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Bay Ridge, Brooklyn: Yellow Hook, Shore Road, the Narrows

Bay Ridge, New York

Pictures from Bay Ridge

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Bay Ridge United Church Paths and benches, John Paul Jones Park

Bay Ridge was part of the town of New Utrecht, formally established by Dutch settlers in 1657, on land where European settlement dates to the 1636 purchase of 936 acres by Willem Adriaenszen Bennett and Jacques Bentyn. The area held two villages, Yellow Hook to the north and Fort Hamilton to the south. In December 1853 residents changed the northern name to Bay Ridge to shed the association with yellow fever. Country estates went up along Shore Road as the area became a rural summer resort in the mid-1800s, and a building boom followed in 1902-1903. The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, opened on November 21, 1964, cut through the southern end of it and displaced roughly 7,500 residents.

  1. Twenty-four acres of glacial moraine above the harbor, on the old Murphy and Bliss estate.

  2. The strip of park along Shore Road, where New York Road Runners hosts a weekly open run.

  3. A garden on Shore Road running since 1995, with a turtle and wildlife sanctuary.

  4. The 69th Street Pier, with a September 11 memorial light sculpture and the ferry landing.

  5. Where the Norwegian Constitution Day celebration is held; the 2007 tornado took many of its trees.

  6. Opened November 21, 1964; its Brooklyn approach displaced roughly 7,500 residents.

  7. Forty Neo-Renaissance brownstone rowhouses of 1906-1912 by Fred W. Eisenla.

  8. A rowhouse group listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

  9. The 1917 James Sarsfield Kennedy house at 8200 Narrows Avenue, a city landmark.

  10. An 1847 house on 95th Street, designated a New York City landmark.

  11. Rawia Bishara's Third Avenue restaurant, open since 1998 and a Bib Gourmand holder since 2011.

  12. A Fifth Avenue multiplex with stadium seating and RealD 3D screens.

Estates, Norwegians and the bridge

The ridge above the Narrows drew country estates. Henry C. Murphy acquired the Owl's Head property in 1856 and built there; the industrialist Eliphalet Williams Bliss expanded it, and after Bliss died in 1903 his will let the city buy the land cheaply. The city purchased it in 1928, the estate structures were gone by 1940, and waterfront portions were later lost to a wastewater treatment plant built in 1952.

By 1971 Bay Ridge held what was described as the fourth-largest Norwegian city in the world, with about 55,000 Norwegian residents; Eighth Avenue was nicknamed Lapskaus Boulevard after the stew, and a Leif Ericson statue donated by Crown Prince Olav was installed in 1939. As of 2023 roughly 30,000 residents of Norwegian descent remained, and the Norwegian Constitution Day parade is held on Third Avenue each year. The New York Times has called Bay Ridge the heart of Brooklyn's Arab community, alongside longstanding Irish, Italian, Greek, Russian, Polish and other Eastern European populations.

The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge was designed by Othmar Ammann, Leopold Just and colleagues at Ammann & Whitney and built between August 1959 and November 1964 at a cost of $320 million. Residents lobbied for a Belt Parkway approach; the Board of Estimate approved the Seventh Avenue route in December 1958 over their objections. The Brooklyn approach displaced roughly 7,500 people and required demolishing the island fortification of Fort Lafayette.

In 2007 an EF2 tornado with winds of 111 to 135 miles per hour struck near 68th Street and Bay Ridge Avenue, damaging eleven houses and deforesting about 40 percent of Leif Ericson Park.

Getting there

The R is Bay Ridge's subway. Bay Ridge Avenue and 77th Street are in the neighborhood; 86th Street sits on the border of Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton. The line's southern terminal, Bay Ridge-95th Street, is at Fourth Avenue and 95th Street in Fort Hamilton.

NYC Ferry calls at the 69th Street Pier, the American Veterans Memorial Pier. Service began there on the South Brooklyn route in June 2017, and the St. George route took over Bay Ridge service in 2025.

The shore

Shore Road carries a strip of parkland, Shore Road Park, and the Narrows Botanical Gardens, which have been running since 1995, sit on it between Bay Ridge Avenue and 72nd Street. Owl's Head Park, about 24 acres on a glacial moraine, has harbor views, a skate park, a dog run, playgrounds, a spray pool, basketball courts and a hill people sled on in winter. At 69th Street the American Veterans Memorial Pier carries a September 11 memorial light sculpture and doubles as the ferry landing.

Inland, several groups of houses carry designations: the Senator Street Historic District, forty Neo-Renaissance brownstone rowhouses of 1906-1912 by Fred W. Eisenla, listed on the National Register on October 10, 2002; the houses at 216-264 Ovington Avenue, listed in 2007; the fifty-four rowhouses of Doctors' Row, on Bay Ridge Parkway between 4th and 5th Avenues, designated a New York City historic district in 2019; and two individual New York City landmarks, the 1847 Bennett-Farrell-Feldman House and the 1917 house at 8200 Narrows Avenue that everyone calls the Gingerbread House.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get to Bay Ridge?
The R serves Bay Ridge Avenue and 77th Street in the neighborhood, and 86th Street on the border of Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton; the line's southern terminal, Bay Ridge-95th Street, is at Fourth Avenue and 95th Street in Fort Hamilton. NYC Ferry calls at the 69th Street Pier, where the St. George route took over Bay Ridge service in 2025.
Why is it called Bay Ridge?
The northern of the two villages here was called Yellow Hook. In December 1853 residents changed the name to Bay Ridge to shed the association with yellow fever.
What happened to Fort Lafayette?
The island fortification was demolished to make way for the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge's Brooklyn anchorage. The bridge opened on November 21, 1964, and its approach displaced roughly 7,500 Bay Ridge residents.
What is the Gingerbread House?
The house at 8200 Narrows Avenue, built in 1917 to designs by James Sarsfield Kennedy and designated a New York City landmark. It is a private residence, so it is an exterior to look at rather than a site to enter.
Where can I eat in Bay Ridge?
Tanoreen, at 7523 3rd Avenue, was founded in 1998 by chef Rawia Bishara and has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand every year since 2011.
Is there a cinema in Bay Ridge?
Alpine Cinemas at 6817 5th Avenue is a working multiplex with stadium seating and RealD 3D screens.

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