Bay Ridge was formerly the westernmost portion of the town ofNew Utrecht, comprising two smaller villages: Yellow Hook to the north and Fort Hamilton to the south. Yellow Hook was named for the color of the soil and was renamed Bay Ridge in December 1853 to avoid negative connotations withyellow fever at the time; the name Bay Ridge was chosen based on the local geography.[4] Bay Ridge became developed as a rural summer resort during the mid-19th century. The arrival of theNew York City Subway'sFourth Avenue Line (present-dayR train) in 1916 led to its development as a residential neighborhood. Bay Ridge is known for its Norwegian community but it also has small Irish, Italian, Arab and Greek communities.
South Brooklyn was originally settled by theCanarsee Indians, one of several indigenousLenape peoples who farmed and hunted on the land. Their main village in the area wasNyack. The Canarsee Indians had several routes that crossed Brooklyn, including a path fromFulton Ferry along theEast River that extended southward toGowanus Creek, Sunset Park, and Bay Ridge.[7]: 9 [8] The Canarsee traded with other indigenous peoples, and by the early 17th century, also with Dutch and English settlers.[7]: 9
The first European settlement at Bay Ridge occurred in 1636 when Willem Adriaenszen Bennett and Jacques Bentyn purchased 936 acres (379 ha) between 28th and 60th Streets, in what is now Sunset Park.[9][10][a] However, after the land was purchased in the 1640s by Dutch settlers who laid out their farms along the waterfront, the Canarsee were soon displaced, and had left Brooklyn by the 18th century.[7]: 9 Present-day Bay Ridge was the westernmost portion ofNew Utrecht, founded in 1657 by the Dutch.[11]: 8 [12] The area consisted of two sister villages:Yellow Hook to the north, named for the color of the soil, with "Hook" from the Dutchhoek, meaning "corner"[13] andFort Hamilton to the south, named for the military installation at its center.[9][11]: 4
Yellow Hook was mostly farmland until the late 1840s. In 1848, Third Avenue within the area was widened. Two years later, a group of artists moved to the area and founded a colony called Ovington Village, named after the family who owned the farmland in the area.[14]: 1 [15] Around 1853, Yellow Hook changed the community's name to avoid association withyellow fever.[16][17] "Bay Ridge" was suggested by local horticulturist James Weir after the area's most prominent geographic features: the high ridge that offered views ofNew York Bay.[18][19] The natural beauty attracted the wealthy, who built country homes along Shore Road, overlooking the water.[20]
The first settlers referred to Fort Hamilton as theNyack Tract, after the Native American tribe that lived there.[9] Fort Hamilton began to develop in the 1830s as a resort destination when the corresponding military fortification was created. The mostly-immigrant laborers in the area started to create a community to the fort's north and west, which included stores, houses, churches, and a school. The community was linked by stagecoach to New Utrecht,Gowanus, anddowntown Brooklyn, as well as by ferry toStaten Island andManhattan.[21]: 2 [22]
In the mid-19th century, a large number of country houses were built in Bay Ridge, especially along Shore Road, which faced theNew York Harbor to the west.[9] The advent of the telephone allowed estate owners to communicate with their businesses in Manhattan while enjoying their stays at the elegant estates of Bay Ridge.[11]: 8 [23]: 5 Through this periodGreek Revival,Italianate, andGothic Revival villas were built on Shore Road; many of these villas were constructed by the descendants of the area's original settlers.[11]: 8 [21]: 2 Development in Bay Ridge continued through the 1890s.[24] One of the most prominent organizations in Bay Ridge was the Crescent Athletic Club, a football club built in 1884, which contained a summer clubhouse, boathouse, and playing fields.[11]: 8 [14]: 2 By the late 19th century, it was anticipated that a series of parkways would be built across Brooklyn, connecting Bay Ridge toEastern Parkway,Ocean Parkway, andProspect Park. As such, several wide, tree-lined streets were laid through the neighborhood, including 75th Street (now Bay Ridge Parkway);Fort Hamilton Parkway; and Shore Road.[25][b]
