DUMBO: Heart in the right place

See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.

By Eli Rosenberg

Brooklyn Daily

Hurricane Sandy devastated Brooklyn, but a new work of public art proves the storm couldn’t break the borough’s heart.

The heart-shaped sculpture “Heartwalk” — made from wood salvaged from Sandy-struck boardwalks in Atlantic City and Sea Girt, N.J., and Rockaway and Long Beach, N.Y. — now holds court in DUMBO’s Pearl Street Triangle as a testament to Hurricane Sandy’s wrath and the neighborhood’s flood-proof resolve.

“Since Sandy, we’ve watched the neighborhood recover and we’re happy to have it here as a sign of that recovery,” said Wes Rozen of Situ Studio, a DUMBO fabrication firm that created the piece for a Valentine’s Day art competition in Times Square, which the outfit won. “The destruction of the storm was on our minds when we considering a public artwork [for the competition], and we wanted to do something around the community love we saw after the storm.”

Hurricane Sandy hit DUMBO hard, but when the water receded, the community rallied to help those in need.

Beloved businesses including Galapagos Art Space, powerHouse, and Almodine Bakery suffered major damage in the storm but managed to bound back through fund-raisers, events, and support from customers and industry peers.

Neighborhood boosters say the community’s good Samaritan efforts make “Heartwalk” — which is on display until April 30 — the perfect artwork for the area.

“As DUMBO continues to get back on it’s feet from Sandy, ‘Heartwalk’ is a beautiful reminder of all of the support and love that embodied this community in the aftermath of the storm,” said Alexandria Sica, the executive director of the DUMBO Improvement District in a release.

In many ways, DUMBO has bounced back — but the neighborhood was not without its casualties. The eatery Governor closed after being unable to recover from Hurricane-related damage and the waterfront fixture the River Cafe has not yet reopened.

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