Palestinian’s Flags with Hamas’ Flag Was Waved in Bay Ridge

Tonight the Palestinians were charged up and chanting on 5th Avenue and 68th Street in Bay Ridge.

There was no counter-protesters as the flyer claimed.

The Palestinian flags waved in the wind on the Avenue. Within Our Lifetime shared this flag and slogan: “Raise the flag of revolution high.” (See the video)

Sadly, there was one of Hamas’ flags waving with them (it’s the green flag with the white writing).

The 68th Precinct was very responsive to protecting the mosque and making sure that everyone was safe.

People in the community feared a clash because Councilman Brannan and Senator Gounardes did not announce that two protests were coming to the area and people felt they and the police didn’t know. Brannan’s busy campaigning and Gounardes is retweeting his posts on Twitter because the Democratic Party isn’t responding to his tweets.

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

Play BINGO in Bay Ridge

Update: See all the March BINGO dates (here)

Sundays:

SOMETIMES The Bean Post at 7525 – 5th Avenue has BINGO at 2:00 pm.

Indigo Murphy’s on Fort Hamilton Parkway and 71st Street has BINGO at 5:30 pm.

Mondays:

Bay Ridge Senior Center at 15 Bay Ridge Avenue has BINGO at 1:00 pm for members. You can see it on the schedule here.

Every Tuesday:

1) St Finbar’s Golden Age Club at 138 Bay 20th Street has BINGO on Tuesdays at 10:00 am. 718-236-3312

2) PC’s Bar at 7215 – 5th Avenue. Kim has BINGO at 3:30 pm – 6:00 pm (Usually with a complimentary buffet or snacks)

Wednesdays:

1) St Ephrem’s Friendship Club 929 Bay Ridge Pkwy has BINGO on Wednesdays from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. They play cards, bingo  and talk with friends. It is in the Msgr. Peter V Kain Hall. 

2) Schnitzel House at 7319 5th Avenue has BINGO on Wednesday night starting at 7:00 PM. They also have a dinner special as well. I’ve seen pictures of people holding a lot of money at this one. 718-836-5600.

Thursdays:

1) The Leif Bar has BINGO every Thursday from 3:30 – 6:30 pm.

2) Blue Corn Restaurant and Bar at 6916 – 18th Avenue has BINGO on some Thursdays. Check with Tommy Eyebrows if this is every week.

Fridays

1) Bay Ridge Center at 15 Bay Ridge Avenue has BINGO on Fridays at 1:00 pm for members of the Center.

On the first Friday in May and June too (See here), they did BINGO Night from 4:00 – 7:00 pm at the Bay Ridge Center too. (Check here for new dates)

2) DaVinci Pizza at 6514 18th Avenue has BINGO sometimes on Fridays at 7:00 pm.

BINGO ON THE WEEKEND:

1) The Bean Post at 7525 5th Avenue has boozy BINGO on some Saturdays or Sundays. 718-745-9413

When they have it, they post it on their Facebook page here. You don’t need an account to view the page.

2) Starting in July 2023, Indigo Murphy at 7102 Fort Hamilton Parkway has been having BINGO at 5:30 pm on alternate Sundays. They list it here.

Hidden Gem in Park Slope Brooklyn: Fifth Avenue BINGO Hall. It’s on 5th Avenue and 8th Street – next to City MD. 

It’s four storefronts from the corner (see here).  From the street, the place looks small:

But it’s huge because it’s downstairs – like a big old style school cafeteria!

It’s open every day, except Tuesday from 6:00 – 10:00 pm. They start calling numbers by 7.

It’s $3 to enter and $.50 cents per card. You also need little chips or an inker (they sell them for $1)  to mark the numbers called.

Money won: $20 win per boards – split between all winners. The final blackout BINGO is $1000 or $2000

Inexpensive food and drinks can be purchased from the women, who bring it to your table. Prices are low – $.95 to $4.95 (a hamburger is $3)  

Topics: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn | 1 Comment »

Bilqis Coffee Shop on 5th Ave. in Bay Ridge

I haven’t tried Bilqis Coffee shop year, but this video makes me want a cup of their coffee right now!

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Tenth Avenue Manor: Homeless Shelter Planned for 50th Street in Borough Park

A homeless shelter for families has been announced for 5001 – 10th Avenue AND 1016 – 50th Street in Borough Park Brooklyn. This is two huge apartment buildings. (See here) This shelter will be able to hold eighty-two families.

