2016 was another busy year for your neighborhood!
The year started out with big school news – the rezoning approval of the local elementary schools PS 8 and PS 307. PS 8 in Brooklyn Heights now with a much smaller school zone has been able to eliminate the Kindergarten wait list and got its dance and music cluster rooms back. PS 307 is now officially the community school for DUMBO, Vinegar Hill and Farragut Houses. A handful of children from DUMBO are attending Kindergarten this school year at PS 307.
This fall, the new public middle school Dock Street School for STEAM studies has opened in DUMBO and will accommodate 330 middle school students at full capacity. Our neighborhood also got a new public Pre-K center inside the new Dock Street building in DUMBO. The Brooklyn Heights Jewish Academy, a private K thru 12th Grade school, opened on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn Heights.
The new annex of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum “Spark” has opened in DUMBO offering classes, drop-in play and even free entry for all on Thursdays. We also got a new skate park in Downtown Brooklyn and the outdoor climbing walls DUMBO Boulders in Brooklyn Bridge Park. A marina and sailing school are now open at Pier 5 in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
A new Hilton Hotel has opened in Boerum Hill and Hotel 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park is slated to open in February 2017.
Hundreds of new residential units are under way in our neighborhood: 86 apartments at 189 Montague Street, 5 condos at the former Brooklyn Heights cinema site, 108 units in the Pierhouse 1 in Brooklyn Bridge Park, 381 units at 213 Jay Street, 105 apartments at 181 Front Street, 71 units at 51 Jay Street – some of these buildings will be ready in 2017!
We got Westville Restaurant in DUMBO, b.good on Montague Street, three new coffee shops Espresso Me, Bluestone Lane and Gregorys Coffee, and Untamed Sandwiches and Taco Heights in DUMBO Heights. The new CityPoint Mall in Downtown Brooklyn has partially opened with Century 21 and a new cinema showing Indie movies and Blockbusters. The new Westelm Flagship store is open inside the Empire Stores in DUMBO. WeWork has opened a co-working space on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights and Equinox has opened a location in DUMBO. A farmer’s market has popped-up on Wednesdays in DUMBO and Brooklyn Flea moved to DUMBO. Sadly, Heights Kids toy store on Pineapple walk has closed its doors for good .
2017 will certainly be another eventful year for our neighborhood – stay tuned!
Happy holidays and a happy new year!
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