Until the late 19th century, Bay Ridge would remain a relatively isolated rural area,[21]: 4 reached primarily by stagecoaches, then by steam trolleys after 1878.[23]: 15 In 1892, the first electric trolley line was built in Brooklyn, starting at a ferry terminal at 39th Street and running via Second Avenue to 65th Street, and then via Third Avenue. TheFifth Avenue Elevated was then extended toThird Avenue and 65th Street.[23]: 19 [26] This had the effect of raising land prices: one entity, the Bay Ridge Improvement Company, was able to buy land for $1,000 per acre ($2,500/ha) in 1890, and then sell land off for $1,000 per lot several years later.[23]: 19
Real estate speculation commenced at the beginning of the 20th century.[27] A building boom in South Brooklyn started in about 1902 and 1903, and thousands of people started coming to the area from Manhattan and from other places.[26] The first definite plans for aFourth Avenue subway (today'sR train) were proposed by Rapid Transit Commission engineerWilliam Barclay Parsons in 1903,[28] and two years later, a citizens' committee was created to aid the creation of the subway line.[29] The announcement of the subway line resulted in the immediate development of row houses in Bay Ridge.[28][30] In 1905 and 1906 realty values increased by about 100 percent, and land values increased due to the promise of improved transportation access.[26] Such was the rate of development, houses were being sold before they were even completed, and land prices could rise significantly just within several hours.[11]: 11
The subway itself faced delays. In 1905, the Rapid Transit Commission adopted the Fourth Avenue route to Fort Hamilton; following approval by theBoard of Estimate andmayor of New York City, the route was approved by theAppellate Division of the Supreme Court.[31][32][33] Bids for construction and operation were let,[31][32] but in 1907, the Rapid Transit Commission was succeeded by the Public Service Commission (PSC).[29] For much of 1908, there were legal disagreements about whether the project could be funded while remaining within the city'sdebt limit.[11]: 12 The PSC voted unanimously for the Fourth Avenue subway line in March 1908,[29][31] but the Board of Estimate did not approve contracts for the line until October 1909. By then, a non-partisan political body, with the backing of 25,000 South Brooklyn residents, was created that would only support candidates in the municipal election that pledged support for the Fourth Avenue subway.[31][34][35] Groundbreaking for the first section of the subway, betweenDeKalb Avenue and 43rd Street took place in 1909.[36] Not long after the contracts were awarded, the PSC started negotiating with theBrooklyn Rapid Transit Company and theInterborough Rapid Transit Company in the execution of theDual Contracts, which were signed in 1913.[31] During the Dual System negotiations, the construction of an extension of the Fourth Avenue subway was recommended as part of the Dual System, which was approved in 1912.[31] Construction began on the sections between 61st–89th Streets and between 43rd–61st Streets in 1913, and was completed two years later.[33]
The line opened to59th Street on June 21, 1915,[37] and was extended to86th Street on January 15, 1916, at which time development started to accelerate.[38] At the time, Bay Ridge extended northward to what is now present-daySunset Park.[39] Industrial developments were constructed along the waterfront north of present-day 65th Street, such as Bush Terminal (nowIndustry City), and those were considered to be within Bay Ridge.[40] By the 1920s, the number of apartment buildings had increased fivefold, replacing old farms, homesteads and houses.[41]: 17 [42] Schools, churches, stores, movie theaters, and other structures were also created to serve the growing population.[23]: 23 The Fourth Avenue subway was extended further toBay Ridge–95th Street in 1925,[43][44] by which point Bay Ridge's population had more than doubled since 1900.[41]: 17 By World War II, almost all of these large houses had been replaced with apartment buildings.[20]
There had been plans to build theStaten Island Tunnel, a railroad or subway tunnel, from Bay Ridge toStaten Island as early as 1890.[46] By the 1910s, there were two proposals to build a tunnel splitting from the Fourth Avenue subway in Bay Ridge, either at Fort Hamilton or at between 65th and 67th Streets.[47] The plan for the tunnel from 65th-67th Streets was ultimately selected[48] and work started in 1923, though the project was halted two years later.[49] In 1927, two years after the cancellation of the Staten Island Tunnel, engineerDavid B. Steinman brought up the possibility of constructing a vehicular bridge, the "Liberty Bridge", across the Narrows.[50]: 135 [51] The tunnel proposal was also revived with the announcement of the Liberty Bridge, and proposals for vehicular and rail tunnels were both considered.[52][53] The bridge was disapproved by theUnited States Department of War in 1934,[54] and plans for a bridge were revived in 1936.[55] By the time the bridge was approved by the city's Board of Estimate in 1943, residents of Bay Ridge had turned against it, citing a detrimental impact to the neighborhood's character.[56]
