Dumbo's Growing Pains
Is Dumbo a victim of its own success? Yes, according to some of the people quoted in yesterday’s Times article about the neighborhood’s transition from a dingy artists’ enclave in the late ’70s to its current incarnation, a new historic district that lures what one longtime Dumbo dweller calls antiseptic yuppies to pricey condos like…
Is Dumbo a victim of its own success? Yes, according to some of the people quoted in yesterday’s Times article about the neighborhood’s transition from a dingy artists’ enclave in the late ’70s to its current incarnation, a new historic district that lures what one longtime Dumbo dweller calls antiseptic yuppies to pricey condos like 100 Jay Street. Although plenty of neighborhood businesses welcome the area’s cachet and influx of affluent residents, others aren’t as pleased by its transformation. Some residents, however, have made peace with the changes. The worst thing you can do in New York is fall in love with a neighborhood, said Cara Lee Sparry, who moved to Dumbo in ’92 and runs Superfine. Sparry said she has been pleased by new amenities and suggests that Dumbo may have won the gentrification lottery, becoming a place where cool and condo coexist.
District Trying to Forge a New Identity [NY Times]
BREAKING: Dumbo Designated as Landmark District [Brownstoner]
Photo by TomVu.
and NYC is one big fucked up pile of shit rolling down a really big hill. Its never over it just hits some bumbs along the way.
You obviously don’t know the nyc from the 80’s and early 90’s.
Go back and re-read your Karl Marx. Capital decides all. Geographically, Dumbo is a TINY neighborhood. To have it make economic sense Walentas had to build HIGH and build CLOSE. So, a tiny neighborhood packed tight. Disparaging people who can afford it is ridiculous–are they lesser human beings for being able to pay $5k for a two bedroom rental? What bums me out are the for-sale-politicians (Marty Markowitz– “Blessed are those who bought early” ) who say yes to every development without providing extra schools/transportation for the thousands of newcomers. Most of us who have lived in Brooklyn for 20+ years came here for the breathing space. Increasingly, that seems gone and soon so will people like me, pocketing my profit but sad, too, for the disappearing feel of a sparsely populated neighborhood not too far from Manhattan. Then again, grow up. Because change is the only constant….
All ye unfaithful complaineth about old DUMBO’s demise. I should be complaining for all of you have forsaken the purity of this place. Long before ye came it was all serenity to live and work in this sweet wondrous kingdom by the bridge. Now, I must move on. And you shall witness.
-jehovah
I remember dumbo just a few years ago nothing being there really. I agree with 6:15, it is the suburbs. I have no idea why this area got ridiculously expensive. Is it because of a fucking starbucks or high-end furniture stores? I would never live there.
Hey 9:47 it is the Suburbs. million dollar propeties kids in strollers nannys. range rovers. expensive stores. lame restaurants. smells like the suburbs to me.
Peace to all.
Have to say I’m with 10:49. I’ve always wanted to like Dumbo but for all the hype there’s just not much to it.
The hipper you make of a neighborhood, the more attractive it is to those who want to ruin your love for it. Pioneering means paving the way for the future generations. When you’re pushed out, you’ve done your job.
I guess the season of charity and love has passed the posters on this site by? It isn’t great we live in a city where our biggest complaints are whether a neighborhood is cool enough or whether a suburban home is better than an urban mini-mansion? Consumerism = fetishizing buildings and “vibe” over developing connections and relations with those people around us.
I have had a lovely holiday so far. The bf and I walked our dog to Fort Greene Park yesterday, marveling out how quiet and peaceful the streets were. We wondered where all the kids were – only saw one family in Underwood playing with new scooters. Later we picked up my son and headed to Vermont. Spent the morning mucking out my father’s horsebarn (woke up to see the moon setting over the western ridge).
Peace out.
thats why you live in the suburbs.
and NYC is one big fucked up pile of shit rolling down a really big hill. Its never over it just hits some bumbs along the way.