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Learning Places Spring 2017

Dumbo’sChanges

COVER IMAGE:

Aissa Sonko

03.03.2017

For this site visit, my group members and I visited the Dumbo neighborhood. We decided to compare and visualize the similarities and differences between Dumbo and Vinegar Hill. We started coming up with hypothesis and conclusions as to why the neighborhoods we were visiting were being gentrified and the art forms that were chosen to represent the “new look” of the neighborhood. We had a chance to speak with a manager of The Shops which were rented spaces for people trying to start new businesses. She works apart of Green Desk and she explained how their project was to help people and give them beginner opportunities.

Describe Scope of Activity

PRE-VISIT REFLECTION

Prior to my visit, I did not really know what to expect. During our first visit to Vinegar hill. I saw many different thing. The neighborhoods were really diverse from each other yet so close to each other.

SITE DOCUMENTATION I: MAP OF AREA OF INVESTIGATION: We decided walk along John St walling down to Bridge St. Then we turned on Water St and kept walking along it till reaching pearl St. Next we turned back to Jay St walking back to John St.

SITE DOCUMENTATION II: photos/sketches for 2-3 significant stops. These photos showed significance to be because it represents the art and Artist of Dumbo. These people have a free space to show off their talent and do what they love doing. It gives a space for people to express themselves.

Brooklyn Bridge                                              Small winery

This place is connected with Green Desk. It gives people the opportunity to open up small spaces and assist them in starting their small businesses.

SITE OBSERVATIONS: Note conditions you found and explain how they relate to the topic of your investigation

1. Town Houses next to apartment building: Looks like gentrification is growing
2. Floor stones being covered up or removed
3. Busier streets with more residents taking walks.
4. Lots of parked cars
5. Empty stores and shops
6. Not much grocery stores
8. QUANTITATIVE DATA:

QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS Consider the data found during your site visit and review the material you included so far in this report.

QUESTIONS:

1. I would like to know how the residents feel with all the changes going on in their neighborhood.
2. How did the owner of most of Dumbo being his journey?
3. How will the Dumbo neighborhood look in ten years and how will the residents adapt to it?
4. HYPOTHESIS: How do the residents feel with all the changes that is going on in their neighborhood?

1. Some residents may like and accept the changes because they may feel like they are getting their money’s worth
2. Some residents may not like it because they are being removed from their homes and may feel like they are being set up for failure
3. Some residents may feel neutral and not really care because the changes may not affect or harm their livesThe next step for my group members and I is to visit Vinegar hill again and compare the differences between the two sides. We will also analyze whether the gentrification is a good thing or a bad thing and why. We will also talk to the local residents and get their feedback on how they feel about the changes being made in their neighborhood.
4. PRELIMINARY REFERENCES TO EXPLORE HYPOTHESES: List articles, websites, public or government documents, or other information resources you have found that might help you explore your hypothesis. Try to find a variety of sources; 2 newspaper articles, 2 magazine articles, 2 websites, 2 public documents, etc.
5. SUMMARY / POST VISIT REFLECTION / NEXT STEP? —

1. The Changing State of Gentrification
2. Fulton Ferry Landing. Dumbo, Vinegar Hill Neighborhood History guide
3. Grade school entrepreneurs brainstorm big ideas in Dumbo
4. Thank goodness for the new Brooklyn: For all its pains and strains, gentrification has been healthy for the borough
5. If You’re Thinking of Living In/Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn; On Cobblestone Streets, History Lingers
6. Brooklyn’s Sleepy Enclave. Vinegar Hill, Awakens

Learning Places Spring 2017
SITE REPORT

Vinegar Hill

Aissa Sonko

02.17.2017

INTRODUCTION

During our site visit, we visited the neighborhoods of Hudson ave and Plymouth st. We also visited the projects, DUMBO, Bridge street, John st, Gold st, Navy st, York st, etc. The neighborhoods that we visited were very different and diverse. Nothing was really the same and every corner you turned, you would have a view of something new whether it was good or bad. It was  not really something I expected but truthfully speaking, I was not really sure what to expect going to that neighborhood. I am not originally from brooklyn but one thing I did learn was that Brooklyn is very different appearance wise every neighborhood you visit.

PRE-VISIT REFLECTION

In advance of visiting the site that we did, I thought we would see regular project housing. We were on our way to visit housing project complexes and from my knowledge that usually consists of very tall projects that are usually isolated from everything else and and sometimes unsanitary conditions.

SITE DOCUMENTATION (photos/sketches)

This site was the first place we saw. I was very fascinated with this area and I thought it was very beautiful. This area looked very antique and untouched. It looked as though it was a scene from an old movie or television show. The floor was made from some type of stone. At the site, the neighborhood looked very deserted as if no one have lived there in years however we did visit the site during the afternoon hours in which most people are at work or school.

This photo that was taken was of a closed down power plant. This power plant stands right in the same neighborhood as the building with the store fronts. It was very confusing and different to see a power plant standing in the middle of the neighborhood. It seemed as though big money companies were ready to take over but never actually got the job done.

Around the corner from this neighborhood was a mansion like house. It was a big white house with gates and a car parked in front. It looked very pretty and modern. Everything was scattered and very diverse. I was shocked and fascinated that beside a vintage looking neighborhood was a modern looking mansion. Right next to that big house was an apartment complex that was about six stories high with a balcony for each floor.

OBSERVATIONS

1. Movie site
2. Balcony
3. Tiled floor
4. Faux train tracks
5. One school with garden
6. Graffiti wall
7. Old (looks as though from WW2) car

QUANTITATIVE DATA

QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESIS

QUESTIONS:

1. I wonder what will come of the neighborhood with the three story houses with store fronts?
2. Will the area with the power plant still be around in five years?
3. Do people still run businesses in the store fronts?

HYPOTHESIS:

1. I believe that the three story houses would last for years to come
2. I feel that the power plant will eventually reopen
3. I think that the storefronts are local business

SUMMARY / POST VISIT REFLECTION

What really surprised me about our walk was how antique one part of the neighborhood looked. It looks as if we were walking back in time or through an old movie or television show. It looked like a portal where one side was the past and the other side was the present since there was a power plant right across from the neighborhood. I felt like I was observing through a looking glass the past and the present. It was an very beautiful sight. I was surprised that it was pretty much still in tact. However, it seemed as though nobody actually lived there. Around the corner, was a view of a mansion looking house. It was big and gated and across from that looked like condominiums. We also passed a colorful place which reminded me of my trip to Mexico. I felt as if I was in different times and places all at once

REFERENCES TO EXPLORE HYPOTHESIS

1. http://vinegarhillhouse.com/
2. http://nypost.com/2015/07/08/why-vinegar-hill-is-brooklyns-edgiest-enclave/
3. http://gothamist.com/tags/vinegarhill

DUMBO PARK

Dumbo Park began its life as a manufacturing district. It still maintains this edge, even in its post-industrial revitalization, as one of the premier art districts in NYC.

 The park has been reclaimed as a vibrant, natural green space in the tradition of the great New York City Parks. Its 85 acres along more than a mile of waterfront is the perfect “front yard” for Pierhouse. 

Dumbo offers fresh air, lush, verdant open spaces for playing and relaxing, opportunities for boating, and paths for strolling and riding. This Park is a culmination of a master plan to create a self-sustaining public space in Brooklyn.