Assemblyman Lester Chang held a meeting tonight at Amico Center at 5901 – 13th Avenue to hear the community’s concerns. I watched it on Zoom and it was a well-run meeting.

People are angry and afraid, but mostly afraid. Residents expressed concern about the shelter forcing the people to leave the building in the morning to go to work (or find work). The residents were worked that the people would be hanging around in the neighborhood.

Even sadder, the existing residents of the building 5001 – 10th Avenue just found out about the shelter. The building they have lived in has been worked on for years. Some of them have been living in the building for 40 years!

This shelter is for families with children – its different from the homeless shelter in Bay Ridge and the one on 86th Street in Gravesend, which are for men.

How people will be chosen for this shelter: If a family’s youngest child is in school in the area, they will place that family in the shelter.

Midway Living is in charge of this new shelter, Tenth Avenue Manor. Midway Living is in charge of several shelters in NYC. They have 930 families (1300 adults and 1500 children) total in all their facilities.

They showed this information about Tenth Avenue Manor:

They will have two guards all day for security.

They will also have a community advisory committee to hear the concerns of the community.

Finally, people wanted to know why there is not more low income housing for newlyweds, as there are many newly married couples, who are living in basements and need real apartments.

Heshy Tickler and others expressed their concerns about safety. Strangely, someone asked for the building owner’s name and no one wanted to say who the owner was. Why is that a secret at a community meeting?

Topics: Brooklyn | No Comments »

New Utrecht HS Needs Prom Dress Donations

New Utrecht High School is collecting prom dresses for Project Prom 2025. Look in your closet for cocktail dresses or gowns!

They will collect until April 11th.

Topics: Brooklyn | No Comments »

68th Precinct Community Meeting on Zoom 2/26

On Wednesday, February 26th at 7:00 pm, the 68th Precinct Community Council will have a Zoom meeting with the community.

Join the Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81873641123?pwd=w8dcDOaAxusbYxsdMlt4B91WAbM4k9.1

Meeting ID: 818 7364 1123
Passcode: 690255

One tap mobile
+19292056099,,81873641123#,,,,*690255# US (New York)
+16469313860,,81873641123#,,,,*690255# US

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Protest in Bay Ridge on February 25th – Not to Help Palestine

After the protest in Borough Park last week, a graphic for a protest in Bay Ridge for Wednesday, February 26th at 6:00 pm outside of the mosque at 6807 – 5th Avenue appeared on social media.

Nerdeen and the Jewish group went back and forth on X (formerly Twitter) – the Jewish group said the flyer is not theirs. Someone made it to stir things up. You can see that here:

Then a graphic for a counter protest to defend Bay Ridge and Palestine came out:

On Wednesday, a press conference will be held at 4:00 PM outside the Islamic Society and the Mosque (Masjid Mssaab ibin Umier). The rally and salah are at 5:00 PM. (Salah=Prayers) We need a lot of prayers here!

HERE’S THE PROBLEM: There are no Palestinian leaders in the community to say ENOUGH. There are no political leaders to say, “Hey everyone – this isn’t working. You have been protesting for years here and it’s getting you nowhere.“

Fighting with Jewish people in Brooklyn isn’t going to do anything to help Palestine. Whoever is attending these events doesn’t have anything better to do!

The protesters will be met by the 68th Precinct. They are very organized and will protect the protesters and the community.

NYPD Brooklyn South announced they will be there. (See here)2e

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

How Many Lobbyists Will Be Able to Trick Community Board 10?

Senator Andrew Gounardes and Councilman Justin Brannan have pushed lobbyist’s wants through Community Board 10.

Neither Brannan or Gounardes told us that there were more accidents and people hurt in Bay Ridge in both 2023 and 2024 because Gounardes wanted the red light cameras to be the fix. (Info)

Community Board 10 has not shared this information either. They have a transportation committee so they should should have shared this data. (See map for Community Board 10 here – adjust dates on the right)

When lobbyist’s projects were pushed through CB 10 the first or second time, it was understandable….maybe the people didn’t know. But now enough people know and Community Board 10 has some political people on it – who definitely know!

It’s 2025 and Community Board 10 is allowing Transportation Alternatives to speak at meetings, without identifying them as a group that has lobbied Justin Brannan and Andrew Gounardes.

At a recent Community Board 10 Meeting, Jack from the Traffic and Transportation Committee said that Community Board 10 met with Transportation Alternatives on October 30th. While committees usually record their meetings, I did not find a October 30th recording for Community Board 10.

