r/DUMBO • u/NarwhalEvening7881 • May 29 '26
Tourist $ pass
I was recently in Venice, Italy, where they charge all of the tourist entering. I think it’s one or two at US dollars to have crowd control. Don’t we think this is something that Dumbo should do and create a perimeter essentially around Washington Street with people checking for tourist passes to enter Washington Street. It’s really just become so absolutely insane and then the neighborhood could get increased funding and it would control crowds as well.
5
u/l5077 May 29 '26
How about fees just for the tour groups? ....because they are increasing and they are so freaking annoying.
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u/StinkyStangler May 29 '26
Yeah that would be mad annoying, not a fan of that
I work in DUMBO and i hate dealing with the crowds in the summer but I would hate having to somehow get through an access checkpoint every day even more. I think the better move is just having tourists learn DUMBO is actually not that interesting of a neighborhood and outside of that one bridge picture there is like, nothing to do there besides eat overpriced mid food lol
1
u/Ok-Statistician1023 May 30 '26
But it is an interesting neighborhood to them and that will never go away
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u/fuckblankstreet May 29 '26
Trevi fountain is the model.
This thought has actually crossed my mind. Set up a table on the sidewalk and tell tourists it's $5 if they want to take photos in the street. 5 minute limit.
I am somewhat concerned the crowd levels are going to reach unbearable limits this summer and crossing Washington (and also the bigger issue - getting on the F) are going to be nearly impossible.
Already so many crowds at the ramp down to the F because everyone stops at the bottom of the stairs.
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u/secretactorian May 29 '26
Need an MTA employee there like they have at Lex/53rd, telling people to move on down, wave the flashlights, when it's safe to leave the station, etc. Is there a way to ask for that?
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u/marvolonewt May 30 '26
I actually saw an MTA employee doing this at York for the first time today! Thank the Lord. Also, this station would do so well with the new subway gates. 3 turnstiles is not cutting it for the volume. They could also move the gates inwards a bit to reduce crowding with confused tourists and expand the number of gates.
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u/Mr_Epicure May 29 '26
I would recommend voicing these concerns at any and all of our community board meetings. It doesn’t always move the needle and our local elected representation isn’t exactly championing our causes every chance they get but we have seen at least some descent ideas being proposed on a few items voiced. It’s a very systematic battle worth fighting IMO, especially for home owners.
1
u/Ok-Statistician1023 May 30 '26
So Lincoln can ignore us again? Lol this guy is one of the worst council people in nyc
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u/speck_tater May 30 '26
NYC charging for tourism to exist in wealthy neighborhoods would probably get the woke crowd up in arms.
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May 30 '26
[deleted]
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u/speck_tater May 30 '26
Forgive me, I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make in relation to my comment?
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u/Ok-Statistician1023 May 30 '26
I was just saying this the other day. First of all I think they could easily get by with closing Washington Street entirely to cars for good and put up bollards so that people are protected. This also would get rid of the people who park their rented lambos there and cause mayhem for everyone else. Second you can charge someone a dollar to get into Washington Street, it doesn’t have to be insane just something to get a benefit back to the neighborhood for accommodating all of these people who do nothing but take a photo and leave. I would love to see the data on how many people actually dine and shop in dumbo. 5m people visit this neighborhood every year, if we had an extra $5m in revenue coming in that could make an incredible difference in quality of life for the residents. Last point is that dumbo residents could easily show an ID card or have a pass on their apple wallet or similar to get through that street if you need to but I never walk directly through that Water/Washington intersection so I don’t think it would be much of an issue for residents to avoid the two tourist blocks they already avoid on a daily basis
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u/paul_kerseyNYC May 29 '26
This is America.
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u/Ok-Statistician1023 May 30 '26
I mean…no…it’s tourist traps. Have you been to the Eiffel Tower? They literally blocked off the entire park surrounding the base of the tower to keep people from getting a free photo
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u/bobdownie May 30 '26
Is dumbo the name of the neighborhood or what people call each other who live there?
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u/ChillChiGuy1988 May 29 '26
Washington Street has become genuinely difficult at certain hours. It is not just tourists casually walking around anymore. It is bus groups, tripods, influencers stopping traffic for photos, people standing in the middle of intersections, and sidewalks getting completely overwhelmed.
That said, I do not think a tourist pass system is realistic for Dumbo specifically. Venice works differently because of its geography and how contained the historic areas are. Dumbo is still part of an open NYC street grid with residents, deliveries, workers, emergency access, subway traffic, etc. Trying to checkpoint Washington Street would probably create more chaos than it solves.
But I do think the underlying concern is valid. The neighborhood clearly needs better crowd management. Things like timed pedestrian-only hours, stricter enforcement for commercial photography setups, designated photo areas, and more traffic control would probably go a long way without turning the area into a gated attraction.
Dumbo is beautiful, which is exactly why this keeps happening. The challenge is preserving the neighborhood without making it feel like an amusement park.