This year, the Dumbo Improvement District picked up JANUARY UPDATE bags of trash, installed two epic new benches, JANUARY UPDATE twinkle lights, supported 273 indie businesses, welcomed dozens of new companies – from financial tech to fashion houses – managed 2,700 Open Street hours, helped calm the impact of $100 Million in street reconstruction, presented the work of 134 artists, launched the Dumbo Projection Project on the neighborhood’s epic infrastructure, showed dozens of Euro Cup and Copa America fútbol games, watched thousands of elephants fly down from the sky, welcomed hundreds of new residents, and hosted 39 weekends of the Brooklyn Flea, 83 free cultural events, 237 evenings of projection art, and one very special holiday tree with 162 construction cones to round out a very productive year.

INTRODUCTION /

A message from Alexandria Sica, Dumbo Improvement District President

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— Alexandria Sica, President

MAKING DUMBO SHINE /

Creating a Vibrant Neighborhood

MEET DUMBO

Now in its eighteenth year, the Dumbo Improvement District is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and promoting Dumbo, Brooklyn. We advocate on behalf of Dumbo’s businesses, nonprofits, cultural organizations, property owners and residents, and work hard to amplify Dumbo’s creative and innovative vibe.

Think of us as a hyper-local-chamber-of-commerce-meets-neighborhood-cheerleader.

WHAT IS A BID?

A Business Improvement District (BID) is a public/private partnership in which property and business owners elect to make a collective contribution to the maintenance, development and promotion of their commercial district.

Funding for BID services comes from a special assessment paid by the district’s commercial property owners. New York City is home to 76 BIDs, who invest over $165 million worth of programs and services in neighborhoods annually.

CORE SERVICES

🚛 SUPPLEMENT SANITATION

⚒️ COMMUNITY BUILDING + ADVOCACY

📋 PUBLIC SPACE MANAGEMENT

📢 NEIGHBORHOOD MARKETING

🎭 PUBLIC ART + PROGRAMMING

🗃️ BUSINESS SERVICES

🛜 FREE AREA WIFI

PUBLIC SPACE

The New Dumbo Archway Plaza!

In 2024, we unveiled the Dumbo Archway Plaza (formerly Pearl Street Triangle) – New York City’s newest, and oldest!, plaza. The Pearl Street Triangle section of the plaza originally opened as the first plaza in the New York City Plaza Program in 2007 – largely supported by former New York City Department of Transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. Today, it has been reborn as part of Dumbo’s massive historic street preservation project, with sculptural seating designed by AECOM’s Gonzalo Cruz, custom umbrellas by Dumbo-based artist Liz Collins, and projection art on the Manhattan Bridge. The vibe is old-world charm meets a 2024 Brooklyn aesthetic.

Managed by The Dumbo Improvement District under the NYCDOT Plaza Program, this plaza is a place for gathering, for art, entertainment, the Brooklyn Flea, and beyond. It’s Dumbo’s community living room.

car-free washington street

In 2024, we continued to offer this popular amenity seven days a week, offering all Dumbonians and visitors additional public space to eat, gather and enjoy outdoors. Additionally, Open Streets has become a platform for us to showcase local artists through programming such as The Six Foot Platform, and develop community through programs such a Dumbo Family Games and Dumboween.

old fulton plaza

The Dumbo Improvement District maintains and manages Old Fulton Plaza for the NYCDOT Plaza Program, giving extra space for all walking to the waterfront, in need of a place to sit down or stopping to eat on our restaurant row: Old Fulton Street.

PUBLIC ART

The Dumbo Projection Project

In 2024, we launched The Dumbo Projection Project, an ambitious, neighborhood-wide video art exhibit, projected onto the bridges and BQE of Dumbo. Where else can you see trucks and subways passing by atop world class video art?

Volumes 1, 2 and 3 ran from January – April 2024, and featured work by Aricoco (Ari Tabei), Nancy Sepe, Jillian McDonald, Eirini Linardaki, Kyoung Eun Kang, Josh Klatt and Eliana Pérez, Tala Schlossberg, Nicholas Fraser, Jason Urban & Leslie Mutchler, Josh Miller & Angela Fraleigh, Mz.Icar Collective and Grant Cutler.

The Spirits are Laughing

by Jeffrey Gibson

From the Venice Biennale to Dumbo! We were honored to present “The Spirits are Laughing”, by internationally renowned indigenous artist Jeffrey Gibson, during Climate Week in September.

