Letter from DUMBO: Trains and Trees

1.

a small coffee kiosk ( http://retreatnyc.com ) opened recently... inside the lobby of 147 front street, directly across from the J condo site. it's not very visible from the street, but it's there. a nice on-your-way-from-the-train alternative to starbucks.

on that note, it could just be the visibility of those bright green "akeelah" java jackets, but there seems to be no shortage of love for the starbucks down here. although, i did spot some anti-starbucks sentiment this week: http://flickr.com/photos/janellegunther/130415263/

2.

I've seen the model for J Condo (which clearly shows its proximity to the bridge) and live near the site and I don't think it's possible for the western edge of the main building to be that close ("just a few feet") to the Manhattan Bridge -- not the residential portion, at any rate. The commercial portion (rising 4 stories, with condo ammenities such as the health club on the top story) may be continguous to the MTA building, but the residential portion of the building is set back considerably, both eastward and northward, putting it next to the SuperFine building, not next to the bridge. By my reckoning, the residential windows closest to the bridge will not be nearly as close as those in the Beacon, just on the other side. Not that it will make all that much difference -- there will be train noise one way or the other, particularly for those on the western side of the buidling, the question is how much. They're boasting triple-paned windows to mitigate the sound.

3.

They've got triple pane windows that are approx 8" wide at the case. I have a bit of acoustic knowledge from a previous career. Should be okay at of the sound. Key word 'most'.

4.

If you look at the building from York Street, it is abutting that NYC Transit Bldg and what they've built so far looks awfully close to the Manhattan Bridge (10-20 feet, I guess). That said, if the first several floors of the building are commercial that seems better for those who buy there. But, yes the Beacon is pretty close to the Bridge as well. Unless those windows (triple paned or not) are soundproof though - I assume there will be some amount of noise (which may be quite liveable).

5.

I live in Dumbo and a while ago, just for fun, I took in the J Condo pitch. The agent was "excited" to show me a great deal, a place with like a 1,300 sq. ft. patio! The apartment was around 900 sq. ft. and they wanted 600,000 something. Hmmm...it actually seemed almost tempting. Far more anyway, than I was expecting. Then I realized that patio was cut at a sharp angle on one side because I was looking at the 5th floor, bridge side. Putting it more or less right at/under the train. I said, "Wait 5th floor, that's about where..."

"Yes the train will be right there. It can be VERY loud on the patio," The agent said without a hint of mock, cover-up enthusiasm. Just dead serious, as someone who had confronted the truth, been hardened by it, and wasn't about to sugarcoat it for others.

And very loud is understating it. Crippling noise might be more accurate. You can barely have a conversation in the park when the train is passing a hundred something feet above.

6.

I wrote the blog and appreciate the comments....I was merely pointing out the proximity, not suggesting it was good or bad.

I live in DUMBO and while there is noise, it's been exceptionally livable and not at all intrusive, at least where I live....We have single pane windows and have no plans to change that.

Basically, yes, there is urban/city noise in DUMBO, but, as i've said before, nobody moves there solely for the quiet.....Ironically, most parts of DUMBO are very quiet....there is nowhere near the same oppressive foot traffic that one has in Manhattan.

It's actually quite peaceful in DUMBO....

7.

That isn't a picture of J Condo on the left. It's a picture of a building near Front and Bridge.

8.

The noise in dumbo is deafening. After all, the area is Under the Manhattan Bride Overpass, which has four train tracks on it. Sometimes, when four trains are passing in two directions at once, the sound comes through concrete walls, much less triple or quadruple pane windows. Why the City ever re-zoned the area for residential use is anyone's guess. My guess would be that some developer greased the right palms.

9.

Hey TDR (#6) I don't think anyone was suggesting that the noise situation was necessarily bad (I've lived there for 6 months, now, it's totally tolerable and overall quiter than Manhattan); in fact, this thread is so far blisfully free of the typical blogbashing that Dumbo usually receives. I wasn't going to mention it for fear of compromising an appearance of objectivity, but I actually purchased in the J, and much, I should say, to my surprise...I never thought I would be seduced by such a massive, obviously Bourgoise development, but I checked out the sales office model on a whim one day and decided that the J pretty much has it all over every other current development in Dumbo by way of, especially, floor plans, finishings, and price. I guess with over 75% contracted already, others must have thought so, too. I predict that within a few years, Jay street is going to be the heart of the neighborhood (and please people, let's refrain from the tired discussion about what actually constitues "Dumbo proper," it's just toooo tedious).