Robert Moses, the chairman of theTriborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), announced the revival of plans for what would become theVerrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1947.[57] U.S. RepresentativeDonald Lawrence O'Toole, whose constituency included Bay Ridge, opposed the proposal for the bridge in part because he believed it would damage the character of Bay Ridge.[58][59] The U.S. military approved the proposal anyway,[60][61] and in 1957, Moses proposed expanding Brooklyn'sGowanus Expressway and extending it to the Narrows Bridge by way of Seventh Avenue, which would require cutting through the middle of Bay Ridge. This proposal drew opposition from the community, who wanted the approach to follow the Belt Parkway along the Brooklyn shore.[62] After holding a hearing for concerned Bay Ridge residents, the Board of Estimate affirmed the Narrows Bridge plan in October 1958,[63] though this angered Bay Ridge residents since the construction of the approach would displace 7,500 people.[64] Also destroyed wasFort Lafayette, part of New York City's defense system along withFort Hamilton andFort Wadsworth inStaten Island; it was replaced by the base of the bridge's east tower.[65][66] The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964.[67]
The2007 Brooklyn tornado hit this area, specifically 68th Street and Bay Ridge Avenue between Third and Fourth Avenues.[68] Eleven houses had to be vacated after they suffered significant damage, and many of the trees on the two blocks toppled, landing on cars and stoops. The 4th Avenue Presbyterian Church had its very large stained glass window blown out.[69] As the tornado lifted, it peeled the roof of a nearby Nissan dealership and deforested 40% of Leif Ericson Park. The tornado has been rated EF2 on theEnhanced Fujita scale, with winds between 111 and 135 MPH.[70]
Based on data from the2020 United States Census, the population of Bay Ridge was 111,952, an increase of 32,581 from the 79,371 counted in the2010 Census, representing an increase of (41.04%) and an increase of 31,413 (39%) from the 80,539 counted in2000. Covering an area of 1,571.96 acres (636.15 ha), the neighborhood had a population density of 50.5 inhabitants per acre (32,300/sq mi; 12,500/km2).[3]
As of the 2010 US Census, the racial makeup of the neighborhood was 60.1%White (55,976), 19.9%Hispanic (25,413), 15.4% (23,509)Asian, 2.3%Black (2,015), 1.9% (3,358) from two or more races, and 0.5% (335) asother races.[71]
The entirety of Community Board 10 had 142,075 inhabitants as ofNYC Health's 2018 Community Health Profile, with an average life expectancy of 83.1 years.[72]: 2, 20 This is higher than the median life expectancy of 81.2 for all New York City neighborhoods.[73]: 53 (PDF p. 84) [74] The median age is 38, while 20% are between the ages of 0–17, 34% between 25 and 44, and 25% between 45 and 64. The ratio of college-aged and elderly residents was lower, at 7% and 15% respectively.[72]: 2
As of 2020, the medianhousehold income was $105,177.[75] In 2018, an estimated 19% of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights residents lived in poverty, compared to 21% in all of Brooklyn and 20% in all of New York City. One in twelve residents (8%) were unemployed, compared to 9% in the rest of both Brooklyn and New York City. Rent burden, or the percentage of residents who have difficulty paying their rent, is 49% in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, slightly lower than the citywide and boroughwide rates of 52% and 51% respectively. Based on this calculation, as of 2018[update], Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights are considered to be high-income neighborhoods relative to the rest of the city.[72]: 7
According to the 2020 census data fromNew York City Department of City Planning, Bay Ridge had 40,000 or more White residents, while its Asian and Hispanic populations each had between 10,000 and 19,999 residents.[76][77]
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn falls under different climate types depending on the climate classification system used. However, the Köppen climate classification system is the most widely used climate classification scheme.
