NYC Marathon in Bay Ridge – November 3, 2024

The NYC Marathon will be held on Sunday, November 3, 2024.

The runners start in Staten Island and travel over the Verrazzano Bridge to get to Bay Ridge.

(See the whole map here)

Fifty thousand people will be running through 4th Avenue from around 9:00 am to around 4:00 pm. 

What streets are closed in Bay Ridge?

When does the Verrazzano Bridge close?

Every runner is given a color – blue, orange or pink and that determines what streets they are running on.

What time do the first runners come into Bay Ridge?

There are the waves of runners:

• 8:00 a.m. Professional Wheelchair Division
• 8:22 a.m. Handcycle and Select Athletes with Disabilities
• 8:35 a.m. Women’s Open Division
• 9:05 a.m.  Men’s Open Division
• 9:10 a.m. Wave 1
• 9:45 a.m. Wave 2
• 10:20 a.m. Wave 3
• 10:55 a.m. Wave 4
• 11:30 a.m. Wave 5

On Saturday, November 3d – Parking signs were put up. If you car is parked on 4th Avenue or any street that was needed for the marathon, your car has been relocated to a nearby street. You can search for your car’s location here.

How can I get around with a car in Bay Ridge?

If you need to get around on Sunday, November 3rd, put your car below 4th Avenue on Saturday, November 2nd. Then you can travel across 2nd Avenue to get to places in Brooklyn.

If you can avoid driving on the Belt, avoid it.  The Belt Parkway is open, but in previous years the police closed Exit 2 because it cars were backed up on the highway.  Exit 1 on the Belt was open. 

Third Avenue is open, but  there is usually more traffic because 4th is closed.

Trains are not affected by the marathon, so you can cross underground at subway stations. 

How can I walk across 4th Avenue where the runners are?

People just wait for a time when there are no runners and then they cross the street (but if it is a busy time during the marathon, that might not happen for a little bit). See the picture above shows a Father and children booking across the street during the marathon. Below is a man briskly walking while there are no runners.

OR

You can go to the subway station, go down the stairs, walk across and up the other stairs. You can do this at the  95th, 86th, 77th and Bay Ridge Avenue stations.

Where’s a good place to stand in Bay Ridge to watch the Marathon?

Anywhere on 4th Avenue is good. Many people love being near 92nd or 79th Streets to welcome the runners. The people on 79th Street are so spirited!!

1) The first band is usually outside of Bay Ridge Honda on 4th Avenue and 88th Street.

2) The Brewster Moonface Band is playing on 86th Street and 4th Avenue and 10:00 like they did last year:

3) Plain Jane will play on 4th Avenue and 79th Street again from 9:55 am – 11:55 am.

Some people like being near St. Anselm school near the water tables – 4th Avenue and 83rd Street. 

The best signs can be seen down in Sunset Park – near the Irish Have – 58th and 4th Avenue.

John Rafferty will be playing outside of The Irish Haven starting at 8:00 am.

After the Marathon:

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Taco and Blue Need a Home – Owner Died

IttyBittyKitty Cat Rescue in Bay Ridge Brooklyn have Taco and Blue. These two cats are in need of a kind person to love them. If you are interested in adopting these two cats, fill out the adoption application at: www.ittybittykittyny.org

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If Your Car Was Towed From 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge on November 1st, Here’s How To Find It

Around 4:30 pm today, they started moving parked cars on 4th Avenue in Bay Ridge because the Marathon is tomorrow.

To find your car go (here) and search.

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Volunteering in Bay Ridge or Around Brooklyn

There are a lot of great opportunities to help in Bay Ridge or nearby in Brooklyn.

1) Bay Ridge Cares needs volunteers to help serve, deliver and clean up on Thanksgiving Day. And some volunteers to make desserts. They usually post it on their Facebook page at the beginning of November. (Thanksgiving Eve signup or Bay Ridge Cares Website)

2) God’s Love We Deliver needs volunteer delivery people on Thanksgiving Day. Founded in 1985 with the goal of bringing nutritious meals to the homes of cancer patients, AIDS sufferers and others coping with life-threatening illnesses, marked a major milestone this year. They pack meals for people at First Church at 6501 6th Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11220. Volunteer opportunities are: here.

3) Holding Hands needs people to help with food for Thanksgiving.

4) Homecrest Community Services in Bensonhurst and Sheepshead Bay is delivering meals to seniors. Almost 100 seniors receive both lunch and dinner. They could use volunteers- email Virginia at veetong929@gmail.com for the contact information.

