Bay Ridge
Neighborhood of Brooklyn
Location in New York City
Coordinates: 40°37′26″N 74°01′55″W / 40.624°N 74.032°W / 40.624; -74.032
Country	United States
State	New York
City	New York City
Borough	Brooklyn
Community District	Brooklyn 10[1]
Government
• Congress	Dan Goldman (10th) Nicole Malliotakis (11th)
Area [2]
• Total	2.12 sq mi (5.49 km2)
• Land	2.12 sq mi (5.49 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Population  (2010)[3]
• Total	79,371
• Density	37,000/sq mi (14,000/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	11209, 11220
Area code	718, 347, 929, and 917

Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base and the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to the south. The section of Bay Ridge south of 86th Street is sometimes considered part of a sub-neighborhood called Fort Hamilton.

Bay Ridge was formerly the westernmost portion of the town of New 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 with yellow 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 the New York City Subway's Fourth Avenue Line (present-day R train) in 1916 led to its development as a residential neighborhood. Until the early 1970s, Bay Ridge was dominated by its Norwegian community, but by the late 20th and early 21st centuries, it had a large Arab, Irish, Italian, and Greek population.

Bay Ridge is part of Brooklyn Community District 10, and its primary ZIP Codes are 11209 and 11220.^[1] It is patrolled by the 68th Precinct of the New York City Police Department.^[5] Politically, it is represented by the New York City Council's 43rd District.^[6]

History

Early settlements

South Brooklyn was originally settled by the Canarsee Indians, one of several indigenous Lenape peoples who farmed and hunted on the land. The Canarsee Indians had several routes that crossed Brooklyn, including a path from Fulton Ferry along the East River that extended southward to Gowanus 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 of New 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 Dutch hoek, meaning "corner"^[13] and Fort 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 with yellow 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 of New 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 the "Nyack 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, and downtown Brooklyn, as well as by ferry to Staten Island and Manhattan.^{[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 the New 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 period Greek Revival, Italianate, and Gothic 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 to Eastern Parkway, Ocean Parkway, and Prospect 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]

Rapid development and subway construction

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. The Fifth Avenue Elevated was then extended to Third 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 a Fourth Avenue subway (today's R train) were proposed by Rapid Transit Commission engineer William 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 the Board of Estimate and mayor of New York City, the route was approved by the Appellate 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's debt 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, between DeKalb Avenue and 43rd Street took place in 1909.^[36] Not long after the contracts were awarded, the PSC started negotiating with the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company and the Interborough Rapid Transit Company in the execution of the Dual 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 to 59th Street on June 21, 1915,^[37] and was extended to 86th 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-day Sunset Park.^[39] Industrial developments were constructed along the waterfront north of present-day 65th Street, such as Bush Terminal (now Industry 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 to Bay 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]

In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many Norwegian and Danish sailors emigrated to Brooklyn, including Bay Ridge and neighboring Sunset Park; Lapskaus Boulevard, referring to the salted Norwegian beef stew, was the nickname of Eighth Avenue in this area.^[45]

Staten Island connection and later years

There had been plans to build the Staten Island Tunnel, a railroad or subway tunnel, from Bay Ridge to Staten 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, engineer David 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 the United 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 the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), announced the revival of plans for what would become the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in 1947.^[57] U.S. Representative Donald 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's Gowanus 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 was Fort Lafayette, part of New York City's defense system along with Fort Hamilton and Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island; it was replaced by the base of the bridge's east tower.^[65][66] The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964.^[67]

The 2007 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 the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds between 111 and 135 MPH.^[70]

Demographics

Based on data from the 2020 United States Census, the population of Bay Ridge was 111,952, an increase of 32,581 from the 79,371 counted in the 2010 Census, representing an increase of (41.04%) and an increase of 31,413 (39%) from the 80,539 counted in 2000. 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]

The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 21.5% (23,509) Asian, 1.8% Black (2,015), 22.7% Hispanic (25,413), and 50.9% identified as White (55,976). People identifying as other accounted for 0.3% (335) from other races, and 3% (3,358) from two or more races.^[71]

The entirety of Community Board 10 had 142,075 inhabitants as of NYC 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 median household 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 is considered to be high-income relative to the rest of the city.^[72]: 7

According to the 2020 census data from New York City Department of City Planning, Bay Ridge had 40,000 or more White residents and each the Asian and Hispanic populations had between 10,000 and 19,999 residents.^[76][77]

Climate

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.