Welcome to the Neighborhood: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

In the name of small scale adventure, I’m spending one day each month exploring an area in or around New York City that I’ve never been to before. Welcome to the neighborhood.

When I sent my brother my list of potential neighborhoods, he flagged Bay Ridge as a place he hadn’t been and I suddenly realized that not only did I not remember who had originally recommended it but I also didn’t know where it was.

Tucked away in the southwest corner of Brooklyn, Bay Ridge is a neighborhood I have technically been to before, though I didn’t remember. The Verrazano Narrows Bridge that connects Staten Island to Brooklyn spills out in Bay Ridge meaning that in 2017, when I ran the New York City Marathon, Bay Ridge was the first neighborhood I ran through. And while much of that race is a blur, what I do remember is how much love and energy I felt in those Brooklyn miles.

In July, while touring Brighton Beach, my friend and I bumped into a friend of hers from Bay Ridge who gave me a list of recommendations. I’m so grateful for the way this neighborhood tour came together and for her personal recommendations.

Bay Ridge is also the setting of the 1977 movie, Saturday Night Fever, which I finally watched the week after doing this neighborhood tour. While I wasn’t the biggest fan (sorry, John Travolta) I did like seeing places I recognized in the film. But that’s enough context. Without further ado, welcome to Bay Ridge.

Bay Ridge has deep immigrant heritage notably amongst Norwegian, Irish, Italian, and Greek communities and more recently amongst Arab and Middle Eastern populations. Parts of Third, Fourth, and Fifth Avenues are locally referred to as “Little Palestine” and “Little Yemen.” It was really fun to walk through that area and look at the Middle Eastern grocery stores, bakeries, and halal restaurants as well as the clothing stores with the most beautiful traditional dresses.

We began the day at Feria Cafe, a cozy cafe with indoor and outdoor seating for brunch. I ordered a hot matcha and sipped slowly, reading my book while waiting for my brother and his partner to arrive. After they ordered to-go sandwiches and coffee, we walked to the park for some fresh air and open space.

Owl’s Head Park was loosely on my radar—”just a park near the water”—but I wasn’t going to be devastated if we missed it. Or so I thought. I was immediately taken by the park, the families playing in the grass, the couples strolling through the paths, the bikers and runners, even the squirrels seemed happy. The park also has a skatepark, a dog run, basketball courts, and playgrounds. We found a bench in the shade and caught up over breakfast al fresco.

Our next stop was Narrows Botanical Garden, “a community-grown public garden shaped by decades of volunteer care, horticultural knowledge, and shared stewardship. Founded by neighbors who believed neglected public space could become something meaningful, NBG has evolved through the vision of gardeners, designers, educators, artists, and wildlife advocates working together. Today, the gardens reflect a commitment to ecological health, education, and access—offering thoughtfully designed landscapes that support native plants, urban wildlife, and community connection along Brooklyn’s Shore Road.”

I’m really inspired by anything that runs on the goodness of people and the Botanical Garden is that personified. All 4.5 acres are managed by a team of volunteers and admission is donation based. Within the space is a turtle and wildlife sanctuary; native plant garden; Betty’s pollinator garden; a lily pond; and two rose gardens (Joan Regan Modern Rose Garden and Allan’s Old Rose Garden). The garden also hosts events like Lavender Weekend back in June and Honey Day, coming up this Saturday, October 3.

The Garden runs parallel to Shore Road, which had been recommended to me as “a fun walk to look at the big houses.” It feels specifically suburban for a place with subway access. We visited Bay Ridge on a perfect late-summer-almost-fall day and one of my favorite parts of the afternoon was strolling down Shore Road Parkway, alternating between house views and nature views. I could have walked all day had my hunger not caught up to me, so more inland we went to Little Cupcake Bakeshop which had a wide variety of vegan, gluten-free, and standard bakery options. We shared a delicious gluten free vegan raspberry coconut almond bar which is a mouthful to say but was a total 10/10.

The next stop was a must—the BookMark Shoppe. This neighborhood series could also be called my bookstore series because I always find my way into at least one. In addition to being a beautiful store, they also host regular author signings, storytimes, workshops, and events. Beyond books, they also sell crafts, games, puzzles, and gift items. No trip to Bay Ridge would be complete without stopping here.

For lunch, my friend of a friend recommended Laila Bay Ridge, a Syrian restaurant a block from the bookstore. The menu states, “We come from Damascus, one of the oldest cities in the world. Once the capital of the middle east, the land of fusion between civilizations, the connection between east and west… we are Laila. We bring you authentic Syrian food, with a hint of love.” We ordered a generous amount of appetizers (beetroot salad; hummus; baba ghanouj and fried cauliflower) to share family style and everything was delicious. I am still thinking about the baba ghanouj (and the fresh, vibrant pomegranate seeds sprinkled on top). Sitting outside in the beautiful space? Chatting with the friendly staff? I can confirm that love is baked into everything Laila does.