5) Park Slope Center for Successful Aging Festive Thanksgiving Luncheon Tuesday, November 26st from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm at 463A 7th Street between 7th and 6th Avenues in the basement of All Saints Church. 718-832-3726

4)  Soup Kitchen at the Greenpoint Reformed Church at 136 Milton Street in Brooklyn. (Sign up here) 

5) North Brooklyn Angels at 127 Kent Street Brooklyn 11222. Sign up here

6)  St. Johns Bread of Life Soup Kitchen 795 Lexington Avenue in Brooklyn. They have a soup kitchen and a mobile soup kitchen which serves Coney Island once or twice a week.  Groups can volunteer here contact: Jennifer Stephen at 718-574-0058 x164 or by email at jstephen@breadandlife.org.

7) Catholic Charities in Brooklyn needs help to give out turkeys and the fixings to families in need in mid-November. The distribution is done on a Friday morning in East Flatbush and they need help setting up the room, heavy lifting and moving. It’s a four hour event. E-mail: christineghancy@ccbq.org or call 718-722-6175 to volunteer.

8) Manhattan: Food Bank for NYC needs cooks, servers and people who can help stock. Families also welcome. Sign up

1) Dawn Fox will be having free classes for children/teens with autism called Love Serving Autism starting in February 2025. On January 25, 2025, she is going to have a training class for anyone who wants to volunteer with this program.

2) Volunteer at the Open Runs held on Saturday morning on Shore Road. Sign up form is here or here

One of the easiest places to volunteer is at a place that has a lot of volunteer opportunities and updates their site a lot – St. Dominic’s Outreach at  2001 Bay Ridge Pkwy. Just hit the red RSVP on the opportunity you like. St. Dominic’s need help folding and sorting donated clothes AND they bring food to the homeless in Coney Island or NYC. (Check their site)

1) Walk dogs at Sean Casey Animal Rescue – Stop by the shelter at 153 East 3rd Street from 11:00 am – 5:30 and fill out a Volunteer Dog Walker Application to walk a dog.

2) If you like cats, The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee needs people who can help clean up cages and socialize kittens during this week and weekend, sometime between 9 am and 4 pm. See their Facebook page here Fill out the form here or call 646) 339-6995

3) Volunteer for Louie’s Legacy in Staten Island – apply here

4) Volunteer at the Cat Cafe at 76 Montague Street – Register here

5) Volunteer at the NY Aquarium in Coney Island – there are a lot of positions here

Did you realize you could volunteer to help an organization from your home?

1) Louie’s Legacy Animal Rescue in Staten Island has some remote volunteer jobs: (Apply here)

a) Application Screening Teams – Our screeners review each application and help make the best matches.

b) Social Media Team – Help us save more lives by growing our social presence and leveraging each platform to engage our fosters, volunteers, donors, and potential adopters.

c) Marketing & Development Team – Have any experience in graphic design, copywriting, fundraising, event planning, web design or support, brand development, PR, advertising, marketing, or other transferable skills?

d) Accounting / Finance Team – Good with cloud based accounting systems?

2) Help people practice their English online with you at Engin – (See here)

3) Volunteer to do social media for Food Bank of America. (Info here)

1) Saint Ephrem’s Church at 929 Bay Ridge Avenue needs Eucharist Ministers, ushers, altar servers and choir members. Call the rectory (718) 833-1010.

2) Our Lady of Angels Church at 7320 – 4th Avenue needs catechists to teach children on Sunday morning. Call 718-836-7200.

1) Volunteer at St. Patrick’s School – (See here)

1) Guild for Exceptional Children Volunteer at GEC in Bay Ridge. Contact the Development Office   718-833-6633 x228

2) Help developmentally disabled adults in Bay Ridge at YAI – see here

1) Holy Cross Church on 84th and Bay Ridge Pkwy cooks meals for those who are homebound or have financial difficulties. Meals are cooked on one Saturday each month starting at 11:00 am. Volunteers are needed to shop for food, prep, cook and deliver the food. More info here. Once a month (on a Friday evening), volunteers feed the homeless on the streets of NYC. 718-836-3510

1) Volunteer at Owl’s Head Park – they post on their Facebook page from April – November. Volunteer opportunities are on Saturday mornings. Questions -> owlsheadvolunteer@gmail.com NYC Parks Stewardship often lists the park cleanups here

Plant bulbs in Owls Head Park:

2) Narrows Botanical Gardens needs volunteers on Saturday mornings 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. Sign up here —-> Narrows Community Garden in the Spring to Fall if you enjoy gardening and nature. There is more than just planting and gardening to do. If you like talking, you can be a greeter and welcome everyone! Send questions to: Email: linda@narrowsbg.org

3) Fab Scrap in Sunset Park – you can help save the environment by organizing textile scraps. Receive 5lbs of fabric for volunteering. 