Was this the Face

by Emily and Jamie Erekson

And in October, we presented Emily and Jamie Erekson, an interactive online exhibit that displays a transmorphing mosaic of outsourced selfies, challenging the notion of identity.

Cultural Programming

LIVE AT THE ARCHWAY

Live at the Archway celebrated a ninth season of bringing live music and interactive art to the Archway in 2024. Hundreds came out on Thursdays evenings all summer to enjoy a diverse slate of programming. Curated in partnership with Jan Bell of The Brooklyn Americana Music Festival, there was psychedelic Cumbia, Americana, Afro-Funk, old school rock n’ roll, a queer music showcase and our annual collaborations with Brasil Summerfest, and the Center for Cuban Studies.

For a sixth year, we continued to present Dumbo-based artists in an interactive art experience. Each week, a different Dumbo artist created a large scale collaborative art work for public interaction.

Live at the Archway is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. We are so thankful for their support!

DUMBO DRINK AND DRAW

We tapped some of Dumbo’s best artists to guide our creativity this summer. Every Wednesday, a Dumbo-based artist led hundreds of eager apprentices in a guided art experience. There was figure drawing, charcoal, paint-by-paint-chips, watercolors, and more.

Powered with love by Creatively Wild Art Studio.

BROOKLYN AMERICANA MUSIC FESTIVAL

BROOKLYN BRUJERIA FESTIVAL

The Tenth Annual Brooklyn Americana Music Festival, curated and produced by Jan Bell, presented ten bands in the Dumbo Archway on September 13 & 14.

The sixth annual Brooklyn Brujeria Festival returned to the DUMBO Archway on September 20 with a day of music, magic, art, and community celebrating Brooklyn’s immigrant culture and fierce resilience. This year’s line-up featured an all star cast of some of the city’s best drum and dance collectives, tarot readers and a market full of magic makers.

HOLIDAYS IN DUMBO

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TWINKLE LIGHTS!

We wrapped all of Dumbo’s trees in twinkle lights, bringing holiday magic to the streetscape.

HOLIDAY PROJECTIONS!

Continuing our tradition of delightful, and slightly bizarre, holiday animations, we once again commissioned Dumbo-based animation studio Augenblick to create whimsical animations to enliven the neighborhood in November and December. Projected onto both sides of the Manhattan Bridge, in Dr. Susan Park, and onto buildings throughout Dumbo, these created a Dumbo-wide projections walk, projected nightly through New Year’s Eve.

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

Our 2024 Gift Guide featured 150+ items from 70+ businesses, with ideas and tips for everyone on your list. These were mailed to 8,000+ addresses, and displayed in larger-than-life style in the Pearl Street Triangle, and on York Street.

THE BROOKLYN FLEA X DUMBO HOLIDAY MARKET

On Saturdays and Sundays through December 22, The Brooklyn Flea brought 40+ vintage and handmade vendors to the Archway in a curated Holiday Market.

CONSTRUCTION CONE TREE

In a cheeky nod to Dumbo’s ongoing capital street improvement project, our holiday tree was once again our Construction Cone Tree! We commissioned the tree from longtime Dumbo artist, Casey Opstad in 2023 and it was definitely a hit!

SANTA’S MAILBOX

One of our favorite traditions, Santa’s Mailbox is our direct line to the North Pole, with a chance for $100 Dumbo Dollars to make those wishes come true locally in Dumbo.

TREE LIGHTING + HOLIDAY BAR CRAWL!

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BID Services

Sanitation Services

The Dumbo BID “Clean Team” rose to the challenge throughout the year, keeping Dumbo beautiful seven days a week, rain or shine. They swept the streets, maintained the plazas, & took out the trash, including servicing our 15 Big Belly containers located throughout the district. Together the crew addressed all manner of sanitation challenges, big and small. They also continued to support the Dumbo BID Open Streets campaign, setting up furniture and barricades, and keeping Washington Street looking great!

The “Clean Team” is contracted through the Doe Fund, a nonprofit organization working to end cycles of homelessness, incarceration and addiction through paid transitional work and supportive services

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block faces with sanitation services

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hours logged by workers

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trash bags collected

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tons of trash collected

322

hours spent watering

327

incidents of graffiti removed

Beautification

The BID contracts with The Horticultural Society of New York (“The Hort”) to brighten our public plazas with seasonal plantings. From chrysanthemums and pansies to peacock kale and celiosa, The Hort helped keep our public spaces looking great year round! The Hort is a nonprofit whose mission includes using horticulture as a way to provide vocational training and transitional employment to former inmates and at-risk youth.

