DUMBO Block Party October 1

Another fun DUMBO block party is set for this Sunday, October 1. Wish I was small again so I could go on the bouncy castle!!!

For more details, visit

Sunday October 1st from 1pm - dusk
Pearl Street between Front and Water Streets

An all day, free, family-oriented outdoor community event featuring Ferrigno's BBQ and booths featuring outstanding products and services from local businesses and artists. Halcyon and Oblique Sound present a live performance by Tama Waipara and DJ's June Joseph and The Dahkter. Live graffiti art by James Top. To entertain the kids we'll have a bouncy castle, a face painter and Arts & Crafts activities brought to you by Half Pint and Jan Larsen Art.

A Chill in the Air

Nothing like the feeling of fall in New York. It's so nice to have the windows open and feel the cold breeze from outside.

Record Sale in BK Heights

The New York Daily News is reporting there may be a buyer for a very expensive townhouse in Brooklyn Heights. I read about the townhouse a few weeks back and was amazed by the description. It's a Corcoran listing (suprise!) for a cool $12.9 million dollars (reduced from $20 million - apparently no one was biting):

"Breathtaking Sunset River, Manhattan Harbor, and Skyline Views! This exceptional 25' mansion is for the discerning buyer who either: loves Brooklyn Heights or cannot find a home they love in Manhattan, and someone who appreciates the finest design and renovation! Hop across the bridge to Brooklyn Heights to see this truly exquisite historic renovation on the Promenade! This elegant home has views to the Statue of Liberty and the downtown city skyline from every one of the five floors. It includes an elegant English garden, plus 2-3 other terraces on the river. A formal parlor floor has an astounding living room with floor-to-ceiling windows leading to a custom-designed wrought-iron terrace and one of the finest formal dining rooms."

I think it would be really cool to live on Pineapple street. I just love that area. The firm also has another listing in The Heights on Remsen street for $12 million, and another on Montague Heights. It's amazing how much the price of real estate is in Brooklyn. My mom grew up in a brownstone in Park Slope on President street two blocks from the park. If only they hadn't sold it to move to Long Island ;-)

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard Move to BK

According to the New York Observer, we have some new celeb company in Brooklyn:

Maggie Gyllenhaal and fiancé Peter Sarsgaard have just signed a contract for a vintage 3,600-square-foot brownstone in north Park Slope. The four-story house, which was selling for $1.75 million, had been an owner’s triplex with a top-floor rental apartment. But the Gyllenhaal-Sarsgaard family will not be a landlord: According to the Corcoran listing, the brownstone will be delivered vacant. Ms. Gyllenhaal confirmed the deal through a spokesperson, but Mr. Sarsgaard was filming and could not be reached.

I really can't look at Maggie the same way after that movie Secretary. I wonder what her baby will think of that movie. I do really like Peter Sarsgaard. He's a great actor.

Guinness and Oysters, Oh my!

One thing DUMBO is really great for is festivals. We have them all the time and there is one coming up next weekend that looks amazing:

The 3rd Annual Guinness Oyster Music Festival -- October 07, 2006
This street-wide event will feature:
-- a procession from Manhattan’s City Hall to Brooklyn’s Water Street with the NYPD Pipes & Drums of the Emerald Society Marching Band
-- a Guinness Beer Garden
-- oysters
-- 12 hours of live bluegrass, country and rock music
-- live performances outdoors (12 noon to 6 p.m.) and indoors (6 p.m.to midnight); and traditional Irish music and step dancers

Unfortunately, I made plans a long time ago to Austin that weekend so I will have to hear about how great it was from my husbund. For more information visit here and here.

Bad News for Greenpoint Residents

News sites including the NYPost.com picked up a story on Monday about recent tests done by The Department of Environmental Conservation for ExxonMobil, who spilled a 17 million tons of oil in the area in 1950. Tests show there are dangerous chemicals in the soil. Hey at least the Kielbasa hasn't been affected - yum!

"Brooklyn a Destination, Not a Side Trip"

My mother in law sent me this Associated Press article which ran in her local paper in CT. It's interesting to see this coverage, although not suprising. Brooklyn has a lot to offer.