4) Brooklyn Bridge Park is great if you like working with Nature. (Sign up here)

1) To become a USO volunteer at the Fort Hamilton Army Base – (Register here) (USO stands for United Service Organization)

1) To volunteer at the Veteran’s Hospital on Poly Place, call or visit the Voluntary Service Offices: – (See video) (VA Website) Someone said it’s better to connect through @AmeriCorps to volunteers for the VA. Sen an email to: aincarnato@cssny.org to get connected with the VA Volunteer Specialist.

VA New York Harbor Healthcare System 800 Poly Place Brooklyn, NY 11209-7104
Hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

Some volunteers:

• Escort – Bring patients to medical clinics, chapel, recreation, and programs.
• Food and nutrition – Help patients select menu items, open containers, cut food into bite-size portions, and eat during mealtimes.
• Cookie bakers– Bake cookies on the neighborhoods of the Community Living Center (CLC)
• Front desk – Greet outpatients, guests, visitors, and patients’ families, answer phones, and transfer calls at the information desk.
• Recreation – Help with activities like arts and crafts projects, bedside games, field trips, and bedside movies.
• Office assistance – Type, file, answer phones, keep records, enter data, and call patients to remind them about appointments.
• No Veteran Dies Alone – Provide companionship to Veterans who are at the final stages of their lives. Additional training is provided.

1) The Arab American Association of New York at 6803 5th Avenue takes volunteers for Citizenship Tutoring. Arabic language skills are preferred, though not require A volunteer receptionist is needed at the office. (Register here) Questions: (718) 745-3523
info@arabamericanny.org

1) Volunteer at BRAVO Ambulance at 8507 – 7th Avenue. Yhey have many positions including answering calls at the office. Fill out application here.

Bravo also has this program:

1) Saint Athanasius Community Outreach Program needs volunteers to cook and serve food to the homeless on Saturday morning. Contact: Dawn Aiello 718-232-3113

1) Volunteer at Saint Anselm’s Food Pantry on 4th Avenue and 82nd Street – the first or third Wednesday of a month from 10 am – 1 pm. Call Pat 718-986-8738.

2) Volunteer at St. Patrick’s Food Pantry on Tuesdays from 1:00 – 3:00 pm on 4th Avenue and 95th Street. Contact: 718-238-2600.

3) Bay Ridge Center needs volunteers: (See their website)

a) Help with cold pack & preparation for their home delivered meals service. Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 11;00 am. 718-748-0650, ext. 113, cutley@bayridgecenter.org

b) Volunteer at Bay Ridge Center Food Pantry at 411 Ovington Avenue – the last Wednesday of the month from 10 to 3 pm – the Center needs volunteers who can translate Cantonese to help people visiting the food pantry. 

4) Grandma’s Love 347-432-2408 – Help Grandma’s Love package bags of food that is sent home with students on Friday to help their family on the weekends. Theresa Monforte-Caraballo is the head of Grandma’s Love.  grandmasloveinc@gmail.com

5) The Table Food Pantry, 6025 6th Avenue, Second Floor on Fridays from 9:30 am – 1:00 pm. (See schedule). Read more about this organization (here) 718-630-7171

6) Holy Cross Church has a homeless outreach every month. You can help make sandwiches and help bags the food. Some people go to Manhattan and give out the sandwiches (teens don’t need to go) (Register here)

7) Volunteer at City Harvest at 171 – 53rd Street – attend a virtual presentation and then you can volunteer. You packs bags of vegetables for families to take home. (Info here) (Calendar with volunteer events here)

8) Volunteer at St. Athanasius Food Pantry on Mondays from 1:30 – 5:00 pm.

9) Chips Soup Kitchen in Park Slope 200 4th Avenue – it’s between Sackett & Degraw Streets. You don’t need to know how to cook, there are many jobs you can do. Fill out the form here or call Janice, the Director of Food Services at (718) 237-2962 to discuss when you can begin volunteering at CHiPS.