Bay Ridge, Brooklyn Climate according to major climate systems
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found onPhabricator and onMediaWiki.org.
Bay Ridge's Norwegian heritage is represented in the Valhalla Courts.A sign including Arabic on 79th street in Bay Ridge
Bay Ridge is well known for itsNorwegian community. By 1971, the 55,000-strong Norwegian community of Bay Ridge boasted that it was the fourth-largest Norwegian "city" in the world.[83] Residents also compared Eighth Avenue's string of Norwegian businesses toOslo'sKarl Johans gate.[83] The community continues to host the annualNorwegian Constitution Day Parade, also known as theSyttende Mai Parade, in which hundreds of people in folk dress proceed down Third Avenue. The celebration ends inLeif Ericson Park, where "Miss Norway" is crowned near the statue of Leif Ericson. The statue was donated byCrown Prince Olav,Prince of Norway, on behalf of the nation ofNorway in 1939.[84][85] Nordic Delicacies, a Norwegian gifts-and-groceries store, operated until 2015.[86]
As of 2023[update], Bay Ridge still maintains a sizable Norwegian population at around 30,000 individuals. Later in the 20th century, like other areas in southern and southwestern Brooklyn, there was an increase in the number ofIrish,Italian,Greek,Russian,Polish,Jordanians,Lebanese,Syrian,Egyptian and to a lesser extentChinese, people living in Bay Ridge. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Middle Eastern, North African, andArab Americans moved to Bay Ridge, withThe New York Times referring to it as "the heart of Brooklyn's Arab community".[87] The neighborhood also has manyMuslim residents, particularly in its northern area bordering the Sunset Park neighborhood. Bay Ridge is one of the largest Arab-American communities in the United States,[88] and the largest in New York City.
In addition to the large Norwegian, Irish, Italian, and Arab American communities, there are sizable numbers ofPuerto Ricans,Mexicans, and—to a lesser extent—Central Americans andDominicans in Bay Ridge.
Bay Ridge has many ethnic restaurants, especially along Third and Fifth Avenues, its main commercial strips.[89][90]
Bay Ridge has a large elderly population. It has been called anaturally occurring retirement community (NORC) as many of its families have grown up in the neighborhood while their children moved away. In 2006, it was reported that 20% of the population of Bay Ridge was 60 years of age or more.[91]
Local newspapers includeThe Home Reporter, Sunset News,The Bay Ridge Courier, andBay Ridge News. The neighborhood is also often covered byThe Brooklyn Daily Eagle. These newspapers publish other local offshoots:The Home Reporter also publishesThe Spectator; theCourier's parent company also publishesThe Brooklyn Paper; and theEagle publishes a weekly digest calledBay Ridge Life.
