York Street to the Waterfront
DUMBO's shops sit in old warehouse buildings on the cobblestone blocks between the Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, with Brooklyn Bridge Park along the water. The neighborhood is compact. This walk runs from the York St station down Jay Street, west along Front Street, back along Water Street and out to the park, and fills a relaxed afternoon. The mix leans to books, home furnishings, resale and chocolate rather than fashion, so come for a handful of good stops and the views. For a fashion-heavy day, pair it with our Williamsburg shopping day.
Posted hours run about 11am to 8pm, and some shops close at 6pm. Several independents don't post hours, so call ahead if one matters to you. Skip Monday if furniture is on your list: West Elm is closed. Our DUMBO district page lists every shop we track here.
Start: Jay Street and Plymouth Street
Come up from the F train at York St and get coffee first. Fontainhas (28 Jay St) is an all-day Goan café on a quiet stretch of Jay Street, and the rose cinnamon chai is the order.
Turn onto Plymouth Street for two art stops a few doors apart. Usagi (163 Plymouth St) is a Japanese-inspired café, bookstore and exhibition space with books, coffee and tea, and regular performances and workshops. A.I.R. Gallery (155 Plymouth St) is an artist-run nonprofit gallery showing women and non-binary artists. If you are here on the first Thursday of the month, that is DUMBO's gallery-hopping night.
Front Street: Jewelry and Books
Walk down to Front Street. Thea Grant (126A Front St) is a jewelry studio and shop in a former Victorian coffee warehouse. Her own designs lean celestial, with stars and snakes, and she sells antique and estate jewelry and curiosities alongside them. Hours aren't posted, so call before you make a special trip.
Head west to Adams Street. POWERHOUSE Arena (28 Adams St) is the bookstore of the POWERHOUSE publishing house, with author talks and book launches. Check its events calendar before you go; an evening talk is a good way to end the day.
Weekends: The Brooklyn Flea
On Saturdays and Sundays, the Brooklyn Flea Dumbo sets up at the Dumbo Archway Plaza under the Manhattan Bridge, a few steps from POWERHOUSE. Vendors sell vintage clothing, furniture, housewares, collectibles, jewelry and art, with some food stalls. The flea's own site lists 10am to 5pm on weekends and a season that runs through December 21, so a fall or early-winter weekend still works.
Front Street: Showrooms and Resale
Back on Front Street, keep walking west. Three stores sit within a few doors of each other. MCollection (14 Jay St, at John St) is a furniture and interiors showroom with sofas, coffee tables, bar stools, lamps and mirrors from designers around the world, and it offers interior design help for rooms and outdoor spaces. The Shade Store (73 Front St) is a showroom for custom shades, blinds, drapery and motorized window treatments. Walk-ins are welcome, design consultants are on hand, and you can take fabric swatches home.
2nd STREET Dumbo (70 Front St) is the Japanese resale chain's store, with men's and women's secondhand clothing, bags, shoes and accessories, including Japanese, European and luxury designer labels. It is open daily from 11am to 8pm and buys clothing as well as selling it. Bring anything you want to sell before 7pm, since buying stops an hour before close.
The Washington Street View
Turn down Washington Street toward the water. The block between Front and Water Streets is the view you have seen in photos: cobblestones, the Manhattan Bridge overhead and the Empire State Building framed beneath it. Expect a crowd taking the same picture.
Water Street and Empire Stores
Back on Water Street, Jacques Torres Chocolate (66 Water St) is the chocolate shop from the former Le Cirque pastry chef. It sells patterned truffles, ancho chili hot chocolate and seasonal treats for Easter, Halloween and Christmas. On a cold day, get the hot chocolate.
Empire Stores (53-83 Water St), a restored 1800s waterfront warehouse, is the neighborhood's shopping anchor. West Elm is on its first floor, with furniture, lighting, rugs and decor, and is open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm. Kith Kids is the children's flagship, with seasonal collections, collaboration apparel, accessories and footwear, plus a Kith Treats ice cream counter inside. It is open until 8pm Monday to Saturday and 7pm on Sunday. For a break, Cha Cha Matcha Dumbo on the ground floor serves matcha drinks, coffee, smoothies and pastries, daily from 8am to 8pm.
Time Out Market New York (55 Water St) takes the building's ground floor and a 5th-floor level, with about 21 restaurants, three bars and a rooftop terrace looking at both bridges. Doughnuttery inside sells bite-sized doughnuts, from powdered and glazed to chai masala and sriracha, with dipping sauces. It stays open until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and Empire Stores' events listings include rooftop evenings such as a Sunset Spritz Hour.
Further along Water Street, OddFellows Ice Cream Co. Dumbo (44 Water St) scoops unusual flavors alongside classic chocolate and vanilla.
The Waterfront: Brooklyn Bridge Park
Water Street runs into Brooklyn Bridge Park. Park entry is free, and it is open 6am to 1am every day. Jane's Carousel sits in a glass pavilion beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, in the park's Empire Fulton Ferry section. It has 48 carved horses and two chariots, and the pavilion lets it run year-round; check the carousel's own site for ride hours and tickets.
The park's Main Street section has a big lawn, Pebble Beach, a nautical-themed playground and a terrace by the water, with an entry plaza at Washington Street. It is the place to sit down with your bags and look at the skyline.
Where to Eat
Time Out Market is the easy lunch, with about 21 counters under one roof. Outside it, these are the picks from our DUMBO restaurant list. Juliana's Pizza (19 Old Fulton St) makes coal-fired pizza with a deeply charred crust, under the Brooklyn Bridge at the end of this walk. Bark Barbecue (55 Water St) does Texas-style barbecue, and the order is smoky brisket with sweet maduros. On Front Street, Lucky Rabbit Noodles (151 Front St) does matzo ball soup dumplings and rice with buffalo sauce, and Thai Sidewalk (100 Front St) is a Thai street cart, with pad see ew and curry puffs as the picks.
Subway, Bus or Ferry
Take the F train to York St or the A or C to High St; both are a short walk from the shops. The B25 bus stops on Water Street in front of Empire Stores. By water, DUMBO has its own NYC Ferry stop. Arriving that way, you can run this walk in reverse: start in the park, work through Empire Stores and Water Street, then climb to Front Street and Plymouth Street.
Driving is possible but not needed. Empire Stores says more than 1,200 off-street parking spaces are available or under construction within two blocks, but it does not name the garages.