At the CB 10 Meeting, Jack called TransAlt a not-for profit. While it is true that Transalt is a registered non-profit, they are also an organization that takes in around five million dollars and they have some big donor supporters. They lobby politicians. Their employees organize protests and attend community meetings and look like community advocates.

This month, Josephine held a CB 10 meeting and Rose was writing in the chat. Rose is not a member of this community and her affiliation to Transportation Alternatives should have been share with residents at the meeting.

In 2024, Justin Brannan was lobbied by Transalt over the red light cameras (State issue) and bike and pedestrian access. Councilman Brannan did not reveal that he was lobbied by Transalt. (You can see this here)

1) 2018: The most well known lobbying deal was: The secret lobbying over the school at Nathan’s. (See here) The same owner locked in another deal for a school on 88th Street and 5th Avenue (one block away from PS 264, which CB 10 said did not have enough students)

2) In 2019 Andrew Gounardes and Justin Brannan were lobbied over the Angel Guardian property. We saw what a mess was created because of these two politicians. Andrew Gounardes didn’t show up as the state representative for the community (he sent Justin Brannan to the online meeting). (Info here and here) Three schools will be on 63th Street between 11th and 12th Avenues.

3) In 2022, CB 10 had the loading zones presentation. Justin Brannan was lobbied over them. (See here and here) Many other Community Boards said no to these loading zones, not CB 10. Some members of CB 10 gave locations where they thought a loading zone should be placed.

4) In 2023, GetAround Cars was able to secure free parking spots in our community. Even though Bay Ridge had car sharing businesses, CB 10 allowed this company to present at the CB 10 Meeting (Info – see here) Soon after, their signs and cars were placed in our community. People in Queens called out Andrew Gounardes as he spoke in favor of the company. (See here) GetAround went out of business in NY in it’s first year. Andrew Gounardes does not understand businesses.

5) 2024: Andrew Gounardes didn’t tell us he was being lobbied over housing. The same guy who won in the Nathan’s deal in Bay Ridge is listed for lobbying Gounardes. (See here) Andrew Gounardes was silent about the City of Yes inside of our community, but Andrew was pushing the City of Yes outside of our district. (See here)

In November 2023, the Bay Ridge Environmental Group did a tour of the area. This environmental group invited Rose from Transportation Alternatives along on the walk. Rose talked about the woman from Bay Ridge, who was killed on 4th Avenue and Senator Street – she never mentioned the woman’s name or told the group the woman was killed by a livery driver. (Source) Years ago, street activist would hold a candlelit service on the street – now they don’t even want to know the deceased woman’s name.

A community activist recorded this walk because they realized Transalt was with a group in our community:

Andrew Gounardes has accepted donations from Mark Gorton.

Wikipedia wrote this about Gorton: “At one point, Mark Gorton was the single largest supporter of Transportation Alternatives, the New York City-based advocacy group for pedestrians, cyclists, and public transit. (See here)

Mark Gorton pushed for Congestion Pricing. (Read more about him here)

Bay Ridge, I’m not sure how to get the lobbyists out of our community board. I think people on Community Board 10 need to call for transparency on this for the transportation and pedestrian safety committees:

Our Community Board isn’t the only one Transalt is interested in:

Mark Gorton’s group Open Plans supports this:

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

Grandma’s Love Spreads Joy with a Book Dispensing Machine at PS 235

Grandma’s Love has been putting book machines into hospitals. Now Grandma’s Love and it’s supporters brought another book machine for the students at PS 235.

It’s beautiful that some people donated money in memory of their loved ones to help make this happen:

Christie Canny shared this video too:

Grandma’s Love and it’s supporters understand how important it is for children to have books that they are excited about getting and reading! So inspiring!

Topics: Brooklyn | No Comments »

Kitty Kiernan’s Bar is Being Updated to Become a Sports Bar…..Another Place for Open Mic is….

Many people have asked me why Kitty Kiernan’s is closed and where else can they go for Open Mic.

Kitty Kiernan’s is being updated and will open as a Sports Bar soon.

Barrow’s Tasting Room in Industry City has open mic. on Sundays from 5;00 – 8;00 pm.

Topics: Bay Ridge | No Comments »

RIP – Four People Died in a Boating Accident – One Person Still Missing

Six people were out on a boat today. The boat capsized. Four people are dead. One person is still missing. (News) How awful!

RIP. Prayers for their families.

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Strange Sign in Bay Ridge – IEPs are Not Cut

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