Chips has an Instagram account (here) that shares when they REALLY need volunteers like this:

10) Volunteer at the Reaching Out Community Food Pantry 7708 New Utrecht Avenue – sign up here or volunteer as a group here

1) Volunteer at the Salvation Army – sign up here

1) Volunteer at the Norwegian Christian Senior Home 1250 – 67th Street

2) Bensonhurst Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare – 1740 84th Street is looking for volunteers for the Chapel and Eucharistic Ministers Contact Sister Anne, 718-885-8484 x 732

3) Bay Ridge Senior Center at 15 Bay Ridge Avenue has a new building and a lot more activities that volunteers can help with!

They need volunteers for the following:

• Onsite or Virtual Classes: The Center has been honored to have so many volunteers help us expand the number of classes as well as diversity of class types.  Our classes range from Ageism to Zoom. Bring your passions and we’ll collaborate to develop a meaningful class for you and our members.
• Special Events: It’s helpful to have volunteers serve meals, encourage the members to dance, and help serve the desserts.
• Administrative. We have several tasks related to communicating with our members and community. 
• Home Delivery Meal Preparation (Cold Packing assembly) Every day, our team delivers 650 meals to homebound community members.  Our kitchen staff prepare the hot meals and our drivers prepare the Cold Packs.  However, both of these tasks require more help than we normally have.

Call Johanna at 718-748-0650 ext. 15 or fill out the form here.

4) Norwegian Christian Home at 1250 – 65th Street – volunteers please commit to four hours a day. For more information, please contact William Mahany at  wmahany@nchhc.org.

5) Homecrest Community Services in Bensonhurst and Sheepshead Bay is delivering meals to seniors. Almost 100 seniors receive both lunch and dinner. They could use volunteers- email Virginia at veetong929@gmail.com for the contact information.

6) Volunteers needed for St. Ephrem’s Friendship Club.

1) The Brooklyn Public Library is looking for adult volunteers:

Questions about volunteering at the library 718-230-2406

a) First five years program at the Brooklyn Library

b) Sign up to tutor a high school student at the Brooklyn Library – Volunteers over 18 needed to tutor students in grades 9-12 (help prepare them for standardizes tests, apply for college and complete homework)

c) Volunteer to encourage parents to read to their children at the Brooklyn Library

d) Afterschool tutor – See here

e) Be a citizen exam coach at the Brooklyn Library  

f) Be a resume coach at the Brooklyn Library

1) Volunteer as a family to walk dogs at Sean Casey Animal Rescue at 153 East 3rd Street from 11:00 am – 5:30 pm. Students must be 13 to volunteer without a parent present. Children 4-12 years old can volunteer at Sean Casey when accompanied by a parent/guardian (restrictions apply).  Application and info here.

2) Chips Soup Kitchen in Park Slope 200 4th Avenue – it’s between Sackett & Degraw Streets. You don’t need to know how to cook, there are many jobs you can do with your family. Call Janice, the Director of Food Services at (718) 237-2962 to discuss when you can begin volunteering at CHiPS,

3) Owl’s Head Park allows children to participate with their family. They post on their Facebook page from April – November. Volunteer opportunities are on Saturday mornings. Questions -> owlsheadvolunteer@gmail.com

4) Children 10 and Up can volunteer to repack food at City Harvest at 171- 53rd Street. (Info here)  (Calendar of volunteer events here)

1) Volunteer at NYU Langone Hospital at 150-55th Street – Duties include limited clerical duties, assisting patients and families, friendly visitations, nutrition education for children, greeting, and more opportunities to make a difference. Customer service experience and the ability to speak Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Hebrew, and/or Russian are pluses. Contact the volunteer office at 718-630-7296 for more information.  (File out the form on this page)

2) Volunteer at Maimonides Hospital in Borough Park – Get Application here. They have volunteer positions for: 

• Clerical/administrative volunteers assist with general office duties such as filing, copying, performing computer data entry, answering phones, etc.
• Volunteer patient/unit assistants assist with clerical duties at the nursing station and perform some direct patient care functions such as feeding and keeping companionship to the patients.
• ER volunteers provide companionship to lonely and anxious patients, escort patients and visitors to and from various areas within Maimonides, assist staff with meal distribution, perform errands and deliver messages.
• Volunteers in research areas such as Emergency Medicine, Pediatric Endocrinology, Hematology/Oncology, GI, ID, etc. participate in clinical research under the supervision of the principal investigator and perform other related duties as assigned such as computer data entry, literature search and data collection.
• Support Service volunteers assist staff in the main kitchen, cafeteria, laundry, warehouse, patient transport, etc.
• Chaplaincy volunteers (Chevrah Kadishah, Catholic Volunteers, etc.) assist patients with religious needs.

