The Other King of Dumbo, Jed Walentas, has taken a wife. "He and fiancee Kate Engelbrecht married sometime during the last two weeks, a family spokeswoman confirmed. No further details were provided, citing the happy couple’s desire for privacy." Walentas has taken a big role in running Two Trees, the development company founded by the King of Dumbo, David Walentas. The younger Walentas's latest project is a hotel at N. 11 Street and Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg. [Brooklyn Paper; previously]
So, mom, who lives in Manhattan, wants "to get to know Brooklyn." This involves a trip to Dumbo and "discovering new things about New York," some shopping, an excursion to Fort Greene, a stop at Brooklyn Flea and, by the end of the day, "a full Brooklyn experience." [TRE]
With a few weeks to go before Olafur Eliasson's waterfalls start to flow in Brooklyn (two of them), Manhattan (one) and on Governor's Island (one), huge pumps have been installed that will suck water out of the East River and send it up to the top of the big metal tower under the Brooklyn Bridge. The artist says that when it's turned on, "people can engage in something as epic as a waterfall, see the wind and feel its gravity. You realize that the East River is not just static." In the meantime, June 26 is the day the $15 million waterfalls will be turned on and we find out how far the spray of East River water will travel on a really windy day.
· From a Master of Weather, Four Waterfalls for New York [NYT]
· Waterfall Watch: Weird Tower Rises Beneath Brooklyn Heights [Curbed]
This is what one might call the Brooklyn Bridge Pop-Up Park, a concept from dlandstuio for the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy for a temporary viewing area for one of Olafur Eliasson's waterfalls under the Brooklyn Bridge. Per Tropolism, which had renderings and info, "the design is like a pop-up shop" for the park and includes "wide swaths of color painted in stripes over the asphalt to create both a more comfortable walking surface for pedestrians and add color and texture." there are also grass mounds, a sand area with umbrellas and "hay bales that get seeded and grow grass like a chia pet as the summer progresses." The designers, by the way, are also behind the cool Sponge Park concept in Gowanus.
· Tropolism Exclusive: The Waterfalls Get A Park [Tropolism]
· dlandstudio [dlandstudio.com]
· Gowanus Canal Sponge Park Fully Revealed [Curbed]
So, when a tipster sent photos a little while ago of this rotating drill sticking of Fulton Ferry Landing near the Brooklyn Bridge, we were able to put two and two together and figure out that it's the Brooklyn end of a weird London-NYC art installation called the Telectroscope. Some verbiage about the project by Paul St. George says it's a "public media project is an amazing optical device that allows viewers in Brooklyn to see all the way to London." This may mean there's live video at both ends of the other end. The installation is part of the Brooklyn Bridge Anniversary celebration that starts this week. Sadly, the Telectroscope only will be there through June 15, going away before Olafur Eliasson's waterfall under the Brooklyn Bridge gets turned on in July.
· The Telectroscope [Project Website]
· The Telectroscope Cometh [Gowanus Lounge]
· The "Other" Brooklyn Bridge Celebrations [Brooklyn Based]
Jed Walentas, 33, sat down with the Observer's Dana Rubinstein to discuss his growing role at father David's real estate empire, Dumbo megadeveloper Two Trees. It's a revealing interview, and we're happy to see that Jed has dropped the sweater thing (right) in favor of a more haggard hipster look. We also find out that he calls his dad David (not, you know, Dad) and he's not afraid to drop the F-bomb. Also, his office is very messy. Oh, and then there's the stuff about work:
On taking over the reins at Two Trees: "I think I certainly run the business here, in terms of running all the people. … On the one hand, [partner and college buddy] Amish and I can talk David into almost anything if we feel strongly enough about it. And on the other hand, there’s nobody here with better real estate judgment than he has. And I'm certainly not doing anything that he doesn't want us to be doing."
On David's obsession with details: "He can spend three hours with Laura, an architect here, looking at carpet samples. I'm like, 'David, don't you have anything better to do with your fucking time? Like, are you serious?'"
One seriously PriceChopped apartment does not a trend make, but it's certainly interesting to note that an unspecified 1BR unit has gotten a number of buzz cuts over the last eight months or so. The 801 square foot unit was listed with Corcoran at $699,000 last September and has since gotten three incremental chops per streeteasy, the most recent of which on Thursday brought the price down from $650,000 to $590,000. The tipster that brought it to our attention wrote: "That's a 15.6% cut over 7 months. Not sure if this is a testament to the strength of Brooklyn market." Other units that are currently listed have taken some hits, too, but none as severe as this one. The current price is $200-$300 per square foot less than what other units have gone for. Trend or weird aberration?
· 1BR J Condo Unit [streeteasy.com]
· 'Mint One BR' [Corcoran]
· J Condo Got F'd [Curbed]
Comments
Jed Walentas, 33, sat down with the Observer's Dana Rubinstein to 
