Foggy Night in Bay Ridge

Its a foggy night in Bay Ridge. The fog isn't expected to clear until early morning. And that's wonderful.

When the fog is heavy, ships in nearby New York Harbor sound their foghorns. I loved the haunting sound of a foghorn when I was a child, and I love it now.

On both sides of the Narrows, in the Harbor and in the Atlantic, the foghorns will sound as ships east and west, to sea and back to port. There is no finer sound than a ship's foghorn on a foggy night.

Lento's : Open Letter from the Phantom

To:

Marty Golden, NY State Senator
Vincent Gentile, NY City Council
Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President
Mayor Michael Bloomberg

From:
The Phantom

Re:
Closing of Lento's Restaurant

The closing this week of Lento's restaurant is a major blow to Bay Ridge, to Brooklyn, and to all of New York City.

This restaurant has been a local institution for over seventy years, serving Bay Ridge and environs with good, simple food, served at reasonable prices.

Lento's served the community through the Depression, WW2, the end of the trolley cars, the Korean War, the Sixties, the building of the Verrazano Bridge and the Bay Ridge Towers, through the present.

It is understood that the non-renewal of Lento's lease has something to do with a family disagreement. We won't speak to that, as we don't know the people concerned.

We think that there can and should be an amicable solution that allows Lento's to stay right where it is for another 72 years. The building owner or a new building owner will need a tenant for the store space, and I hardly see how you could find a better tenant than the much beloved Lento's.

Maybe it's too late, but the Phantom says it ain't over.

We invite Bay Ridge's elected representatives to speak with the building owner and to the owners of Lento's Restaurant in order to use their good offices to work something out. There's a win-win solution out there if people will bargain in good faith. Please make it happen.

Regards,

The Phantom

Lento's Closed...

( updated twice )
I haven't confirmed it officially but it is almost certain that Lento's Restaurant has closed.

I called their number repeatedly Monday, with no answers.

Walked down there Monday night, and for the second night in a row, it was shuttered. And in the window, a " For Rent " sign.

I can't possibly understand this. They were locally famous for their thin-crust pizza. Zagats spoke well of it. This restaurant, at the corner of Ovington and Third Avenues since 1933, still did good business as far as I can tell.

I stopped at the Village Fruit Market across the corner, and the man behind the counter tells me that Lento's closed on Saturday.

I'm not at all happy. I will try to go down to take a picture tomorrow or Wednesday. If I learn anything more, I will post it. If anyone else has information, please add a comment or e-mail me at bayridgephantom@gmail.com

There are loads of places in the neighborhood where we can still go for great pizza. But Lento's was a good, simple, place with with 72 years of history. With it closed, something has been lost.

See article from Tuesday's NY Daily News

See two articles in Slice NY

Lento's

Went past Lento's tonight, and it was closed at 730 pm. And the word Lento's was cut out of the awning. I hope that they have not closed. That would be awful.

Thousand Bars - The Bay Ridge Chapters

Freeman was here

Dan Freeman, the first Superhero from Brooklyn, recently completed an odyssey of 1000 bar visits in one year.

Dan listed his experience in his blog
Thousand Bars, and stopped in Bay Ridge many times. His visit to Kelly's Tavern is recounted in the December 27 post.

Ballybunion's, O'Sullivan's, Henry Grattan's, and Kettle Black are shown here

Salty Dog, Mooney's, Greenhouse Cafe, Griswold's and American Legion Post are shown here

JJ Bubbles and Pour House are here

If this odyssey had taken place years ago, I'll bet a dollar he would have stopped in Peggy O'Neill's. But Peggy's lost it's status a good Irish pub years ago, when the management changed and they messed it up.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from sunny Bay Ridge. Hope your 2006 is just fantastic.

Merry Christmas from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn

It's actually not snowing at all here, and its warm on Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas to you all.