I had two other shops on my radar, so after lunch we set off for them, stumbling instead upon Peace by Piece, a thrift store (of which there are two locations in Bay Ridge). To think we almost walked past without going in. Because I was now carrying our lunch leftovers, I wasn’t in the mood to dig through the clothing racks but a quick scan made it obvious that there were good finds and good prices. I did, however, fall completely in love with two small decorative birds that were $1.70 each and while I tend not to be an impulsive shopper, I marched them up to the cash register. (I also got an unopened box of the party game Codenames for $5.00.) Very successful accidental stop.

The next stop was Brooklyn Game Shack, and it felt like walking back in time. Something about being in a video game store with the person I’ve probably played the most video games with in my life felt really nostalgic. You can buy, sell, and trade old games at the Game Shack and they have just about every wire and cord you would need to hook up an old console to a new tv. Shelves lined with Super Nintendo and N64 games took me right back to my parent’s basement.

From there, it was a short walk to NY Comics, an absolutely pristine comic book store. The space was small but well (and efficiently) organized with comic books lining the walls and a small selection of graphic novels on a bookshelf. When I asked about a specific graphic novel that wasn’t in stock, they immediately offered to order it. A customer was talking to staff at the check out when his phone rang and he quickly answered, “hey what’s up man; I’m at my favorite comic book store.” It felt so organic and sincere, the kind of thing you can’t help but appreciate. How beautiful to see the many ways community shows up in Bay Ridge.

Because you can never hit a limit of bakeries in a day, the next stop was Bay Ridge Bakery, a family-owned business specializing in French, Italian, Greek, and American pastries. It reminded me of some of the old Italian bakeries in Pittsburgh only this one was a hair more accessible. They collaborate with Two Fields Bakeshop to offer various allergy friendly options in their store in addition to more traditional treats. I picked up a 4-pack of vegan, gluten-free banana chocolate chip muffins that I savored all week. Also, the woman working at Bay Ridge Bakery was just the nicest person. If I lived more locally, this would definitely be a repeat spot.

The last formal stop on our tour was going to be Balady International Halal Grocer (because I love grocery stores and had heard a lot about Balady). It lives up to the hype. When we first walked in, I was hit with the aroma of spices and flavor. Most of the items are imported from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean. If my bag wasn’t already overflowing with my lunch leftovers, new board game, and two birds, I could have spent ages (and big dollars) in Balady. As it was, I picked up some za’atar flatbread and dried olives—the former which I inhaled in 48 hours, the latter of which I have been savoring slowly, shocked by how my usually sweet over savory senses have been seduced.

The U.S. Open Women’s Final was about to begin and we decided to find somewhere to watch. Enter, Salty Dog. Salty Dog is a classic sports bar and restaurant with a firefighter theme (and a vintage firetruck parked in the dining area). We sat at the bar, ordering honey deuces and pineapple juice, watching tennis, and snacking on sweet potato fries. I also want to give a shoutout to our bartender whose name I’ve since forgotten but who was kind and attentive.

Spend more than 5 minutes with me and I’ll start talking about the NYC ferry. I take it to work every day and I knew that I could also take it to Bay Ridge (on a different route). I’d taken the R train in but as we left the Salty Dog, feeling light and free in the fading summer night, it was unanimous—we’d take the boat back (at least to Manhattan). Watching Bay Ridge disappear behind us and watching lower Manhattan light up in front of us was nothing short of magical and were I to run this day back, the only thing I might change is taking the ferry twice.

The ferry landing in Bay Ridge is at American Veterans Memorial Pier (or the 69th Street Pier) and in addition to ferry-goers, the pier was teeming with folks fishing and families eating ice cream and children running through parades of seagulls. The pier also has a 9/11 Memorial sculpture. Visiting on September 12 with that history fresh in my mind, it was hard to ignore the skyline of lower Manhattan just across the water, forever changed from that day.

Blame it on the beautiful weather, the strong itinerary, or the fact that I went to two bakeries and purchased two birds, but Bay Ridge really felt like joy. As we walked to the ferry, we passed through a neighborhood block party. The street was closed to cars and families were gathered in small groups along the sidewalk. Kids were racing down the streets. Someone was grilling while someone managed the radio. From the Botanical Garden to the block party, Bay Ridge read like community. It felt like a true neighborhood. I was grateful to be a guest for even a day.