THE region of Brooklyn’s DUMBO in the immediate Fulton Ferry area is one of my favorite parts of town to poke around in and I hope to get back there sometime in 2023. I always either seem to find something “new” or revisit locales I know about already.
One of these places is the former Long Island Safe Deposit Building, #1 Front Street at Old Fulton Street (formerly Cadman Plaza West and before that, Fulton Street). One of Brooklyn’s more impressive cast-iron building facades, the edifice dates to 1868 and was designed by William Mundell. The opening of Brooklyn Bridge in 1883 made life difficult for businesses on lower Fulton Street, because the ferry was now being bypassed in favor of the bridge and the bank was no exception; it closed in 1891. Its presence a testimony to how this part of town was formerly one of Brooklyn’s business hubs; its subsequent decline was symptomatic of the neighborhood’s decline after ferry service ended in 1924. In recent years, the building has been restored to much of its old glory.
Improbably, Fulton Ferry has become a gourmet pizza hotbed. Grimaldi’s came first a couple of decades ago, and moved into this building recently. Its old location a few doors down is now occupied by Juliana’s. I have sampled Grimaldi’s but not Juliana’s but in NYC, it’s hard to find bad pizza and Juliana’s is no doubt excellent.
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3/13/23