WELCOMING BACK THE FORCE

WORK FROM DUMBO

In 2024, we launched a new series on Instragram profiling the forward-thinking businesses shaping Dumbo into a creative hub.

Lucky Risograph

BIG

Mark Jupiter

Biolite

Augenblick

Beyond Good

DUMBO X DESIGN

An annual gathering of Dumbo design companies, presented by the Dumbo Improvement District, Pensa and Hudson Wilder, as part of the NYC x Design week festival, held annually in May

Supporting Small Business

This year, the Dumbo Improvement District provided tons of support to our eclectic retail mix–from indie shopping havens to waterfront fine dining–helping them connect with customers, and evolve their messaging.

The Dumbo Guide

Our map continues to fly off the shelves. This guide includes the neighborhood’s eating, drinking, shopping and cultural attractions, plus suggested itineraries for your perfect Day in Dumbo. 40k+ maps have been distributed to visitors, with more picked up every day!

The QR Code Lives On

2024 was (still) the year of the QR code. Our giant “Where Should I Eat” posters helped guide visitors and Dumbonians alike to take out, outdoor dining and, when allowed, indoor dining in the ‘hood.

THE BROOKLYN FLEA

The Brooklyn Flea returned to The Pearl Street Triangle and the Dumbo Archway on Saturdays and Sundays, April through December, offering cool vintage finds and authentic New York souvenirs.

SMALL BUSINESS BREAKFASTS

Once a quarter, we gather our small businesses for a B-to-B conversation and discussion around what’s happening in the neighborhood and how we can all support each other. Thanks to La Perla/Superfine, MOFAD and to Fontainhas for hosting these in 2024!

Spreading the Word

@DUMBO_BROOKLYN

On Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and our weekly eblasts, we mix real-time news and information with insider tips, shopping & dining guides, small business behind-the-scenes profiles and Only in Dumbo event round ups. With thousands of fans and followers translating into millions of impressions, our content served both to support our small businesses, and connect and inspire our community.

HOW TO DO DUMBO

A curated guide to Dumbo, sent monthly to Dumbo Residents & Dumbo Workforce, with insider tips, guides and all things Dumbo.

LinkNYC

New this year, find ads for The Dumbo Projection Project, Dumbo Drop, Holidays and more Dumbo fun on Link NYC kiosks around Brooklyn.

Supporting Artists

THE SIX FOOT PLATFORM

The Six Foot Platform is an experimental performance + art program presenting work by Brooklyn-based artists on a 6×6 platform at the intersection of Washington and Water Streets.

For a fourth year, Artists transformed this space over the course of the summer, chosen from a juried call for works. Audience members were invited to create trash puppets, think outside the box, enjoy fifteen minutes of fame, call their sick loved ones, and more.

The Six Foot Platform is presented in partnership with the Brooklyn Arts Council.

2024 PROJECTS

Hisayasu Takashio | Unconsciousness

What Will The Neighbors Say | Storytime

Fanny Allié | Lost/Found Characters

Akshay Bharadhwaj & Sunanda Vasudevan | Forms

Sarah E. Brook | Resounding

SHOP THE STUDIOS

Brooklyn based art for the holidays? Yes, please. On December 7, we hosted our fourth annual Shop the Studios in partnership with Art in Dumbo. 50+ Dumbo artist studios and galleries opened with gift-priced art for sale.

Building Community

DUMBO DROP

#DUMBODROP 2024 was epic, bringing tens of thousands of excited spectators to Brooklyn’s most iconic block party. There was live music, art making, beer gardens, a bedazzling extravaganza led by Creatively Wild, photo ops, and a Kids Zone in partnership with Brooklyn Bridge Parents. New this year, managed access on the viewing block allowed us to create an event that was exciting and comfortable for all.

Thousands cheered as keepsake elephants parachuted down onto Brooklyn’s most photo- graphed block (Washington Street!) to raise significant funding for the neighborhood’s public schools, PS307 and The Dock Street School.

Continuing the tradition of parachute-as-collector’s-item, the artwork for the 2024 parachute was designed by Dumbo artist Noah Lyon.

