Meet Team Dumbo
Making Dumbo shine since 2006.
Hello!
We’re Team Dumbo – in charge of the Dumbo Business Improvement District. For 20 years, we have worked to create community, advocating for Dumbo + the people who make it shine. Enjoying the vibrant public art, epic public spaces, community events, small business support, gift guides, and Dumbo Instagram? We love bringing them to you. We water the plants, clean the streets and work with all sorts of community members – from small businesses to tech giants, residents to property owners, the Parks Department to the Department of Transportation, and many, many more.
Dumbo is a different side of New York – literally – across the river. But also: cleaner, greener, friendlier, a more charming and creative vibe with each consecutive cobble.
If you’re a business in the neighborhood, you are already a member! We’re here for you as a resource. Whether you’re looking for information on how to expand your business or looking for space to expand into, we can help. Need a space to host an event? Get in touch! Want us to promote an event or brag about you? Email us! Questions about neighborhood improvements? We’re on it!
Think of us as a hyper-local Chamber of Commerce meets neighborhood cheerleader meets Leslie Knope. We are a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2006 to enhance the neighborhood and we work to amplify Dumbo’s creative and innovative vibe.
Think of us as a hyper-local Chamber of Commerce meets neighborhood cheerleader meets Leslie Knope.
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. Funds to pay for BID programs and services are generated from a special assessment paid by the commercial property owners. New York City is home to seventy-two Business Improvement Districts managed by the NYC Department of Small Business Services. NYCs BIDS annually invest over $100 million worth of programs in services that revitalize neighborhoods and catalyze economic development. There are 76 of us –BIDs, that is–in New York City.
The BID is so intrinsic to supporting the existing community and bringing everyone together.
You’re following us on Instagram, right?
We’re at @dumbo_brooklyn
Core Services
Planning + Advocacy
Team Dumbo advocates on behalf of the community for better services and public spaces, support for our office tenants and retail businesses, transportation enhancements and the maintenance of the neighborhood’s unique character and historic charm – including our historical Belgian Block restoration & infrastructure improvements capital project. Today – that $100 million NYC construction project is more than halfway through completion. Team Dumbo continues to work closely with the contractors and NYCDOT and NYCDDC to minimize the impacts of construction on the community and small businesses.
Public Realm
From cleaning to programming, Team Dumbo manages many of the public spaces of our community: the Dumbo Archway + Plaza, car-free Washington Street, and Old Fulton Plaza – through contracts with the City of New York’s Department of Transportation. Maintenance includes furniture, planting flowers, supplemental sanitation and cleaning, and providing lots of great places to sit and hang out.
Building Community
Dumbo’s geography lends itself to a quaint neighborhood campus. Team Dumbo brings everyone together with community traditions like dancing in the Archway, watching elephants fly from the rooftops and a Halloween Parade like no other.
Supporting Small Businesses
Team Dumbo helps small businesses thrive through our #DUMBOVIP Perks Program, our Dumbo Map + Guide, holiday gift guides, assistance with government entities, space searches and introductions to related businesses in the neighborhood!
Supporting the Creative Culture
Did you know that Dumbo has 150+ artist studios and more than 50 architecture and design firms? Team Dumbo brings this incredible cluster together and provides opportunities to creatives through programs like Dumbo x Design, the Six Foot Platform, Shop the Studios and more.
Public Art + Events
We commission and curate public art – from massive video art projections and BQE murals, to sculptures and site specific installations – to enliven our public realm and bring out Dumbo’s creative sparkle.
Spreading the word
We’re here to tell the neighborhood’s story. Through e-blasts, postcards, district signage, our popular @dumbo_brooklyn Instagram and yes, this website, we highlight the people and places that make Dumbo, Dumbo.
Sanitation + Beautification
Team Dumbo’s “Clean Team” works seven days a week, rain or shine, to provide supplemental street cleaning and keep Dumbo sparkling. 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.
These guys [the Doe Fund] are the best. I always stop to say “Thanks for making Dumbo Dumbo.”
It was a very good year in Dumbo
Projects + Public Art: A look back at some Team Dumbo favorites
Shout out to our community partners!
Ode to Dumbo
It’s our tradition around here to end the year with a rhyme.