklyn, due to its proximity to the water. In the 18th and early 19th Centuries, this area was occupied by working class people; the area had a few taverns, some shipping businesses and light manufacturing. DUMBO changed dramatically after the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in May of 1883, growing into a busy industrial and manufacturing area. The Scottish immigrant Robert Gair, who created the technique for mass production of cardboard boxes in 1879, created the framework for what is now known as DUMBO.
Greenwich Village in Manhattan was the first Bohemian neighborhood in New York. In the 1970s, the "starving artists" moved to SOHO (South of Houston Street), but new developments and rising rents priced them out to Williamsburg, DUMBO, and beyond. Now, twenty years later, artists are yet again being priced, but this time out of DUMBO. Most of them recall the days when DUMBO had no corporate people "living in the 'hood,' "and some of them don't like newcomers "who are not artists, but want to come and live next to them." This is the new reality of current DUMBO. Old factories and warehouses have been converted into luxurious, multi-million dollar lofts, luring new well-to-do types of residents. In the 1980s one could get a 3,500 sq. feet loft for about $300 a month. Now the new one-bedroom apartments come close to $3,000 a month, but with much less space. Despite the high prices, there is still not much of a social scene in DUMBO: only one bar and a couple of restaurants, but a few more are on the way to fill the rising demand. It doesn't seem to bother the newcomers, as they come to the area for romantic ambiance, proximity to the water, and rugged cityscapes.
The first thing one notices when in DUMBO is the noise. The loud roar above your head coming from trains and traffic on the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges fits quite well with the vibe of the neighborhood. Exposed Belgian block streets, railroad lines, massive bridge structures, creepy-looking warehouses and factories are typical attributes. Some of the huge industrial buildings have been abandoned and filled with ghosts and feral cats; others are homes to about a thousand artists and performers. Signs of decay are everywhere, although much of the original railroad lines survive and many railway openings in the buildings are visible.
Greenwich Village in Manhattan was the first Bohemian neighborhood in New York. In the 1970s, the "starving artists" moved to SOHO (South of Houston Street), but new developments and rising rents priced them out to Williamsburg, DUMBO, and beyond. Now, twenty years later, artists are yet again being priced, but this time out of DUMBO. Most of them recall the days when DUMBO had no corporate people "living in the 'hood,' "and some of them don't like newcomers "who are not artists, but want to come and live next to them." This is the new reality of current DUMBO. Old factories and warehouses have been converted into luxurious, multi-million dollar lofts, luring new well-to-do types of residents. In the 1980s one could get a 3,500 sq. feet loft for about $300 a month. Now the new one-bedroom apartments come close to $3,000 a month, but with much less space. Despite the high prices, there is still not much of a social scene in DUMBO: only one bar and a couple of restaurants, but a few more are on the way to fill the rising demand. It doesn't seem to bother the newcomers, as they come to the area for romantic ambiance, proximity to the water, and rugged cityscapes.
The first thing one notices when in DUMBO is the noise. The loud roar above your head coming from trains and traffic on the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges fits quite well with the vibe of the neighborhood. Exposed Belgian block streets, railroad lines, massive bridge structures, creepy-looking warehouses and factories are typical attributes. Some of the huge industrial buildings have been abandoned and filled with ghosts and feral cats; others are homes to about a thousand artists and performers. Signs of decay are everywhere, although much of the original railroad lines survive and many railway openings in the buildings are visible.
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