The Blocks are Back in Place

Mallory Kasdan with Mina Marcos, Resident Engineer and Sal Leopoldo, VP Halcyon Construction

If you live in DUMBO and are unaware or untouched by the street construction, you have been living under a rock--er block. Countless years and people later, the Halcyon Project came to a close a few weeks ago. “Each stone was hand hammered into place the same way it was originally installed 100+ years ago—no new equipment or technology, just a man and a hammer,” notes Sal Leopoldo, Halcyon’s VP in charge of the overall project delivery.

Leopoldo says he is most proud of solving the flooding issue at Pearl and John Street. An old brick overflow sewer that went through Brooklyn Bridge Park and discharged into the East River had collapsed, and became difficult to find and fix. “After much investigation we [found] the pipe and replaced it. It definitely would not have looked good if the area had still flooded after all this work.”

As DAC came to know well, Leopoldo was also a stoic community liaison, as he navigated and communicated with the neighborhood groups involved in the project. No small fete as one resident requested that each Belgian block (technically not cobblestones) be numbered and put back exactly where it was found. “DUMBO/Vinegar Hill is a very community active area,” he says. “Normally we deal with one community board, but on this contract, there were multiple parties. At first, I thought this was going to be a major issue, too many cooks, but it ended up working out very well.” He credits DAC leader Mallory Kasdan, the BID and Lincoln Restler’s office for working through the many issues that arise on projects of this size.

“Usually residents get construction fatigue after about two years of dust, noise and street closures,” he says. “I have to hand it to the residents for dealing with it for so long, not sure I could of in front of my home.”

Cheers to us all!

For more of the project’s history, read here; or to learn more about the cobblestone laying technique, read here.