The R Train to Brooklyn (Part 2): Bay Ridge

BTinSF · #1 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 4:40 AM**

This neighborhood is further from Manhattan and fairly large. I got off the train at 77th St. Here's what you see:

On 4th Ave.

On some side streets

The 3rd Ave neighborhood commercial strip (a block west of and parallel to 4th):

Looking down 3rd St one can see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (Staten Island to Brooklyn) which my telephoto exagerates a bit:

Crawford · #2 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 6:59 AM**

Another great neighborhood and you picked a nice part to explore.

Bay Ridge is historically a middle-middle class Irish and Italian neighborhood (though with some wealth closer to the water and more working class shown in these pics around the commercial areas). It has a pretty eclectic housing stock and is hard to characterize, but it is very dense and transit-oriented for such an outlying neighborhood.

In recent years it has gotten rather diverse, but remains overwhelmingly white (European and Middle Eastern) and Asian. In addition to Irish and Italians, it now has large communities of Russians, Albanians, Chinese, Lebanese Christians, and Arab Muslims of all stripes.

Fifth Avenue (one block to the west of these pics) is among the most heavily Arab shopping streets in the country. You can get anything from the Middle East along a 15-block corridor.

The furthest reaches (underneath the Verrazano Bridge) is still quite Irish Catholic and has a conservative cop/firefighter feel, along with a dash of Russians in nouveau riche waterside condos.

86th Street is one of the busiest shopping streets in all of NYC. Huge crowds flock to the Century 21 Department Store.

Bay Ridge is super-safe and has good public schools. It is starting to get some of the yuppie/hipster crowd closer to the water, but it is anything but trendy. Just a nice, unpretentious neighborhood.

blade_bltz · #3 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 8:54 AM**

Fascinating. I'd be happy to live there!

JivecitySTL · #4 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 11:00 AM**

You know what movie takes place in Bay Ridge, right?

BTinSF · #5 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 1:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

Another great neighborhood and you picked a nice part to explore.

Again, not a random choice. Having given up on Al Di La, I decided to try Tanoreen (Jordanian food) on 3rd Ave near 77th St.. In SF this kind of ethnic place would be open 7 days and often all day (no closure between lunch and dinner)--but it was Monday and no luck so I gave up and went back to 24/7 Manhattan (Carnegie Deli).

pj3000 · #6 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 2:04 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by JivecitySTL

You know what movie takes place in Bay Ridge, right?

I believe Tony Manero walked the streets of Bay Ridge.

Crawford · #7 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 3:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTinSF

Again, not a random choice. Having given up on Al Di La, I decided to try Tanoreen (Jordanian food) on 3rd Ave near 77th St..

I guess you had bad luck with dining in Brooklyn. For some reason, nicer restaurants are sometimes closed in Brooklyn on Mondays. More casual joints are always open seven days and stay open between lunch and dinner. I think Al di la is fairly upscale so I am not surprised. I have heard of Tanoreen and thought it was a causal place so I am a little surprised.

If you would have walked to Fifth Avenue instead of Third Avenue, you would have had you choice of dozens of Middle Eastern restaurants, basically all of which are open all day. This stretch has a major Muslim Arab and Egyptian/Lebanese Christian presence.

I have tried most of the halal places on Fifth Ave., many of which are quite good. An atmospheric Palestinian/Syrian place called Damascus Gate at 5th and 75th is excellent and would have been a more than adequate substitute for Tanoreen.

Crawford · #8 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 4:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj3000

I believe Tony Manero walked the streets of Bay Ridge.

Kind of. Saturday Night Fever was officially set in Bay Ridge, and you see a Bay Ridge aerial in the opening shot, there's a Bay Ridge diner scene, and of course the Bridge scene, but most of the movie is shot in Bensonhurst or Sunset Park.

The famous scene where he's walking down the street is on 86th Street in Bensonhurst. His house was in Bensonhurst.

The disco was on the Sunset Park/Bay Ridge border. Nowadays that area is basically Brooklyn Chinatown.

It was a real disco that became a gay dance club in the 1990's and then was demolished for condos a few years back.

MobyLL · #9 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 4:59 PM**

BTinSF -- Again thanks for taking the time to show some of the outlying neighborhoods of NYC!!!

Crawford -- another excellent overview of the neighborhood. You're right about 86th street:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

86th Street is one of the busiest shopping streets in all of NYC. Huge crowds flock to the Century 21 Department Store.

