STROLL BACK  
 Ridgeites take to the streets  
 INSIDE 
 Your entertainment 
 guide Page 23 
 Police Blotter ..........................8 
 Party Guide............................. 11 
 Opinion ...................................20 
 HOW TO REACH US 
 COURIER L 4     IFE, JULY 23-29, 2021 
 BY JESSICA PARKS 
 Bay Ridge residents  
 fl ocked to the neighborhood’s  
 streets on Friday for the second  
 of this year’s Summer  
 Strolls, marking a return  
 of  normalcy  for  area  businesses  
 and residents alike. 
 “I think it was a huge success,” 
   said  local  business  
 owner Bobby Daquara of the  
 July 16 Summer Stroll. 
  Daquara co-owns Third  
 Avenue’s Greenhouse Cafe  
 alongside business partner  
 John Keegan, which saw an  
 infl ux of pedestrians  taking  
 to the streets for the event. 
 “It’s a step towards getting  
 back to our lives, and it  
 was a great night,” Daquara  
 said. 
 Friday’s  stroll  was  one  
 of  two  hosted  already  this  
 year  by  the  Third  Avenue  
 Merchants Association. The  
 business-boosting group  
 traditionally holds four each  
 summer  —  two  on  the  avenue’s  
 southern end, and two  
 on  the  area’s  northern  end  
 —  though  they were  forced  
 to  put  the  annual  event  on  
 hold in 2020 due to the coronavirus  
 pandemic. 
 This year’s festivities are  
 being run through the city’s  
 Open  Streets  program,  
 which  were  started  last  
 spring  to help city dwellers  
 best utilize open space amid  
 the outbreak of COVID-19. 
 The  program,  overseen  
 by the city’s Department  
 of  Transportation,  coordinates  
 with  local  community  
 groups to bar vehicular  
 traffi c  on  specifi ed  streets  
 at  the  expense  of  the  community  
 group. All events  
 that aim to  close off  streets  
 for  pedestrians  must  apply  
 under the new city program  
 as it requires social distancing  
 and  discourages  large  
 crowds.  
 The  Bay Ridge  Fifth Avenue  
 Business  Improvement  
 District  is  also  utilizing  
 Open  Streets  to  host  
 “Fun on 5th.” The events —  
 which  organizers  say  mirror  
 the  avenue’s  previous  
 “Weekend Walks” — kicked  
 off  on  Friday,  June  25  and  
 will  continue  on  stretches  
 of  the  thoroughfare  on  the  
 last  Friday  of  each  month  
 through October. 
 Third  Avenue’s  Summer  
 Strolls  have  served  as  
 a  smaller  iteration  of  the  
 beloved  Third  Avenue  Festival, 
  which typically draws  
 attendees  from  across  the  
 borough,  since  they  were  
 fi rst launched ten years ago  
 without  certainty  of  success, 
   according  to  the  former  
 head  of  the  avenue’s  
 merchant  association,  Bob  
 Howe.  
 “We  didn’t  know  it  was  
 going  to  be  successful  or  
 if  everyone  was  going  to  
 leave  Bay  Ridge  and  go  to  
 the Hamptons or the Jersey  
 Shore, and we were sitting  
 on  the  corner  of  82nd  and  
 Third at about 6 o’clock and  
 there was no one on the avenue,” 
   Howe  told  Brooklyn  
 Paper, “and at that moment  
 a  family  turned  the  corner  
 and  that’s  when  I  realized  
 this  is  going  to  be  a  great  
 family event.” 
 This  year’s  strolls  have,  
 so  far,  garnered  much  of  
 the  same  spirit  —  and  the  
 kickoff  on  July  9  spanned  
 even  farther  along  the  avenue  
 than in previous years,  
 ending  for  the fi rst  time  on  
 Marine  Avenue,  and  incorporating  
 more  businesses  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 This newspaper is not responsible for typographical errors in ads beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2021 by Brooklyn Courier Life  
 LLC. The content of this newspaper is protected by Federal copyright law. This newspaper, its advertisements, articles and photographs may not be reproduced, either in whole  
 or part, without permission in writing from the publisher except brief portions for purposes of review or commentary consistent with the law. Postmaster, send address changes to  
 Brooklyn Courier Life LLC, One MetroTech North, 3rd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201.  
 Mail:  
 Courier Life,  
 1 Metrotech Center North  
 3rd Floor, Brooklyn,  
 N.Y. 11201 
 General Phone:  
 (718) 260-2500 
 News Fax:  
 (718) 260-2592 
 News E-Mail:  
 editorial@schnepsmedia.com 
 Display Ad Phone:  
 (718) 260-8302 
 Display Ad E-Mail:  
 rdonofrio@schnepsmedia.com 
 Display Ad Fax:  
 (718) 260-2579 
 Classified Phone:  
 (718) 260-2555 
 Classified Fax:  
 (718) 260-2549 
 Classified E-Mail:  
 classified@schnepsmedia.com 
 
				
link
		link
		link
		link
		link
		link