10.

i bought at j condo too and received another amendment in the mail today. it looks like the convertable 2/3 bedrooms have been raised in price by 100K or more. guess they are feeling pretty confident.

11.

Did anyone else notice the tennis court on the roof! scream*

12.

Okay, you can't talk about how you just bought a new-construction condo in Dumbo and in the same breath refer to the building as bourgeois. I'm sorry, but you just can't, especially when you misspell bourgeois. But then again, concern for proper seplling is just so bourgeois.

13.

I bought in J condo as well. It is da bomb! I don't care about how close my patio is to the bridge. It beats my old crib in Staten Island any day. And Dumbo is so hip, I love it. Look forward to meeting all my new neighbors!

14.

I wouldn't be terribly excited about the noise, BUT the vibration is going to be killer. Take this from a seismic engineer turned archtitect.

BTW, i was in the model for 70 Wash, and the noise from the BGE was still audible, but more so, the vibration from it.

Velcro down your china J-buyers....

15.

btw, i guess #12 didn't learn to spell in engineering or architecture school...

how cute....

16.

Hey "Donnie" your envy is showing (really now, Staten Island? dead giveaway).

17.

Pardon? Most of people here in DUMBO are from SI, LI, NJ, outer Brooklyn, etc. That a big shocker to you? We certainly ain't from Tribeca.

18.

the fact that Donnie called it "da bomb" says it all...go back to SI

19.

Ouch, just cause we are priced out of NYC, does not mean you have to be a snob. DUMBO is a good place for us. Most people I have had sit downs with here are pretty nice.

20.

its awfully easy to be an anonymous snob.

21.

Thanks for playing, No. 15:

bour·geois ( P ) Pronunciation Key (br-zhwä, brzhwä)
n. pl. bourgeois
A person belonging to the middle class.
A person whose attitudes and behavior are marked by conformity to the standards and conventions of the middle class.
In Marxist theory, a member of the property-owning class; a capitalist.

adj.
Of, relating to, or typical of the middle class.
Held to be preoccupied with respectability and material values.

Hey, at least you spelled cute correctly.

22.

Funny, I started reading this thread and was quite pleased with the civilized and meaningful exchange... but then comes Donnie Dumbo and those who choose to entertain his troll comments. I guess somethings never change...

23.

#1 - I checked out that coffee shop, it's in the same building as the J Condo and Nexus sales center. The coffee is actually very good. I hear that a restaurant is also going to open up there also.

Also, Powerhouse books is taking the large retail space across the street from the Thermador showroom.
http://www.powerhousebooks.com

24.

I've lived in DUMBO for 8 months now and have not met a single person who's arrived from SI, LI or NJ. The overwhelming majority of people I've met are transplants from Manhattan or elsewhere in BK.

25.

#23 I spoke to the owner of the restaurant and he is planning to convert the roof into a lounge. Which would be good or bad considering the nighttime noise that will cause. But a restaurant/lounge across the street will be nice addition to that area. Now if someone could tell me what they plan on doing with that Taco stand across the street...

26.

Looks like the closings have begun at the Nexus. An owner has put their unit out for rent. The listing appears to have a couple of real interior shots. The unit looks great... nice kitchen and the hardwood floors have that freshly polished glisten... ahhhh...
http://www.triumphproperty.com/BrokerWebsite3/Code/rental_detail.asp?listing_id=282085

27.

Who would pay 3,100 a month to live in that?

28.

Any chance the city can get rid of that stinky Taco spot on the opposite side of JCONDO? I think it brings all the losers into the area.

29.

#25 what type of restaurant are they planning - cuisine & style-wise in 68 Jay?

30.

The mexican restaurant looks like it could be a cool hangout spot and obviously the food is good if it draws in a crowd (all types of people, I haven't seen any losers...), but the owner should do some renovations because the place is an eyesore... it looks like a dirty old bodega. With a little renovation, the restaurant could get a full range of clientele as opposed to just the local hipster teen type who currently frequent the place.

31.

A rooftop lounge sounds great... noise shouldn't be a big concern considering it will be a few stories up. Music, drinks, and views... can't wait! It's about time these types of venues start opening up in dumbo.

As for the taco stand... it's one of the only sidewalk seating 'restaurants'(for this place, I use that term loosely) in dumbo. I agree that with some renovation, this place has some potential.

32.

Everytime I look at that Taco Shack I feel like I'm in Tijuana.

33.

