Dumbo, an acronym for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, is a neighborhood in the New York City, New York, borough of Brooklyn. It encompasses two sections; one located between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, which connect Brooklyn to Manhattan across the East River, and another which continues east from the Manhattan Bridge to the Vinegar Hill area. The neighborhood is part of Brooklyn Community Board 2. Jerry Seinfeld once referred to Dumbo on a late-night talk show appearance, joking that it stands for "Down Under Manhattan Bridge," but that New Yorkers arbitrarily added the "O" at the end because they did not want to have a neighborhood called "Dumb."
Until the 1890s, the western portion of the neighborhood was known as Fulton Landing, after the ferry stop that connected it to Manhattan before the Brooklyn Bridge opened. Then, it was primarily a manufacturing district, housing warehouses and factories that made machinery, paper boxes and Brillo soap pads. With deindustrialization it began becoming primarily residential, when artists and other young homesteaders seeking relatively large and inexpensive loft apartment spaces for studios and homes began moving there in the late 1970s. The acronym Dumbo arose in 1978, when new residents coined it in the belief such an unattractive name would help deter developers. Near the end of the 20th century, as property became more and more expensive in Manhattan, DUMBO became increasingly gentrified. Joy Glidden is the Founding Director of the Dumbo arts center (DAC) and co-founder of the Dumbo Art Under the Bridge Festival in Brooklyn, New York, where she served as the Executive Director from 1997-2006. Using art as a catalyst for change, Glidden’s efforts achieved successful development in Dumbo that is now a model for similar waterfront developments around the world.
On December 18, 2007, the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission voted unanimously to designate the Dumbo section of Brooklyn as the city's 90th historic district. The Dumbo historic district consists of properties bound by John Street to the north, York Street to the south, Main Street to the west, and Bridge Street to the east.
The area has emerged as one of New York City's premier arts districts, with a cluster of for-profit art galleries and such not-for-profit institutions as the St. Ann's Warehouse and the A.I.R. Gallery. Chef Jacques Torres opened a chocolate factory in Dumbo in December 2000. Other culinary businesses in the area include Grimaldi's, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, the River Café, and, in the One Old Fulton Street building, Pete's Downtown Restaurant. All of these businesses cluster in Fulton Landing, which is also home to Bargemusic, a floating venue for classical music. The first public space in the neighborhood was Fulton Ferry, followed by Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park. Brooklyn Bridge Park, a joint state/city venture presently under development, was launched in 2006.
The New York Water Taxi company runs a water ferry from the Fulton Slip at Fulton Landing. New York City Subway stations are located at York Street (F train) on the IND Sixth Avenue Line, and High Street – Brooklyn Bridge (A C trains) on the IND Eighth Avenue Line. Bus service is provided by the B25, B67, and B69. A convenient staircase connects the Brooklyn Bridge walkway to Washington Street, one of Dumbo's main streets.
ATURA Barren Island Bath Beach Bay Ridge Bedford Bedford-Stuyvesant Bensonhurst Bergen Beach BoCoCa Boerum Hill Borough Park Brighton Beach Brooklyn Chinatown Brooklyn Heights Brownsville Bushwick Canarsie Carroll Gardens City Line Clinton Hill Cobble Hill Coney Island Crown Heights Cypress Hills Ditmas Park Downtown Dumbo Dyker Heights East Flatbush East New York East Williamsburg Farragut Fiske Terrace Flatbush Flatlands Fort Greene Fort Hamilton Fulton Ferry Georgetown Gerritsen Beach Gowanus Gravesend Greenpoint Greenwood Heights Highland Park Homecrest Kensington Little Poland Madison Manhattan Beach Mapleton Marine Park Midwood Mill Basin Navy Yard New Lots New Utrecht Ocean Hill Ocean Parkway Park Slope Pigtown Plum Beach Prospect Heights Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn Prospect Park South RAMBO Red Hook Sea Gate Sheepshead Bay South Park Slope Starrett City Stuyvesant Heights Sunset Park Vinegar Hill Weeksville White Sands Williamsburg Windsor Terrace Wingate
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