Community Leaders Rally For Return Of Victory Hospital

By on March 14, 2013  Featured story, News
Mar 142013
 
No, that's not a typo - it's merely a reference to Stephen Berger - the head of a state commission that called for Victory Hospital's closure in 2008 (Image source: Michael Fleshman via Flickr.

No, that’s not a typo – It’s merely a reference to Stephen Berger, the head of a state commission that called for Victory Hospital’s closure in 2008. From a rally held last year (Image source: Michael Fleshman via Flickr).

Could the timing finally be right for Victory Memorial to reopen?

Local elected officials and community leaders gathered on March 8, to once again call for the return of ambulance services to the medical center formerly known as Victory Memorial Hospital [699 92nd Street].

Since 2008, after locals waged a two year fight to save the facility from complete closure, the hospital has been limited to an overnight infirmary called SUNY Downstate, notes Will Bredderman for Brooklyn Daily. Read more, including how Stephen Berger screwed Southwest Brooklyn

State Senate Votes For Stricter Hit-And-Run Legislation, As Neighbors Remember Two Innocent Victims

By on March 5, 2013  Featured story, News
Mar 052013
 

800px-Do_Not_Cross,_Crime_Scene

In the wake of a series of fatal hit-and run crashes in New York City, the state Senate has approved new legislation that would stiffen statewide punishments for drivers who flee the scene of accidents which result in property damage, serious injury, or death, notes Amanda Woods for Home Reporter.

The proposed measure, which is sponsored by State Senator Marty Golden, upgrades the charges against motorists who leave the scene of a deadly crash to a Class C Felony. Click Here For More, Including A Hit-And-Run Case That Remains Unsolved After 19 Years

Uno Chicago Grill To Hold Children’s Balloon Drop On New Years

By on December 21, 2012  Events
Dec 212012
 

Pizzeria Uno New YearsNew Years Eve normally presents the parents of small children with a limited number of choices for dining out, much less celebrating the approach of midnight with their smallest kin.

Fortunately for the young families of Bay Ridge and beyond, Uno Chicago Grill [9201 4th Avenue] will be holding its own shindig this December 31, albeit at a family-friendly hour.

This free event, which includes a balloon drop and ginger ale toast for the kiddies, happens at 7 p.m. – So while folks in Lisbon are kissing and wishing each other a “feliz ano novo,” you can ring in 2013 with the little ones!

For more details and updates on this parentally-empowering New Years Eve party, please check out Pizzeria Uno’s Facebook page.

Seen In Bay Ridge Weekender: The Written Word

By on October 12, 2012  Seen In Photos
Oct 122012
 

Even in our increasingly digitized world, old Gutenberg and Bi Sheng would probably be pleased that so many readers still prefer words printed on paper rather than displayed on a glowing screen.

The accompanying image, captured by Bath Beach photographer David Tan, shows a store on the corner of 4th Avenue and 92nd Street over which the written word still rules.

The photo was appropriately taken using good old-fashioned Fuji Superia 200 film on October 8, 2012.

To see more of David’s handsome halftones, please visit his blog at dtan.blogspot.com.

If you have a photo you’d like us to publish as part of the Seen In Bay Ridge photo series, please send it to info@bayridgeodyssey.com. Be sure to let us know where and when the picture was taken, as well as how to credit the image (i.e. by your real name, pen name, anonymously, etc.).

CB 10 Offers Alternative To DOT-Planned Bike Lanes

By on September 27, 2012  Traffic & Transit
Sep 272012
 

Image source: courtney_80 via Flickr.

Members of Community Board 10 know that more bike lanes are coming to Bay Ridge. But while they’ve warmed to the notion of a bike-friendly future, they’re still unhappy with the locations the DOT has chosen for the “hundreds of miles” of bike lanes it plans to add to Brooklyn neighborhoods over the next few years. Continue reading »

Home Reporter: 92nd Street Sinkhole Stink, Construction Still Affecting Businesses

By on August 22, 2012  Business
Aug 222012
 

Construction workers repair another sinkhole on 79th Street, which has since been sealed up (Image courtesy of David Tan).

A stinky sinkhole on 92nd Street – which first opened up on June 29, and isn’t expected be fixed until October, is putting off customers and slowing business down, according to several owners and managers of nearby stores who spoke with Denise Romano from Home Reporter.

“The outdoor café that we pay [the city] for yearly can’t be used,” Michael Deliso, barista and manager at Paneantico Bakery and Café [9124 3rd Ave] said, referring to the offensive odor caused by the sinkhole – which itself was the result of a ruptured sewer pipe. “We are losing money.” Continue reading »

2012 Ragamuffin Parade Honorees

By on August 21, 2012  Events
Aug 212012
 

Bay Ridge’s annual Ragamuffin Parade, which is now in its 46th year, will march along 3rd Avenue from 76th Street to 92nd Street on September 29, 2012 – beginning at 1 p.m.

Arlene Figaro, Headmistress of Bay Ridge’s Visitation Academy [8902 Ridge Boulevard], will serve as this year’s Grand Marshal, while John Abi-Habib, President and CEO of MSI Computers – a Bay Ridge-based computer services firm, has been named as the parade group’s 2012 Man of the Year.

On Sunday, September 16, at 2:00 p.m. Figaro and Abi-Habib will be honored at the Ragamuffin Luncheon Celebration in the grand ballroom of the Bay Ridge Manor [476 76th Street].

According to Ragamuffin President Colleen Golden, tickets to the event – which is a major fund-raiser for the annual parade, are $65 per person. They may be purchased by forwarding a check made payable to Ragamuffin, Inc. to 85 80th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11209.

For more details, please contact Ted General at (718) 833-4928, click onto the group’s Facebook page, or email RagamuffinParade@USA.com.

Don’t get left out in the dark. You can learn about more awesome Bay Ridge events like this by checking out the Bay Ridge Odyssey Events Calender.

Nothing To See Here: DEP spokesperson says sinkholes no cause for alarm

By on August 7, 2012  News
Aug 072012
 

After the ever informative Paula Katinas wrote a piece on the website Bay Ridge Life documenting residents’ worries over two sinkholes that have opened up in as many months – including concerns that City Councilman Vincent Gentile expressed regarding the life span of our 100 + year old sewer infrastructure, DEP officials are all like “pffffff… dude, you worry too much.”

So with a gaping hole being repaired on 79th Street, and another on 92nd Street that last we checked was still being worked on, officials are taking a page out of Stevie Wonder’s song book by asking residents not to worry ’bout a thing.

“There is no need to worry,” DEP spokesperson Ted Timbers told Bay Ridge Life. “It’s just a coincidence.”

It is of course probably understandable if homeowners remain just a wee bit… uptight about the very ground beneath them giving way at any moment.

Meanwhile, Timbers says the exact cause of the 79th Street hole is still being investigated.

But don’t worry. They have Kevin Bacon on speed dial.

79th Street Sinkhole Blamed On Busted Supercentenarian Sewer Pipe

By on August 2, 2012  News
Aug 022012
 

A huge sinkhole that opened up yesterday on 79th Street between 5th Avenue and 4th Avenue is being blamed on the failure of a 50 inch sewer pipe that dates back to 1900.

The large cavity nearly enveloped a car as it opened up a 20-foot section of asphalt, according to CBS 2.

1010 Wins reporter Joe Montone spoke with Annette Flood, who says she parked her car near the site of the sinkhole shortly before the ground gave way. Continue reading »