Informal Bagel Test - H&H vs Bagel Delight

On Saturday I decided to go to Retreat for an H&H bagel. I felt really guilty walking by Bagel Delight... I even walked on the other side of the street. While the coffee (or iced latte) at Retreat was really yummy, the bagel didn't stack up. It was too dense and I couldn't get my veggie cream cheese I like so much. Perhaps they are better from an actual H&H location, but I think Bagel Delight reigns supreme.

new blog - manufactured dissent

Just came across Peter Hyman's blog called manufactured dissent. I likey.

He regularly posts updates on the Dumbo hood and the most recent edition answered some questions for me about retailers moving in. Thanks, Peter!

Who are you "still in dumbo"?

Someone has an axe to grind and hey that's what blogs are all about - opinion. But this guy "still in dumbo" who has posted several comments to this Curbed post just kills me.

He told me to stop drinking the Kool-aid and that the owners at 70 Washington are egomaniacs. Does this guy/gal even live in the building? Why not move out? I am sure someone else would love to have your apt. And thanks to DumboNYC for having my back.

And I am sick of the talk about rat complaints. It's NYC for crying out loud!!! Maybe you've not had the pleasure of crossing paths with a gigantic dog-sized rat in the East Village or in Murray Hill where I used to live. Oh and in Boston, they run right at you!

We have rats, mice and roaches, along with garbage, homeless people and other fun things. Get over it or get out... at least that's my opinion.

Ok, feeling better now :-)

9/11 Memorial Lights

Just looked out my window and saw the 9/11 memorial lights. It was an amazing site. Here is a photo I snapped with my camera but it came out quite blurry with all the lights from the bridge and car traffic. Still, it's amazing.

Dumbo Block Party - Sept 10th.

The last Dumbo block party was on July 4th and had everything from a jumpy castle and pony rides to drum n' bass DJs (goods ones like DB).

Just noticed the posters are up for the next event on Sunday, September 10th. Unfortunately we'll be in CT for my mother-in-law's 60th birthday fete but if anyone is reading this, they should check it out. It starts at Noon on Main Street between Plymouth and Water.

This time around the DJs are Monk One, A. Frog and Ishnock Baptiste Rock. Not familiar with these folks, but I am sure it will be a fun time. There's also food and work by local artists.

Hail the F Train

In Dumbo & most of South Brooklyn, it's all about the F. It's great in the morning and comes on schedule to the minute. At night it's less reliable and packed. Forget about the weekends.

I found some cool pictures on Flickr of the F (the pics are hyperlinked back to the user's page).

The one to the right is of York Street Station, which is the Dumbo stop. You can also take the A/C but it's a little bit longer walk. I also like the F because it goes underground and then above ground (see sunset pic below).

Torn Bridge Flag Comes Down

Sitting here drinking my coffee and noticed that one of the American Flags on the Brooklyn Bridge was ripped, likely from the storm. An hour or so later, we saw two people walking up the middle of the bridge - pretty cool. Right now they have taken down the flag and will likely replace it with a new one. My camera is dead or I would have taken a picture.

Confession: I'm a Bagel Addict

I LOVE bagels. Frankly I can't imagine someone not liking bagels. It would just be strange. I probably couldn't be your friend. Luckily, we have great bagels in Brooklyn. I was worried when we left manhattan cause we had a great place and they delivered. Yes, we're lazy and sometimes didn't feel like walking a block for our bagel.

CitySearch recently announced the top bagel places for 2006. Ess-a-bagel was at the top of the list and it comes highly recommended. Although I have never had one. My new local favorite is La Bagel Delight, at the Front St location.
The guys there are funny and they get your food out fast. Most importantly the bagels are how I like them - crispy on the outside, bubbly on the bottom and smooshy on the inside. They have a good selection of bagels too, all home made in the store. I also hear that the coffee box in dumbo carries H&H bagels.

When I used to live in Boston, it was all about Bagel Rising. It was a great neighborhood one of a kind place, where the line hung out the door on weekends. It was my first stop after a long night of partying.

And when I visit my friend in Hoboken, I love their local bagel joint Bagel Smashery. It's literally one blcok from her house. The fun thing there is that you can get a normal bagel with whatever you like on it and then you can have it smashed. It sounds gross but it's really good. It's not at all like those flat bagels, which I have had too but would rather indulge on the real carb-a-lishious thing.

