In the early 1800s, commercial activity on the East River began concentrating around the Fulton Ferry Landing, which handled significant levels of steam ferry traffic. Quickly evolving into a transportation hub, the Landing spurred the development of large industrial buildings nearby to accommodate commercial storage, refinery, and shipping demands. Though industrial activity petered out by the 1950s, the industrial loft buildings, characterized by open floor plans and large windows, began attracting residents in the 1970s. In 1978, early residents coined the name DUMBO, which stands for: “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.” Initially, many of these residents were artists seeking low-rent workspaces.

Over the years, the community has grown significantly, and today many DUMBO residents are well-heeled young families seeking short commutes to Lower Manhattan and the eclectic environment left over from DUMBO’s artisan-driven culture. Some light-industrial uses remain in the area, such as woodworking, metalworking, furniture production, and printing, though high-tech companies and architectural and graphic design firms are increasingly present. DUMBO, Fort Greene, and Brooklyn Heights comprise Community District 202, which from 1996 to 2006 experienced the highest increase in house sale prices in Brooklyn and the fifth highest increase in New York City (261.5% increase). The Median Monthly Rent for Community District 202 increased from $833 in 2005 to $1,007 in 2007.

In the face of growing concerns about the loss of the neighborhood’s unique character, the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) designated the neighborhood the DUMBO Historic District in 2007. Designation was officially approved in April 2008 by the City Planning Commission (CPC) and the City Council.

The rezoning of an area along Water Street between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges in the last decade led to a flurry of housing development by allowing for mixed-use conversions. With residential interest in the neighborhood rising, in March 2005, Council member Daniel Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) and then-Council member Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan) sent a letter to the Department of City Planning (DCP) asking the City to rezone the rest of DUMBO “to catch up with the progress of the neighborhood”. The City Council adopted the rezoning in July 2009.

The process began in February 2009, when the DCP’s Brooklyn Borough Office presented a Rezoning Plan for an area under and to the east of the Manhattan Bridge. The plan proposed changing the zoning from M1 and M3, which includes light- to heavy-industrial, commercial, and community facilities uses, to “contextual mixed use” (M1-4/R7A and M1-4/R8A). Through the use of the City’s Inclusionary Zoning program, this rezoning was designed to incentivize affordable housing units in DUMBO. Developers were allowed to build a floor-to-area ratio (FAR) of 33% above the regulations if 20% of the units are designated as affordable. These affordable units would either be provided in the building in question, secured in a different location within Community District 2, or located within a half-mile of the development. City Planning Commissioner Amanda Burden expected the rezoning to spur development of 900 residential units, providing approximately 100 affordable units. The City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) began in the spring of 2009 and was completed in July 2009.

Many residents and neighborhood leaders supported the DCP’s DUMBO Rezoning Plan. Executive Director of the DUMBO Improvement District, Kate Kerrigan, called the plan good for local businesses due to a likely increase in foot traffic. Opposition was from the DUMBO Neighborhood Association (DNA). According to a Brooklyn Paper article in February 2009, DNA President Sheryl Bucholtz worried that the DCP’s Rezoning Plan will spell the loss of DUMBO’s gritty flavor, and turn DUMBO into “another Williamsburg”. DNA instead advocated for the adoption of an expanded rezoning plan. They commissioned city planner Paul Graziano to create, in place of the DCP’s plans. DNA’s expanded rezoning plan was similar to DCP’s plan, with most building heights capped at 80 or 120 feet. The key difference between the two plans was that DNA’s rezoning plan encompassed a swath of land between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and placed stronger height restrictions on buildings near the Brooklyn Bridge, whereas the DCP’s proposed plan was limited to east of the Manhattan Bridge. DNA’s proposed plan would allow mixed-use on plots that were not rezoned in the 1990's as well as placed more stringent height restrictions on plots that were rezoned for mixed-use in the 1990's.

In April, CB 2 supported its Land-Use Committee’s position and rejected the DCP’s DUMBO rezoning plan - though this rejection served in an advisory capacity only. Following approval by the CPC, City Council voted 46 to 1 in favor of the mixed-use rezoning in late July of 2009.

Dock Street DUMBO
While not directly in the DUMBO rezoning area proposed by the DCP, another controversial project in the area is the Dock Street DUMBO Building, a development project proposed by long-time DUMBO developers Two Trees Management Company. DNA is strongly opposed to this building. DNA's alternative DUMBO rezoning plan would limit the Dock Street DUMBO and future adjacent buildings to 75-feet high, the height of the Brooklyn Bridge walkway. DNA, in association with the Brooklyn Heights, Fulton Ferry, Vinegar Hill, and Cobble Hill Associations, view the Dock Street DUMBO plan as an affront to the grandeur of the Brooklyn Bridge, a renowned National Monument. Two Trees Management Company maintains that a lower building is not economically feasible and that the current design is contextual and appropriate. Two Trees had altered their original 2004 plan – ostensibly to minimize the building’s bridge frontage, preserve views, and gain community support with the addition of a public middle school and affordable housing units. The group of neighborhood associations issued a joint statement in August of 2007, contending that the updated Dock Street DUMBO plan failed to resolve any complaints about bulk and height and instead added a school and affordable units as ploys to distract from the fact that the design is inappropriate to the surroundings. As a representative of Brooklyn Heights, Councilmember David Yassky has been a long-time opponent of the Dock Street project and has vocalized concerns that other suitable sites for a school have not been dutifully pursued. In October 2009, the DUMBO Neighborhood Foundation brought a suit against Two Trees. The suit takes issue with the city's ULURP process and aims to reverse the rezoning changes adopted in June 2009.

Two Trees Management Company, led by David and Jed Walentas, a father-son team, could technically construct a building “as-of-right”, or without public review, under the existing zoning governing the Dock Street site. However, in order to use the site for residential purposes the lot must be rezoned, and therefore the plan is open to the standard ULURP public review process. The 18-story building, which is slated to be a green building, will include approximately 320 market-rate residential units, 70 affordable units, retail, and the school.

As the first step in ULURP for the Dock Street Proposal, CB 2 approved Two Trees’ updated plans in January of 2009, despite rejection by CB 2’s Land-Use Committee a month earlier. CB 2’s Land-Use Committee contended that the building is simply too tall for its close proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge. Two Trees argued that the rezoning is only for use changes, not height changes, and therefore the Committee’s contention over height is moot. Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (D) wrote an advisory letter to the DCP in February of 2009, supporting the development while advocating that particular changes should be made to the Dock Street DUMBO building in order to preserve views of the Brooklyn Bridge. His proposed changes include a larger setback along Front Street, lower building height along Water Street, and a more slender plan for the residential tower that would decrease width and bulk but increase height from 18 to 25 stories. Dock Street supporters and opponents alike have publicly opposed Markowitz’s suggestions.

Despite substantial opposition, many residents and community members support the Dock Street DUMBO project because of the inclusion of the school, a neighborhood asset they have been clamoring for for years. The Editors of the Brooklyn Papers support the Walentas’ Dock Street DUMBO, calling the Walentas “responsible stewards” of a neighborhood which they have “spent the last 30 years, patiently and meticulously building...into one of the city’s most-desirable”.

In the next phase of the the ULURP process, in late April 2009, the CPC voted in favor rezoning Walentas' land from manufacturing to residential and in support of a scaled-down version of the Dock Street Tower. Many in the community assert that the height reduction was not in enough to ensure views of the Brooklyn Bridge are protected. Despite this concern, the CPC vote was 11-2 in favor of the rezoning. In June 2009, the City Council approved the plan by a vote of 40-9.

Last Updated: October 19, 2009