DUMBO

Was out shooting all day yesterday in Brooklyn with a young band - Kaiser-Cartell. The session was near Red Hook, Dumbo (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and The Brooklyn Bridge. We had lunch at what is arguably the best pizza in New York, (which I assume means the world to most New Yorkers), at Grimaldi's which is located on Old Fulton and Front street under the Brooklyn Bridge. I would highly recommend this pizza if you are in the neighborhood. Here is an image I made several years back showing the area we were working in, including Grimaldi's Pizza (formerly called Patsy's).

I would highly recommend a visit to this area of Brooklyn if you ever find yourself in New York. This New York neighborhood is located under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge. In times gone by this was a manufacturing district with warehouses and factories that made paper boxes and machinery. In the 70's it became residential when artists and younger individuals moved into the mostly abandoned and inexpensive loft apartments, using them for living-working artist spaces. There is a NY legend that the term DUMBO was coined by these new residents to make the area sound unattractive to developers. This worked until the turn of the century as now DUMBO has become gentrified.

The area was designated the 90th historic district in 2007 and has become a premier arts district with many studios, galleries and various other arts institutions located there.

The image below shows a view of Manhattan captured at the foot of Old Fulton Street under the bridge  - an area no longer accessible to the public since 9-11.