Neighborhood Backgrounder by Mayara Guimaraes

Mayara Guimaraes

Backgrounder on Bay Ridge:

Bay Ridge was known as Yellow Hook because of the Yellow soil that was natural of the land when discovered in (or sometime before) 1524. Named was then changed because of bad memories of a bad yellow fever plague that took place by 1853. The name Bay Ridge was given its and because the ridge that ran around Second Ave.

The Battle of Brooklyn, 1776, which involved the war for independence and which Americans lost, took place in many areas of bay ridge and a military reservation called Fort Hamilton was build there in 182. Today there is a Harbor Defense Museum located there.

The construction of the Verrazano Bridge is the most important event that happened in modern history: the R and N trains link Bay Ridge to Manhattan; the Verrazano Bridge links Bay Ridge to New Jersey and Staten Island.

The transition from a Village to a 20th Century Community began as the population growth exploded in 1894. After Brooklyn was annexed to New York in 1898 another growth explosion began.

Now part of the largest city of the United States, Bay Ridge met many of the challenges of the country, which are immigration and urbanization. Bay Ridge has remained one of the few places in which the preservation of its own identity has been an important topic for the residents and the government.

Changing the zoning of Bay Ridge is under way, however the planners want to make sure that the charm and affordable housing, which are key characteristics of the place are preserved. They do not want to allow any over the top constructions to happen because Bay ridge still functions as a village in many aspects. Its residents have difficult access to Manhattan; therefore they can find most of what they need in town. Also, the 2 or 3 family house, annex or semi-annex to each other are a key characterization of the area and should be preserved. Too high up building or types of construction will not happen in the area.

After more than 3 centuries of much physical change, Bay Ridge still retains the spirit of its early Dutch days and it remains a community of people that maintain the past, pride and insures its preservation.

Bay Ridge Census Bureau and the District 10 website (ww.nycgov.com) shows the following:

8 Elementary Schools, 2 High Schools (all of it public)
11 elementary schools, 3 High Schools (all private)
4 Public libraries
37 parklands
3 police stations, 3 fire houses
12 Health Care Institutions
1 Hospice
6 Mental Health clinics
Over 30 location to provide for those with disabilities
24 types of Day care Centers
4 Senior Center (which is weird because a big population of Bay Ridge is old, maybe they still live home)
4 Food programs that help the community.
60% of the 18 and over population is at work
Unemployed rate is of 5% for Bay Ridge
56% of the work force commutes to work
25% drives
54% depend on Public Transportation
94% of the housing units are occupied
45% of bay ridge is Married with family
39% of the housing is of non-family households
48%male, 51% female
5.7 are under 5 years old