Maimonides needs people in the Pediatric Ward – Info here

Teens see volunteer opportunities here.

1) Bravo Youth Squad at 8507 – 7th Avenue is for students 14 – 17 years old. If interested, fill out the form here.

2) Brooklyn Art House – Susan accepts teens to be volunteer Art Studio Assistants and help young children- See Facebook page Brooklyn Art House

3) Holy Cross Church has a homeless outreach every month. You can help make sandwiches and help bags the food. Some people go to Manhattan and give out the sandwiches (teens don’t need to go) (Register here)

4) Owls Head Park (or any park) Stewardship. NYC Parks Stewardship often lists the park cleanups here (when you get to that site choose Brooklyn)

5) Many teens contact their elementary schools and volunteer to tutor during their afterschool program:

o The Heartshare Program at PS 102
o The Latchkey Kids Program at PS 112
o Student Leadership at PS 169
o PS 230 Saturday Program
o PS 186 NIA Program and School Play

Or Tutor on Saturday at some of the centers in the area: Mustard Seed on 18th Avenue or Angel Advantage Center on 57th Street and 8th Avenue

6) Volunteer at the Nursing Home:

a) Norwegian Christian Home at 1250 – 65th Street – volunteers must be at least 14 years of age and work for four hours a day. For more information, please contact William Mahany at  wmahany@nchhc.org.

b) Rehabilitation Center on 84th Street and 17th Avenue. (See here)

7) NYU Langone Hospital 150-55th Street during the Summer – students must be 16 years old to participate in the Junior Volunteer programs. Individuals under the age of eighteen years old must obtain parent/guardian consent to volunteer. Valid state issued “Working Papers” are required for all volunteers under the age of eighteen years old. (Info here and Form here)

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Young Calico Cat Found Near Golf Course in Dyker Heights

Is anyone missing this young calico cat?

Jamie found this kitty by the golf course. She was crying in a pile of leaves. Contact Jamie if the cat belongs to you. (here)

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Driver Ejected from Car in Coney Island Crash

Pic from News here

A 24-year-old man driving a black Lexus hit a lightpole on Neptune Avenue in Coney Island around 12:00 am last night. (News)

The driver was ejected from the car. He was taken to the hospital with head injuries. (See video of the scene)

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Vincent Reminisced About Bay Ridge in the NYT

Saw this interesting Bay Ridge memory in the Times (here)

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Happy 12 Years in Business, Charmed By JKM

Congratulations to the owners of Charmed by JLM at 8311 – 3rd Avenue for being in business for twelve years!

Tonight between 6:30 and 8:30 pm, they are celebrating. Stop by to shop and visit their psychic.

Charmed by JLM sells a lot of nice gifts.

The boutique has a lot of items and they are very helpful. Who wouldn’t like this for Christmas?

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Trump Signs on the BQE in Brooklyn

Viral News on X shared this video:

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68th Precinct – New Officers and Bikes Seized

Welcome to the five new police officers at the 68th Precinct.

The Precinct also shared that they confiscated these bikes:

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Crash on Bay Ridge Parkway and 4th Avenue

Photo: Jenni K.

Jenni K. shared this picture taken around 8:00 am this morning on Bay Ridge Parkway and 4th Avenue. The crash knocked out the street light.

There was a crash on June 11th here and the streetlight across the street from here got knocked down.

A left turn signal for cars is needed here because pedestrians have not felt safe here for years.

From Senator to Bay Ridge Avenue on 4th Avenue needs to be studied. Andrew Gounardes and Justin Brannan don’t understand what needs to be done. A 61-year-old woman was killed when walking on Senator and 4th Avenue in July 2023 and the politicians failed to take action. (See news)

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Isaac Regnier From Bay Ridge Gets NYC Students a Day Off From School

NY Post picture

Isaac Regnier, an 8th grade student from Bay Ridge must be hero at his school. The NYC school calendar showed Monday, December 23, 2024 as a school day. Last Spring, Isaac called and emailed the Mayor and the NYC Chancellor, but did not get a response. So Issac took action and made a petition on Change.org. Almost 23,000 people signed it. (See petition)

This week, Mayor Adams called Isaac at his school and told Isaac that he was successful – Winter Break will have one more day because closed on Monday, December 23rd. (See story)

Thank you, Isaac Regnier!

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