In the 1990s and 2000s, many decades-old two-family houses were demolished and replaced by condominiums known colloquially as "Fedder Homes", after the branded air conditioners poking out from the buildings' facades. In 2005, local community leaders and community activists from across the political spectrum united to issue rezoning laws.[92] The six-story apartment complexes lining Shore Road are among the tallest buildings in the neighborhood.[93]
69th Street Pier in 2008The park strip between the shore road and Narrows
8200 Narrows Avenue House, (commonly referred to as the"Gingerbread House"), designed by James Sarsfield Kennedy in 1917, is a city landmark.[14]
American Veterans Memorial Pier (commonly referred to as the69th Street Pier) at Bay Ridge Avenue and Shore Road is the community's key seaside recreation spot. Sports fishermen travel to fish the waters of "The Bay Ridge Anchorage" and along the seawall promenade that runs south from the pier to theVerrazzano-Narrows Bridge and east alongGravesend Bay. The pier features a sculpture that emits a beam of light as a memorial to those who died in theSeptember 11 terrorist attacks. Commuter ferry service operated between this pier and theSt. George Ferry Terminal inStaten Island from 1912 until 1964, the year the Verrazzano Bridge opened.[94] Ferry service to Wall Street and points along the western coast of Brooklyn began in 2017 from the pier as part of NYC Ferry's South Brooklyn route.[95]
Bennet-Farrell-Feldman House, located at 119 95th Street,[96] was built in 1847 and is now an official city landmark.[21] An accompanying structure, thought to have been used as a barn, couldn't be saved and was demolished. Legend has it the house was turned so that its "widow's walk", a balcony that traditionally faces the sea so women left at home could watch for their husbands' ships, would no longer facethe Narrows.[97]
Doctors' Row, a series of houses along Bay Ridge Pkwy between Fourth and Fifth Avenues (see§ Doctors' Row)[11]
Owl's Head Park (also known as Bliss Park), in the neighborhood's northwest corner, was previously the private estate of the Bliss Family, for whom nearby Bliss Terrace is named. They sold what remained of the estate to the city in 1928 for $850,000, afterEliphalet Williams Bliss specified in his will 25 years earlier that he wanted the city to buy the land and convert it into parkland. Before them, a portion of the property was owned byHenry C. Murphy, a former Mayor of Brooklyn, ambassador, congressman and New York State Senator for whom the nearby Senator Street is named. Remnants of the estate—mansion, stable, observation tower—were still visible into the 1930s and 40s, when they were finally demolished, having been left to fall into disrepair.[99] It is a 24-acre (97,000 m2) walking park[100] that has a state of the art skate park, dog run, children's playground and basketball courts; it has the first concrete skatepark built in Brooklyn.[101]
Step streets are public staircases in the middle of a street. As a rule they were placed on hills that were too steep to build a road for cars but still allow access to pedestrians.[103]
HistoricFort Hamilton Army Base is located in the southwestern corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, with gates in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, and is one of several posts that are part of the region which is headquartered by the Military District of Washington. Its mission is to provide the New York metropolitan area with military installation support for the Army National Guard and the United States Army Reserve. The base is considered to be part of Bay Ridge. The children stationed at the base are zoned into Bay Ridge schools.
Fort Hamilton houses one of the neighborhood's few cultural attractions, the Harbor Defense Museum.[107]
Doctors' Row is a series ofrowhouses located on Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues, built in the 1900s and 1910s prior to the opening of the Fourth Avenue subway line. The 54 houses that comprise Doctors' Row, include elements of theRenaissance Revival architectural style, with some elements in theColonial Revival style.[11]: 7 In 2019 theNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission made Doctors' Row an official city-designated historic district, making it the first such district in the neighborhood.[108]
TheNYPD's 68th Precinct is located at 333 65th Street.[5] The 68th Precinct ranked 7th safest out of 69 patrol areas for per-capita crime in 2010.[109] As of 2018[update], with a non-fatal assault rate of 23 per 100,000 people, Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights' rate ofviolent crimes per capita is less than that of the city as a whole. The incarceration rate of 168 per 100,000 people is lower than that of the city as a whole.[72]: 8
The 68th Precinct has a lower crime rate than in the 1990s, with crimes across all categories having decreased by 88.6% between 1990 and 2018. The precinct reported 2 murders, 16 rapes, 59robberies, 129felony assaults, 96burglaries, 387grand larcenies, and 86grand larcenies auto in 2018.[110]
