Hello Bay Ridge!

This was taken last Sunday in Bay Ridge. Have I told you about Bay Ridge? I have lived in Brooklyn since 1983, when I purchased a co-op near my then place of work in Boerum Hill. Boerum Hill is the part of Brooklyn not far from Fulton Street, kind of between Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope. Back in those days it was recovering from probably twenty or so years of having the stately brownstone buildings becoming rooming houses, as was even parts of Park Slope in the 1960's and 70's. By early 1980 gentrification had begun and a new community was taking place that has culminated in the somewhat over-the-top multicultural elitish community it seems to be today.

During the next 20 years I knew of Bay Ridge only somewhat. One of my daughter's early birthday parties took place in a store on 3rd Avenue and about 75th Street - and I bought White Castle's for the party. I have just a foggy memory of there being a White Castle in Bay Ridge, I'm sure it's been torn down since then. Another place I liked to go in the young days of Adrianne (pictured below, you'll see she's kinda grown up since) was Chuck E Cheese, which was a little past Bay Ridge off of the Belt Parkway in what is called Ceaser's Bay Bazaar. I think I have the misspelling of Caesar correctly. That was the perfect combination of pizza and pinball, and in fact was a creation of Nolan Bushnell, who you may also remember as the founder of the Atari company and the game Pong.

My next meeting with Bay Ridge was in the 1990's, when I spent every Wednesday for 5 years in a bowling league at the bowling alley (Brooklyn hasn't that many) on 87th Street between 4th and 5th Avenues. Aside from bowling, my only contact with the neighborhood was parking and an occasional pizza down the street - I didn't really get to know Bay Ridge at all. Frankly, my impression of 'the Ridge' was not that of any place I, Mr. Hip & Cool, would care to live - me and Travolta had nuthin' in common. After Boerum Hill I spent a cup of coffee in Park Slope, an early cup of tea in Williamsburg, and about 10 years in Windsor Terrace.

I will continue the story of how I came to the Ridge next time.... now it's time to snuggle with my book on Social Science Research and drift off to the land of nod...l