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Read the press release here.

Color-Changing 'DUMBO' Sign Will Give Traffic and Weather Reports

By Alexandra Leon | October 17, 2016 5:26pm
 The DUMBO Reflector will illuminate according to different social media hashtags, as well as give the time, weather and traffic updates.
The DUMBO Reflector will illuminate according to different social media hashtags, as well as give the time, weather and traffic updates.
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Julienne Schaer

DUMBO — An interactive, color-changing "DUMBO" sign in Brooklyn Bridge Park will give passersby real-time information about traffic and weather conditions.

The installation, which commemorates the 10-year anniversary of the DUMBO Improvement District, went up last Thursday in the park at John and Adams streets.

The mirrored letters of the 12-foot-wide, 9-foot-tall sign — designed by multimedia artist David Crumley — will illuminate the park with light patterns and animations based on the use of hashtags that can be programmed to reflect topical issues or community events. 

The sign will light up in different colors and patterns when people post the installation's first programmed hashtags: #DUMBOselfie, #DUMBOwedding and #DUMBOmagic.

The sign also includes a binary clock that features the time using the letters as digits, color-coded weather information displayed every 10 minutes, and real-time traffic conditions for the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges available on demand for those using the hashtag #DUMBOTraffic.

An instructional sign next to the installation will show viewers how to read the changing display.

boot trayThe DUMBO Reflector was installed at the John Street section of Brooklyn Bridge Park last week. (Credit: Julienne Schaer)

The sign was produced by Gamma Digital Fabrication using mirrored aluminum composite, acrylic two-way mirrors and stainless steel supports. It’s lit from within by 400 LED dots and controlled by two custom software applications.

The Reflector is part of DUMBO’s Test Kitchen Program, which gives grants to startups to create community-based innovations.

“I designed the DUMBO Reflector to literally reflect the culture of DUMBO back onto itself,” Crumley said in a statement. 

“At its core, community is the people and scenes that inhabit a place, and the digital interactive features of the sign provide a commentary on how we interact in our communities today, how dialogue takes place, and the need for physical space and art to bring us together.”

The Reflector will remain in its current location for several months before popping up in different parts of the neighborhood.