TheNew York City Fire Department (FDNY) contains two fire stations in Bay Ridge.[111] Engine Co. 241/Ladder Co. 109 is located at 6630 3rd Avenue.[112] Engine Co. 242, serving primarily Fort Hamilton, is located at 9219 5th Avenue.[113]
As of 2018[update],preterm births and births to teenage mothers are less common in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights than in other places citywide. In Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, there were 71 preterm births per 1,000 live births (compared to 87 per 1,000 citywide), and 11.4 births to teenage mothers per 1,000 live births (compared to 19.3 per 1,000 citywide).[72]: 11 Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights has a high population of residents who areuninsured, or who receive healthcare throughMedicaid.[114] In 2018, this population of uninsured residents was estimated to be 15%, which is higher than the citywide rate of 12%.[72]: 14
The concentration offine particulate matter, the deadliest type ofair pollutant, in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights is 0.0074 milligrams per cubic metre (7.4×10−9 oz/cu ft), lower than the citywide and boroughwide averages.[72]: 9 Twelve percent of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights residents aresmokers, which is lower the city average of 14% of residents being smokers.[72]: 13 In Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, 28% of residents areobese, 15% arediabetic, and 31% havehigh blood pressure—compared to the citywide averages of 24%, 11%, and 28% respectively.[72]: 16 In addition, 16% of children are obese, compared to the citywide average of 20%.[72]: 12
Ninety-two percent of residents eat some fruits and vegetables every day, which is slightly higher than the city's average of 87%. In 2018, 74% of residents described their health as "good", "very good", or "excellent", lower than the city's average of 78%.[72]: 13 For every supermarket in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, there are 20bodegas.[72]: 10
Bay Ridge is covered mostly byZIP Code 11209, though the small portion north of 65th Street is covered by ZIP Code 11220.[117] TheUnited States Post Office operates the Ovington Station at 6803 4th Avenue[118] and the Fort Hamilton Station at 8801 5th Avenue.[119]
For many years, Bay Ridge has been a relativelyconservative enclave of Brooklyn.[120]Mike Long, who served as chairman of theConservative Party of New York from 1988 to 2019, owned a liquor store and resided in the district. The community is also considered a Republican stronghold. An exception was DemocratSal Albanese, who was elected to the neighborhood's City Council seat in 1983, defeating the 21-year incumbent Republican-Conservative Minority Leader Angelo G. Arculeo, and went on to represent the district for 15 years. After the 1990 census, the area was split into two Assembly districts to eliminate a Republican Assembly Seat. The political landscape began to change with population shifts over the 1990s and early 2000s, when the multigenerationalwhite ethnic population began to die or move from the area.
Breaking ground on Bay Ridge High School, 1914High School of Telecommunications
Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights have a ratio of college-educated residents similar to the rest of the city's as of 2018[update]. Forty-six percent of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights residents age 25 and older have a college education or higher, 19% have less than a high school education, and 35% are high school graduates or have some college education. By contrast, 40% of Brooklynites and 38% of city residents have a college education or higher.[72]: 6 The percentage of Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights students excelling in reading and math has been increasing, with reading achievement rising from 51 percent in 2000 to 52 percent in 2011, and math achievement rising from 49 percent to 71 percent within the same time period.[129]
Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights' rate of elementary school student absenteeism is lower than the rest of New York City's. In Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, 8% of elementary school students missed twenty or more days perschool year, compared to the citywide average of 20% of students.[72]: 6 [73]: 24 (PDF p. 55) Additionally, 82% of high school students in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights graduate on time, higher than the citywide average of 75% of students.[72]: 6
TheNew York City Department of Education operates area public schools. Educational institutions in Bay Ridge include PS 102,[130] PS 170, PS 127, PS 185[131] (Walter Kassenbrock Elementary School), PS 104[132] (called the Fort Hamilton School), PS 264[133] (Bay Ridge Elementary School for the Arts), Lutheran Elementary School, Bay Ridge Catholic Academy (formerly St. Anselm's Roman Catholic School), PS/IS 30[134] (also known as Mary White Ovington), PS 413 Joanne Seminara School of Law and Medicine,[135] IS 259 (also known as William McKinley Junior High School),Fort Hamilton High School, andHigh School of Telecommunications (originally all-girlsBay Ridge High School).
