Revisiting Brooklyn Part II: DUMBO, NY

Written by Carol Cain on 29 March 2009

Continued from: Revisiting Brooklyn Part I: Flatbush, NY

They made their way down Flatbush Ave. The day, now completely sunny, was also warmer than she had expected. The traffic in New York is crazy. People are aggressive and always in a hurry.

They passed the Greenmarket at Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park Zoo, and the very many shops and restaurants found along Flatbush Ave. A wrong turn took them over the Brooklyn Bridge again, which was not their plan, so they decided to park and walk back. They found parking only a block from City Hall, which was super convenient as the entrance to the Bridge’s promenade is located on Park Row, across from it.

With the boys on their double stroller, they started making their way across the bridge. There was a nice breeze blowing, and tons of people walking. The boys loved watching the traffic as it moved on each side of them. But they really liked looking at the water and the boats, as well as the helicopters from the nearby heliport flying by. Mama and her husband loved taking in the views from the bridge of the city.

After reaching the other side, Mama was impressed with all the new stores and businesses that she found. Places that weren’t there since her last visit. There used to be nothing on this side of the Brooklyn Bridge, and now, old factories and abandoned spaces, previously considered to be the sanctuary for artists seeking inexpensive studio spaces and homes, have been transformed into condos, promenades, and parks, and the neighborhood Down Under the Manhattan Bride Overpass, DUMBO, established in the late 1970s, quickly became popular with the more affluent New Yorkers in search of more space. Everything here represents the “new” Brooklyn, though if you look hard enough you can still see signs of its old self.

They hung out at the newly established Brooklyn Bridge Playground, named one of New York Magazine’s Best Playground 2009 for a long while, with Mama and her husband actually sitting and resting on one of the many benches as the boys jumped, crawled, dug, and ran through the nautical-themed playground and its sand box. Mama was approached by a few moms (its always a conversation started by “Wow, your sons’ hair is so amazing!”) and enjoyed some small talk as they watched their children play.

They decided to start heading towards the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge, towards the area of Brooklyn Heights, on the Southern side, where “old” and “new” meet. They decided to grab a snack and make their way back to the city before the boys got tired and cranky.

Had it been a weekday, they might have settled for pizza at Grimaldi’s, (Est. 1905) and though it is has great pizza, the lines are often ridicoulsly long, and they weren’t in the mood. They walked past The River Cafe (Est. 1977), where Mama is still waiting to have a romantic dinner date with her husband. The boys got to see the water taxi as it departed the pier and they sat on the pier, taking in the last rays of sun before it set, eating the delicious ice cream from The Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory. The chocolate chocolate chunk is Mama’s absolute favorite and she gets it every time she comes here, which has been for years.

And again, a couple of moms approached Mama, this time asking her about her stroller. One of them was pregnant and had a 2 year old. Mama was happy to let them push it and talk to them about it, conversation which eventually turned into sharing funny “mommy moments” and one of the mom’s expressing disappointment that Mama didn’t live closer to the area (how sweet, huh?).

The walk back across the bridge seemed shorter, despite how tired everyone was at this point. Mama and hubby and their 11 year old talked about their day, as the 2 year old, caressed by the cool soft breeze, fell asleep in the stroller, and the 3.5 year old silently sat, exhaustion written all over his face.

It was great to revisit Brooklyn, to be reminded of how great it is, to have encountered such great people along the way, and to return to some favorite local spots and discover some new ones. It was definitely nice to come back and say HELLO BROOKLYN again.