Furious locals in a New York City neighborhood are sick of tourists desperate for a perfect Instagram snap taking over their street and turning the once tranquil area into a hellhole to walk through.
Famed for its converted warehouses, picturesque cobblestone streets, and postcard view beneath the Manhattan Bridge, Brooklyn’s DUMBO – short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass – has transformed over the past decade.
It has developed from a quiet former manufacturing district into one of New York’s most photographed destinations with social media and travel guides promoting the neighborhood as a must-see stop, especially for the view you get of Manhattan from Washington Street between Front and York streets.
However, frustrated locals have had it with the influx of tourists, food trucks and chain-style businesses and have demanded local authorities make changes to improve the congestion and their quality of life.
Locals say the area is now buzzing like Manhattan’s Times Square, just nine miles from DUMBO, that sees up to 450,000 visitors a day during peak times. Speaking to the Daily Mail in the neighborhood on Tuesday, dog walker Kelvin Flores said: ‘I say it’s like the Times Square of Brooklyn.’
Local Racheline Maltese added that she was frustrated with the ‘wall to wall’ crowds. ‘It’s stopping me from being where I need to be.’
‘I cannot get across the street when people are stopping dead in front of me,’ she said.
Maltese said she found it ‘stressful’ navigating the York Street subway station in the area as crowds submerge the platforms. ‘The F train is the scariest platform, it’s like a fire trap waiting to happen,’ she added.
Crowds swarm to Washington Street between Front Street and York Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn, to snap views of Manhattan in the distance
Tourists are seen posing for photos on Tuesday as the Daily Mail visited the spot to speak with locals and tourists
Vendors selling snacks and drinks have parked up along the street to the dismay of locals
Visitors keen for the perfect photo get their cameras at the ready to snap the New York City skyline on Tuesday
Another local, Malcolm Moore, detailed a similar experience: ‘Even recently, I had trouble getting down here just to go shopping.’
And he said tourists can be rude. From ‘not saying excuse me, not mindful of their space, and disrespecting people’s movements,’ they are an unwelcome sight in the neighborhood. He added: ‘Hopefully they learn social norms.’
Locals say the attention from tourists has elevated living costs and house prices in the community, which has 5,906 residents per a Niche estimate.
According to Redfin, the median price of a home in DUMBO was $2,911,418 for April 2026, which is an increase of 225.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
Moore has seen friends and neighbors having to move while Maltese commented: ‘There’s no way there is a single affordable apartment here anymore.’
A Change.org petition was set up last month by resident Jamel Talbi demanding that local authorities publish a concrete safety and tourism management plan for DUMBO and hold a new town hall to discuss it.
The petition states: ‘For years, residents have raised the same concerns: food trucks and vendors operating directly outside residential buildings, idling engines and generators under apartment windows, blocked sidewalks and crosswalks, tour buses circulating through narrow residential streets, unsafe pedestrian spillover, traffic gridlock, and growing pressure on the already overcrowded York Street subway station.
‘These are not isolated inconveniences. They are public safety, environmental, accessibility, and quality-of-life issues affecting residents, families, children, seniors, people with disabilities, local workers, and visitors alike.’
Tourists crowd the streets to take in the views of the city. Locals say it makes it difficult to navigate the walkways
Visitors eager for a unique shot have been taking over the road and sidewalks with their poses
Previously an industrial zone known as ‘Fulton’s Landing’ in the 19th century, it wasn’t until the 1980s when developer David Walentas renovated around 2 million sq ft of derelict land to form the artsy district we now know
‘DUMBO residents deserve safe streets, clean air, accessible sidewalks, reliable transit access, and a transparent government process that treats residents as primary stakeholders.’
The petition came after an April town hall where council member Lincoln Restler intended to address traffic, tourism, vending, pedestrian safety, Open Street impacts, and quality of life in the neighborhood. Locals felt the meeting was inefficient and that they had yet to see any legislative action.
Speaking to the Daily Mail on Friday, Restler shared future plans for a potential ‘vendor plaza’ intended to remove the vendors off the streets to appease residents.
However Restler did not propose a timeline for these changes. ‘We are in negotiations and nothing is final but we hope to have updates soon.’
Local Bruno Cartella told the Daily Mail: ‘I’d like more action but I know I’m not gonna get it.
‘As far as the vendors go, they gotta tone it down a little, because they are coming around here doing what they want, trying to move in front of people’s doors and this, that and the other.
‘Then when you are nicely approaching them with intelligence, asking them if they have to do this right in front of your door, they get an attitude… We’ve got residents here and they don’t want it. They want serenity and calmness. No one wanted attention here, we are good.’
However local workers were quick to defend themselves. Yessi Ortiz from Front Street Pizza told the Daily Mail that although the chaos could be intense she believes it to be good for the neighborhood as it benefitted the local businesses.
One local, who goes by the name ‘Sarge, the bird man of Brooklyn,’ stated that he too took no issue with the buzz and welcomed everyone but understood that the attention drove costs up.
‘It can be expensive around here and a lot of us cannot afford that but it is what it is’, he said.
Dog walker Kelvin Flores told the Daily Mail that the area is like ‘the Times Square of Brooklyn’
The neighborhood of DUMBO now has an estimated population of almost 6,000 residents. Local Racheline Maltese spoke with the Daily Mail this week
A local who goes by the name ‘Sarge, the bird man of Brooklyn,’ embraces the crowds
Locals report having had multiple run-ins with vendors who park outside their properties. Local Bruno Cartella is pictured
A line forms at a pizza place on Washington Street on Tuesday as hungry tourists grab a bite
This file photo shows tourists swarm the street in June 2024. Locals say the crowds keep growing each year
A July 2010 photo shows patrons queuing down the block for a slice of pizza
A file photo from January 2020 shows the iconic shot of the Empire State Building in the background of the Manhattan Bridge
The debate comes ahead of the FIFA World Cup which starts on June 11 and is set to bring an influx of international visitors to the New York and New Jersey region.
The petition stated: ‘The timing makes this especially urgent. DUMBO is heading into peak summer conditions while the city is also planning major public events on and around the waterfront – including the FIFA World Cup 26 Brooklyn Fan Zone at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the broader 50th Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Show and Sail4th 250 / America’s 250th celebrations in New York Harbor.
‘These are not ordinary weekend conditions; they are major crowd-generating events being added to a neighborhood where officials have already acknowledged that enforcement and management have been inadequate.
‘The city cannot continue using DUMBO and the surrounding waterfront as a major event destination while acknowledging unresolved failures around traffic, vending, crowding, sanitation, subway access, and enforcement.
‘Before these events proceed, residents need to know how the city will manage pedestrian crowding, vehicle restrictions, tour buses, vendors, emergency access, residential building access, subway congestion, sanitation, and NYPD deployment. Without that plan, the city is not managing risk – it is compounding it!’
Restler emphasized to the Daily Mail ‘how lucky New York was to be able to host the upcoming events’ and shared his aim to work closely with the community to mitigate any issues that may arise at the time.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Talbi and the New York City Council for further comment.