There are also parochial or private schools in Bay Ridge. These include Angels Catholic Academy,[136] Bay Ridge Preparatory School,[137]Poly Prep Country Day School, Visitation Academy, Adelphi Academy,Fontbonne Hall Academy, St. Patrick Elementary School, D., G. Kaloidis Parochial School,[138] andXaverian High School. Fort Hamilton High School, between 83rd and 85th streets, was erected in the 1940s on the grounds of the Crescent Athletic Club, a country club.
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) operates two public libraries in the neighborhood. The Bay Ridge Library, located at 7223 Ridge Boulevard at 73rd Street, is the larger of the two.[139] The Bay Ridge Reading Club first organized the library in 1880. It opened on its present site in 1896 and became a BPL branch in 1901. The current two-story facility opened in 1960. In 2004 it received a $2.1 million renovation, including new furniture and shelving, new lighting equipment, a new roof, and 27 additional public access computers.[140]
The Fort Hamilton Library, located at 9424 Fourth Avenue between 94th and 95th Streets, was built as aCarnegie library in 1906. The current branch's predecessor became a part of the BPL system in 1901 and moved to its current location in 1905. Since then it has gone through numerous renovations. The most recent renovation was completed in March 2011.[141]
Additionally, there areMTA express bus routesX27,X37 which mainly serve for the commute to Manhattan, but also run during off-peak hours on weekdays. The X27 also runs on weekends. The routesX28,X38 also serve the eastern part of Bay Ridge. Many Bay Ridge commuters opt for the relative comfort and convenience of the express bus, even though it costs more than the subway. Bay Ridge is readily accessible by car, encircled by theBelt Parkway andGowanus Expressway. Local bus routes includeB1,B4,B8,B9,B16,B37,B63,B64,B70,S53,S79 SBS,S93.[143]
C. C. DeVille (born 1962 as Bruce Anthony Johannesson), guitarist of the 1980s glam bandPoison grew up in Bay Ridge, attending P.S. 102, McKinley JHS, and Fort Hamilton H.S.[citation needed]\
Calvert DeForest (1921-2007), actor and comedian (known for his character Larry "Bud" Melman)[156]
Jerry Rosenberg (born c. 1934), owner of JGE Appliance Stores, and pitchman of various local businesses in the New York Tri-State area throughout the 1970s[173]
Tom McDonough's novelVirgin with Child is set in Bay Ridge.[187]
Several short stories byHubert Selby, Jr. are set in the neighborhood, including "Liebesnacht" and "Double Feature".[188] Some of his novels are also set in the neighborhood or nearby, likeLast Exit to Brooklyn andThe Demon.[189]
Several novels byGilbert Sorrentino are set in the neighborhood, includingSteelwork,Red the Fiend,Crystal Vision,A Strange Commonplace,Little Casino, andThe Abyss of Human Illusion.[190]
NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) on CBS-TV'sBlue Bloods lives in Bay Ridge; his home at 8070 Harbor View Terrace, near Fort Hamilton High School, is seen in each episode[193]
Peggy Olson, the Norwegian-American copywriter on AMC'sMad Men, is from Bay Ridge.[195] In the second episode of Season One, she declared, "I'm from Bay Ridge. We have manners."
^Until the 1960s, present-day Sunset Park was considered part of Bay Ridge.[7]: 9
^The name "Bay Ridge Parkway" was originally used to refer to a route that ran on 67th Street and then Shore Road. It currently refers to the street located between 74th and 76th Streets.[25]
^ab"NYC Planning | Community Profiles".communityprofiles.planning.nyc.gov. New York City Department of City Planning.Archived from the original on March 28, 2019. RetrievedMarch 18, 2019.
^"F.Y.I."Archived February 24, 2022, at theWayback Machine,The New York Times, December 17, 1995. Accessed February 23, 2022. "More than a century ago, the area now known as Bay Ridge was called Yellow Hook, according to documents from the Bay Ridge Historical Society. The name referred to the yellow sand and clay in the soil. But yellow fever swept through the area in 1848-49, and the name Yellow Hook suddenly lost its charm.... So in December 1853, many of the large landowners from the area met to change the name. A florist named James Weir put forth the name Bay Ridge as one that suggested the 'geographic nature' of the land."
