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Bath Beach, Brooklyn: The Beach Under the Shore Parkway

Bath Beach, New York

Pictures from Bath Beach

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Ulmer Park Library, Bath Avenue Bath Beach post office, Benson Avenue

Bath Beach, named for the English spa of Bath, Somerset, was developed as a recreational seaside retreat for affluent families. It was part of the original Brooklyn town of New Utrecht, and although Coney Island was nearby, Bath Beach also had its own amusement park. The population grew at the end of 1863, when steam dummy railroad service connected the community to the City of Brooklyn horsecar terminal at 25th Street and 5th Avenue in Sunset Park. It held one of Brooklyn's earliest African-American settlements: freed people were given a parcel of land here in the mid-nineteenth century, and the church that community formed, Mount Zion Baptist, later moved to Bedford-Stuyvesant. In the early 1900s many Italian immigrants settled here and in Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Gravesend. The beach itself was paved over in the mid-twentieth century to build the Shore Parkway.

  1. Seventeen and a half acres on Cropsey Avenue, serving both Bensonhurst and Bath Beach.

  2. The promenade and bike path along the sea wall, on the line of the old shoreline.

  3. Chess tables, cast-iron fountains and an oceanic-themed spray shower on the Shore Parkway.

  4. Where the NYC Parks sign explaining the Bath, England connection stands.

  5. In its Bath Avenue building since 1963, with a large Russian and Chinese collection.

  6. A 1916 elevated station listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

  7. An 1880 parish whose present church on Bay 20th Street was dedicated in 1912.

  8. A memorial triangle designated by the City Council in 1963 for a soldier killed in 1943.

  9. A restaurant at 1806 Bath Avenue.

  10. A cafe at 1932 Bath Avenue.

  11. A restaurant at 2151 Bath Avenue.

  12. A restaurant at 1709 86th Street, near the Bath Avenue end of the strip.

Where the beach went

The shoreline that gave the neighborhood its name is gone. It was paved over during the mid-twentieth century to create the Shore Parkway. On the northwestern half a promenade was built to give residents access to a sea wall; the southwestern half was filled in the early 1940s with land excavated during construction of the Shore Parkway, which extended Bensonhurst Park with ballfields and, later, the Caesar's Bay shopping center.

A NYC Parks historical sign in Bath Playground explains where the name came from: the town of Bath in England, founded by the Romans in the first century A.D., whose Roman bath complex was discovered largely intact in 1755.

St. Finbar's parish was founded in 1880 and its present church at 138 Bay 20th Street was dedicated in 1912. Based on the 2020 Census the neighborhood's population was 33,070, about 41 percent Asian American and 40 percent White.

Getting there

The D is the neighborhood's subway. The 20th Avenue station on the BMT West End Line sits on the border of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach, and only the D stops there. The Bay Parkway station on the same line is recorded in Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Gravesend; the D calls there at all times, and as of December 2024 one southbound R and two southbound W trains terminate there during the weekday morning rush.

Other nearby West End Line stations belong to their neighbors: 18th Avenue is in Bensonhurst, and 25th Avenue and Bay 50th Street are in Gravesend. No NYC Ferry landing serves Bath Beach.

The 86th Street strip on film

During the 1970s Bath Beach's commercial strip along 86th Street was used for scenes in The French Connection (1971), in the opening credits of Welcome Back, Kotter, and most famously in the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever (1977), in which Tony Manero buys two stacked slices at Lenny's Pizza. Lenny's Pizza, at 1969 86th Street, closed permanently on February 19, 2023 after some seventy years, so the pizzeria is no longer there to visit. The strip was used again in 2016 for the filming of the Red Hot Chili Peppers video for Go Robot.

Samurai Sushi, at 1709 86th Street, is near the Bath Avenue end of that strip. More places to eat stand on Bath Avenue itself: La Chapincita at 1806, Cairo RX Cafe at 1932 and Gyro Mania at 2151.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Bath Beach?
By D train. The 20th Avenue station on the BMT West End Line sits on the border of Bensonhurst and Bath Beach, and the Bay Parkway station on the same line is recorded in Bensonhurst, Bath Beach and Gravesend. The neighboring West End stations belong elsewhere: 18th Avenue is in Bensonhurst, and 25th Avenue and Bay 50th Street are in Gravesend.
Is there still a beach at Bath Beach?
No. The beach was paved over during the mid-twentieth century to create the Shore Parkway. A promenade on the northwestern half gives access to a sea wall, and the southwestern half was filled in the early 1940s with material excavated for the parkway.
Can I still get a slice at Lenny's Pizza?
No. The pizzeria from the opening scene of Saturday Night Fever, at 1969 86th Street, closed permanently on February 19, 2023 after some seventy years in business.
Why is it called Bath Beach?
After the English spa town of Bath, in Somerset. A NYC Parks historical sign in Bath Playground sets out the connection, back to the Roman town founded in the first century A.D.
Which parks are in Bath Beach?
Bath Beach Park on the Shore Parkway, Bath Playground on Bath Avenue, and Bensonhurst Park on Cropsey Avenue, which NYC Parks describes as serving both the Bensonhurst and Bath Beach neighborhoods. The Shore Parkway Greenway runs along the waterfront and is reachable from Bensonhurst Park's Bay Parkway side.
Where can I eat in Bath Beach?
On Bath Avenue: La Chapincita at 1806, Cairo RX Cafe at 1932 and Gyro Mania at 2151. Samurai Sushi is at 1709 86th Street, near the Bath Avenue end of that strip.

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