It has pedestrian traffic like a Manhattan Avenue, only difference is the people are much more working/middle class than what you typically see in a Manhattan crowd.

krudmonk · #10 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 5:05 PM**

Good stuff. It's amazing how much we get NYC threads and never see these parts of it.

denveraztec · #11 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 5:08 PM**

Thanks for the tour, I have never been in this area before. So much to see and do in NYC and not sure anyone can really take it all in. Thanks again!

Kilgore Trout · #12 Posted **Jan 8, 2008, 9:45 PM**

You've managed to hit up a bunch of NYC neighbourhood that are rarely photographed on this forum. Nice work.

ColDayMan · #13 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 12:32 AM**

Nice!

Jularc · #14 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 3:53 AM**

All my years here in New York City and I can honestly say I don't know too much about this neighborhood. I guess there is so much to do in the city all the time and I haven't think about it as much. But with this thread and Crawford suggestions of food and places to go, I am really for it.

Bay Ridge here I come.

newboldphilly · #15 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 7:40 AM**

Quote:

Looking down 3rd St one can see the Verrazano Narrows Bridge (Staten Island to Brooklyn) which my telephoto exagerates a bit:

It's the longest suspension span in the US - you can never exaggerate the Verrazano.
funny too b/c my grandparents moved from Flatbush to NJ while it was under construction
and neither of them remember it being built, which is crazy to have never noticed because
you can see it from just about everywhere.

Ex-Ithacan · #16 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 12:03 PM**

Fun subject and pics. Wish you'd had more time to cover more ground (though I know the pain of the feet after a while and can understand your need to economize your steps).

Bay Ridge - Stayin' Alive (sorry, just remembering the old days)

wanderer34 · #17 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 2:32 PM**

If Philly is a mini-NYC, then NYC is basically a mega-Philly!!! Nice job!!! And good to see some pics of my former home (although I wouldn't even think of going around those parts!!!)

arbeiter · #18 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 6:43 PM**

Bay Ridge is very nice, it's got good housing stock, and some decent restaurants, although I don't think that a lot of the "eh vinny!" style italian places are very good. It's just too far away! A lot (more than you would think) of Bay Ridge people work in Staten Island or Long Island and drive.

newboldphilly · #19 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 8:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by wanderer34

If Philly is a mini-NYC, then NYC is basically a mega-Philly!!! Nice job!!! And good to see some pics of my former home (although I wouldn't even think of going around those parts!!!)

Philly has a lot more in common with DC, Baltimore, and even Boston than it does with NYC.

I'm sometimes tempted to compare Brooklyn to Philly because geographically they're about the same size. But then Brooklyn has a million more people and while both places have a variety of architecture and uses they don't really look anything alike.

Philly is mile after mile of rowhouse neighborhoods with large sections of the city also hosting neighborhoods of Victorian twins (and from later eras as well). Homeownership in Philly is twice what it is in NYC. You just don't have the diversity of housing styles on the same block here and with the exception of Center City and parts of West Philly and Mt. Airy you don't see apartment bldgs. like you do in most parts of NYC (and even then we don't have that many)

miketoronto · #20 Posted **Jan 9, 2008, 8:33 PM**

Great photos of the area my parents called home when they lived in NYC. I have spent many summers visiting that area of NYC to see family. Everytime we would visit NYC, my mom would have to make a trip to 86th Street to go shopping at Century 21.
My parents have very fond memories of living in that neighbourhood. Of course my dad says my mom spent all his hard earned money on 86th Street

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crawford

In recent years it has gotten rather diverse, but remains overwhelmingly white (European and Middle Eastern) and Asian. In addition to Irish and Italians, it now has large communities of Russians, Albanians, Chinese, Lebanese Christians, and Arab Muslims of all stripes.

The large white population is also from historical practices to keep blacks and other non-european people out of the neighbourhood. My dad tells me stories of how when him and my mom lived there in the 60-70's, real esate agents were not allowed to sell to black people or other non-Europeans. It was all controlled by the mafia.

While not in Bay Ridge so to speak, take a trip over to 86th Street and Avenue U, to L&B Spumoni Gardens. Best Italian food and Spumoni in New York. Everytime we go to NYC, my parents also have to make a stop there

Bay Ridge is a nice normal city neighbourhood where you can raise a family. It is not fully of trendy crap, or trying to be hip, etc. It is basically what a city neighbourhood should be.