^abcdeMerlis, Brian (2000).Brooklyn's Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton : a photographic journey, 1870-1970. Brooklyn, NY Lynbrook, NY: Israelowitz Pub. Brooklyn Editions.ISBN978-1-878741-45-5.OCLC45112683.
^"2022 Senate District Maps: New York City". The New York State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. 2022.Archived from the original on December 7, 2023. RetrievedDecember 7, 2023.
^Hernandez, Javier C."Democratic Candidates Recall Their Humbler Abodes"Archived October 2, 2019, at theWayback Machine,The New York Times, April 19, 2013. Accessed July 2, 2019. "Sal F. Albanese, 63, a former city councilman from Brooklyn, seized the opportunity. While he now lives in a $1 million home in Bay Ridge, he said he had once lived in Park Slope — in 1969, 'when it was a working-class neighborhood,' he said — for $60 a month."
^Awerin, Mike."Bob Berg: Rebel With A Cause"Archived July 2, 2019, at theWayback Machine, Son of Miles, May 7, 1998. Accessed July 2, 2019. "For example, he was married and he and his wife and two children lived in a house with a backyard in the same Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn where he grew up."
^Murphy, Tim."The Evolution of a Jewelry Prince"Archived May 7, 2021, at theWayback Machine,The New York Times, February 21, 2012. Accessed January 3, 2021. "To hear Mr. Bittar tell it, he went through it. He was born and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to a Syrian-Christian father and an Irish-Catholic mother, computer-science professors who traded antiques and designed dresses to supplement their income."
^Palan, Michael."Goodfellas And Sopranos Actors Who Were Also In The Godfather Movies",Looper.com, January 23, 2023. Accessed January 2, 2025. "There are only five actors who appeared in all threeGodfather films: Al Pacino, actress (and Coppola's sister) Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Tere Livrano (who played Tom Hagen's wife) and Richard Bright. Bay Ridge, Brooklyn-bred Bright first crossed paths with Pacino, playing his brother, in 1971'sThe Panic in Needle Park, and a year later became his bodyguard and assassin Al Neri inThe Godfather."
^Freedman, Samuel G."Actor Who Played An Addict Dies, Apparently Of Overdose"Archived April 26, 2019, at theWayback Machine,The New York Times, November 9, 1983. Accessed July 2, 2019. "Mr. Hayden's life had taken him from a troubled childhood in Brooklyn to the verge of stardom. He ran away from his home in Bay Ridge when he was 14, said Michael Urban, a friend who was a member of the crew ofAmerican Buffalo, and he occasionally supported himself by singing in Herald Square."
^Haglund, David."How accurate isWolf of Wall Street?"Archived August 23, 2023, at theWayback Machine,Concord Monitor, January 2, 2014. Accessed August 22, 2023, viaNewspapers.com. "Belfort divorced Denise Lombardo, called Teresa in the movie, after meeting Nadine Caridi at a Stratton Oakmont party.... In both the book and the movie Belfort calls her the Duchess of Bay Ridge (or just the Duchess for short) because she was born in England but grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn."
^Jaworski, Ken."Cooking for Her Men, and Serving the Audience"Archived July 2, 2019, at theWayback Machine,The New York Times, March 21, 2014. Accessed July 2, 2019. "This good-natured one-woman show at the George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick is based on Giulia Melucci's memoir of the same name.... From her early life in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, through her eventual jobs in publishing in Manhattan, Giulia has a knack for becoming tangled in problematic relationships."
^Eskenazi, Gerald."Baseball; Saberhagen Comes Up One Strike Short"Archived July 2, 2019, at theWayback Machine,The New York Times, April 25, 1993. Accessed July 2, 2019. "He knew that the Padres' young hurler, Frank Seminara of Brooklyn's Xaverian High School and Columbia University, was giving the Mets trouble.... Seminara had made a 3,000-mile trip back to New York, brought in 50 family members and friends from Bay Ridge and wound up pitching a strong five and two-thirds innings."
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