HALLOWEEN IN DUMBO

Update the pet costume sentence to: For a third year, we hosted a pet costume contest Costume Contest car-free Washington St, in partnership with Lazy Sundaes.

New this year, we invited Motomichi to create a spooky projection for the Manhattan Bridge and for Fat Boy!

DUMBO FAMILY GAME TIME

We teamed up with Brooklyn Bridge Parents for DUMBO FAMILY GAME TIME: fun and games for Dumbo residents on weekend mornings, June – October.

Special thanks to Leaf Medical + Dental for supporting our community programming!

TECH CLEANSE

Our Tenth Annual electronics waste recycling program was held in September during Climate Week. With the help of the Lower East Side Ecology Center, we helped 129 households/businesses in Dumbo recycle XXXX pounds of unwanted electronic devices!

Supporting Local Community Partners

Throughout the year, we work with our community partners to do our part to support our neighbors. In 2024, we raised money for Dock Street Middle School and PS307 elementary school, hosted an ongoing food drive around Dumbo with the Vinegar Hill Food Pantry, and held coat & toy drives at the holidays in partnership with NYPD.

PLANNING & ADVOCACY /

Public Infrastucture

CONSTRUCTION

In 2019, NYC DOT began a major capital project to upgrade sewer and water infrastructure, reconstruct our Belgian block streets and build-out the Dumbo Archway plaza space. The work will modernize our streets, while retaining the historic Belgian blocks, and creating safer intersections, bike lanes and accessible pathways around the neighborhood. Streets on the docket include: Pearl Street, Water Street, John Street, parts of Front St and Jay Street, Pearl Plaza (including Anchorage Place + the Archway), Adams Street, Plymouth Street and Main Street.

As of January 2025, the project is 89% of the way to completion, with most electrical, catchbasin, and sewer work complete. 2024 saw the Construction crew continue working on the eastern side of the neighborhood, finishing final sewer lines and preparing some of the last utility installations along Water Street. This year we also saw final restoration of sidewalks and belgian blocks on portions of Plymouth Street, Pearl Street, John Street, Front Street, and parts of Jay Street. Highlights of the year include the installation of bench seating on the Pearl Triangle, as well as finished electric work in the Archway. The benches have brought vibrant energy to the triangle, and the new uplights look great! With an estimated completion date of November 2025, the finish line is definitely in sight!

As of January 2024, the project is 71% of the way to completion, with most electrical, catchbasin, and sewer work complete. 2023 saw the Construction crew continue working on the eastern side of the neighborhood, finishing final sewer lines and preparing some of the last utility installations along Water Street. This year we also saw final restoration of sidewalks and belgian blocks on portions of Front Street, Plymouth Street from Adams to Pearl, Pearl Street from Plymouth to Front, and parts of John Street. The highlight of the year was the final installation of pavers on the Pearl Triangle, which is looking great! The finish line is definitely in sight!

ANCHORAGE PLAZA + BQE

The Dumbo Improvement District sits on the BQE Community Visioning Council, pressing primarily for this once-in-a-generation investment to benefit our neighborhood by reducing local traffic flows and transforming the public realm spaces created by Robert Moses below and around the BQE – including the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage lots between Old Fulton and Washington Streets, Bridge Parks 1 and 3, and Old Fulton Plaza. The Dumbo Improvement District has long called for the consolidation of City parking lots and construction staging areas to create new public spaces throughout the neighborhood. Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage lot is slated to return to the public next year.

Shaping Conversations

President Alexandria Sica is a member of the Board of Directors for the NYC BID Association – a peer group of 76 BIDs throughout the City. During this important policy year, Alexandria has served as the Chair of the Public Realm Committee, advocating directly with the Adams Administration on all things that shape our streets and public spaces.

Clara Schuhmacher represents the Dumbo BID on monthly calls with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, elevating the needs of our business community and brainstorming borough-wide initiatives with this influential body, and serves as a peer review panelist for the Department of Cultural Affairs grant making efforts.

Kalvis Mikelsteins leads the Commercial Corridor Recovery Task Force Brooklyn North Working Group, planning and facilitating meetings throughout the year with New York City Agency Officials to problem solve specific traffic, vending, and quality of life issues in the District. The Task Force focuses on inter-agency challenges and site specific issues that often fall outside of standard 311 requests.