One of my favorite topics... neckface

When we first moved to the city about two years ago we began to notice grafitti in the east village with the tag neckface. It was usually a strange cartoonish looking monster character, something like the sand worms from beetlejuice. But until recently I had forgotten about neckface. In my new hood, there is a large neckface piece that is visible from the York Street F station (Jay & Front Street). That links to a clearer picture and here is another:

So, my interest was renewed and I decided to do a search online.

According to wikipedia, one of my favorite sources, neckface is a trained artist from California who lived in brooklyn for some time. neckface's identity is unknown, however he granted one interview to Dana Goodyear at The New Yorker on the condition he would remain anonymous.

I also came across some of his grafitti on flickr. There are also a lot of articles on neckface and his graffitti - this blog post in Curbed talks about a famous neckpiece tag in Chelsea.

But if you start to look at his work, it's really disturbing and dark. I found his MySpace page as well - it may be a fake - but it's something I plan to look into further. At first I was quick to think about adding him as a friend (I really do love MySpace) but he's kinda creepy. I think I'll watch from a far.

PS 8

I am really hoping to stay in Brooklyn after we have kids and send them to public school. I grew up in Manhattan and went to an amazing private school, but then moved to Connecticut to go to public school. I think both have their advantages and disadvantages. Spence taught be a lot about discipline, study habits and teamwork. When I left after 7th grade, I felt like I would never make friends again. It was such a close knit environment there, especially since it was all girls and we were just beginning grow up. There were less than 500 girls in the entire school, K-12, which made for small classrooms and full accessibility to teachers.

When I moved to Connecticut, I went to one of the best public schools. But it was very opposite from what I was used to in New York. It was co-ed for one and the high school had thousands of students. I wasn't used to learning in a co-ed environment. People came to class late and didn't do their homework, which was very strange to me. It was easy to let your standards sink... not study as hard, let your grades slip, be late, skip class. But who is to say that wouldn't have happened anyway at Spence? I think the difference is that there wouldn't have been tolerance for the behavior.

But I've been reading a lot about the local school, PS 8, and it seems to be taking a turn for the better in part thanks to the growth of the community in Dumbo. Private school is nearing the same as a college education, which is too much for most parents to afford twice! Hopefully PS8 will continue in the right direction. I can't wait to get involved.

desperate dogs in Brooklyn

WABC is reporting on some disturbing and disgusting news from Prospect Heights about a half dozen dogs who were neglected and mistreated. Some poor little kids looked over a fence and saw dogs canibalizing each other. Neighbors reported a stench.

Thank God this wasn't in my neighborhood. I always see these types of stories on the news where people mistreat their animals, but usually it's some scary cat lady hoarding like 30 cats in one nasty apartment. I don't understand how people can do this to their pets?

One thing about dumbo is that it's really animal friendly. Everyone has a dog or two. There are english and french bulldogs, labs, daschunds, chiwawas and mutts everywhere. But somehow the sidewalks are so much cleaner because people genuinely care about their environment and clean up properly. Some day we'll get a dog but for now we love our two cats.

Area for improvement: sushi in Dumbo

You could say Dumbo has a little bit of everything, but one thing it lacks is consistently good sushi. DumboNYC inspired me to blog on sushi, one of my favorite topics.

Miso Sushi is the only sushi in Dumbo and the first time we ate there it was really good. Maybe it was the excitement of eating after a long day of moving. We were psyched.

But the last few times we've ordered from Miso it just hasn't been so great. We absolutely did NOT get sick, but it just tasted off or the consistency wasn't quite right. It's hard when you really love sushi and have gotten used to really excellent sushi (hint: Sushi of Gari East). I guess I'll have to go to manhattan when I get a craving or to Park Slope for Blue Ribbon, whose SOHO counterpart is fantastic. At the SOHO location they often have artic char. Ask for it Hakozushi or box style with the chive oil. It's amazing.

Cube 63 in Brooklyn is medicore compared to its sister restaurant on the LES. But some of the rolls are imaginative, but don't waste your money on omasake. Save your money for Gari "chef's choice" and make sure they give you a few pieces of sushi called snapper salad.

My hood circa 1926

DumboNYC has a great post up about a collection of photographs from the New York Public Library. There is a great picture of Washington Street looking down to the water that was taken in 1926, which is juxtaposed with a recent picture. Definitely worth checking out.