You people should look in the mirror some day. You move into a neighborhood, invade it with your own hipster types, then complain about the taco joint that's been there for years.

It's like buying a house next to a forest, and complaining that the deer are eating your flowers.

34.

#33 you're right, but that piece of crap is ugly. If they fixed it up, I guarantee they'd make back the renovation money from the increased number of people willing to try the place out. Right now it looks like one big health code violation...

35.

#33 you're so wrong. You are out there like the moon. These people running this disease infested operation should be kicked out of the neighborhood. They are a blight to the community and attract all the crackheads from the projects.

36.

#35 - I'm the one that's "Out there like the moon"?
You may be right.
But, I'm not the one that bought an apartment a few blocks from the Projects, then, woke up one morning and said "Hey, what are those Projects doing there?"

37.

#36 you must be from those projects you loser. I'll throw a couple of pennies at you when I see you panhandling on the street. You loser, I'll even throw you a dollar for washing my BMW. You must be a minority.

38.

Everyone it's obvious #36 eats at the Tijuana Taco Stand. I hope you get the runs from all those nasty tacos you eat there you degenerate loser.

39.

# 37 - Thank you for proclaiming your bigotry to the world!! You saved me from having to expose you as a fool.

40.

Anyone who would name themselves sayvanderlay is a fool you dirty Taco eating reject. Don't you have some cars to wash? Probably not because you are a panhandling minority.

41.

TROLL ALERT!

#37 - All I can say is watch what you say... because one day you might lose that BMW, dumbo loft, or dollars you 'throw' at panhandling 'minorities' while wishing you could afford to eat at that tijuana taco stand. You sound like a pretentious 'majority'.

btw... I don't like the appearance of the mexican restaurant either, BUT they were there before me and aren't doing any harm. You can't just move into a neighborhood and wish "those" people away.

Go back to Manhattan... your not ready for Brooklyn.

42.

As someone who was working in downtown Brooklyn back when all of youse not even a gleam in your hick Iowa parents eyes I am just agog at this stuff.

How about you all go back to Dayton or where ever you were spawned and us natives can sit and think about what Brooklyn in the late '70's early '80's looked like back when you'd have been locked up for being a loon for thinking any moron would be dumb ass enough to live under a freaking bridge, let alone pay an insane amount of cash for it.

Please leave and go work at at Bob's Big Boy in Akron and live in some horrid little ranch house. You've all ruined New York with your stupid accents.

BTW the person who differentiates between Brooklyn and NYC: please, grab the next double decker tourist bus and go back to Times Square thanks. I know you won't want to take the F train. Oooh scary trains.

43.

As someone who was working in downtown Brooklyn back when all of youse not even a gleam in your hick Iowa parents eyes I am just agog at this stuff.

How about you all go back to Dayton or where ever you were spawned and us natives can sit and think about what Brooklyn in the late '70's early '80's looked like back when you'd have been locked up for being a loon for thinking any moron would be dumb ass enough to live under a freaking bridge, let alone pay an insane amount of cash for it.

Please leave and go work at at Bob's Big Boy in Akron and live in some horrid little ranch house. You've all ruined New York with your stupid accents.

BTW the person who differentiates between Brooklyn and NYC: please, grab the next double decker tourist bus and go back to Times Square thanks. I know you won't want to take the F train. Oooh scary trains.

44.

And in the same building as The Retreat - you can get meditation classes and yoga nearly everyday.

Visit http://www.timelessartin.com

45.

http://www.timelessartinc.com

46.

I also purchased something in J-Condo. Construction is coming along, The site does look close to the bridge but I am confident that the building plans already took into consideration that proximity issue. Nonetheless, I am still very exicted....

47.

I am unfamiliar with DUMBO and have a question. What is the height of the brown building directly in front of the J-Condo facing the bridge on the side where the glass windows are?

48.

I went for a tour of the Beacon Tower building where the walls are currently up... and the sound was pretty quiet. They have special soundproof windows as well, and even without the insulation in the walls, it was extremely tolerable. Those units are coming along well... nice windows.

49.

has anyone been inside 99 gold street?

50.

hey, concerned #28, et al, ask not whether there's "Any chance the city can get rid of that stinky Taco spot on the opposite side of JCONDO? I think it brings all the losers into the area." Ask, "Any chance the city can get rid of that stinky JCONDO on the opposite side of the Taco spot? I think it brings all the losers into the area."

51.

has anyone been to the Vista on 206 front street ?