Localized Flooding In Bay Ridge

Did anyone else have water in the basement Friday?

I did, and at first I thought it was due to a defect in the hot water / boiler system.

But now I read that there was localized flooding caused by clogged city drainsnot that far away in Gowanus, Brooklyn " near Fourth Avenue ". And I'm only steps from Fourth Avenue.

The water surge- apparently from the city water drains - messed up my hot water and heating system - whose controls had to be reset. It appears that there was a reverse surge of water that put filled up the radiators up to the first floor- where the floor near the radiator is still wet. ( I have a natural gas / steam system )

Did anyone else have this problem?

Biking from Bay Ridge to Westchester County

I found this on youtube - a perfect video of what it's like to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge.

I've been getting into biking a bit more lately, and this past Sunday I decided to go for a long ride. From Bay Ridge to Hartsdale, NY, to pay a short visit to my Uncle Brendan.

I left at about 7am, before the sun was bad, and hung a right at Third Avenue. Third Avenue north of 65th Street is an industrial hell, but on early Sunday morning, it's not so bad. Even the nasty curved passage under the Prospect Avenue connector was easy.

Left turn on Ninth Street, right turn on Smith Street, left again on Atlantic Avenue, then a quick right for the few blocks along Adams St to the Brooklyn Bridge.

While the roads between Bay Ridge and downtown Brooklyn are not very bike friendly, once you hit the Brooklyn Bridge, you're where you want to be. The bridge is of course glorious, with a gentle incline that takes you past the tourists and joggers into the Oz of lower Manhattan.

Once in Manhattan, it only gets better. There are dedicated, protected bike paths along almost the whole length of the Hudson River in Manhattan now. I rode up to 181st Street, treated myself to a gourmet breakfast at the McDonalds on 181st and Broadway, then continued north on Broadway into the Bronx and Westchester.

I had plotted the route with Google Maps, which now has a " bike directions " option along with their driving, walking, and mass transit options.

The Google maps directions contained a significant error - its still in beta - , but I knew the terrain well enough to know how to keep going north. And when once in Westchester, I found the Harlem River Metro North line, and got to Hartsdale by following the tracks north as best I could.

I was a sweaty mess by the time I got to Brendan's house, but a cool shower and a few Budweisers took care of that.

As for the ride home? My cousin gave me a ride to 205th Street, and I rode the bike friendly D train home from there!

I like long distance biking and will do more of these runs.


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Last B37 Third Avenue Bus

Saturday, June 27, 1150pm.

The last northbound B37 bus pulls out of the Bay Ridge Avenue stop, pauses at the light, and then heads to downtown Brooklyn, never to be seen again.

The M Train's Last Run

Today, I joined about ten train fans and a few normal commuters on the last M train passing south through lower Manhattan into Brooklyn's Sunset Park, Borough Park, and Bensonhurst.

Here, the last M train pulls out of 36th Street, on the slow chug to Bay Parkway and into history.

Last Days for Third Avenue Bus

This morning, I commuted to work using the B-37 ( Third Avenue ) bus.

There were a lot of regulars on the bus, for whom this was their normal means of commuting. They greeted their fellow passengers with hellos, hugs and kisses. One woman hugged the bus driver upon leaving.

They'll all have to find a new way to get to work come Monday.

A woman in dark glasses drove the bus. " I used to take the bus all the time when I was a girl ", she said. " I grew up in the neighborhood ".

I wished her well, and transferred to the A train at Hoyt Schermerhorn for the ride to lower Manhattan.

Tonight, I plan to take the last-ever M train out of lower Manhattan. It will leave Fulton St at just after 7pm. I'll get off at Lawrence St and catch the Third Avenue bus at Willoughby St, for my last ride on the B37.

The B37 fades into history at 1201am Sunday. If you want to ride it for the last time, you'd better get going

The B37 stops at Third Avenue and 37th St, Friday, June 25, 740pm

Bloody Sunday

In 2007, I was in Ireland. Much to the amazement of some of my friends in New York and Dublin, I decided to go north of the border. To Belfast. Then out west, to Derry, without an agenda.

I checked into Joan Pyne's Bed & Breakfast on Great James Street Saturday morning. Roamed the Walls of Derry, had a pint or two, spoke to a few locals.



And learned that the next morning was the 25th Anniversary of the Bloody Sunday killings.

And that there would be a commemorative march along the route of the original march in 1972.

I walked with them that beautiful Sunday morning, up the hill to the Creggan Estate, back into the town I saw no angry people - this was a day to remember, not to vent. One comment I remember was about how completely unnecessary the violence was.

One of the people I spoke with gave me a small pin. I thanked him, and promised that I would keep it, and that I would show it to people. Here it is.

Bay Ridge Bus Cuts - What's Not in It For You

Third Avenue Bus - No More B37. Get Ready for the B70

Take a look at this B37 bus, parked in front of the Fu Lai Kitchen by 69th Street. It won't be around for long.

The Third Avenue bus began service in 1942 if I read wiki correctly, and there was streetcar service on Third Avenue before that. I believe that it always pretty much on its current route - from Fort Hamilton, all the way down Third, past the Fulton Street shopping area, up to Borough Hall.

There's one problem with a full length Third Avenue bus today - not enough people ride it between Bay Ridge or Sunset Park to downtown Brooklyn. Maybe back in the old days the service was needed, perhaps to to shop " downtown" in Fulton St - but Fulton St has been shabby for decades now, and you'll have an easier time buying most things in Century 21 anyway.

There will still be a Third Avenue bus for Bay Ridge and Sunset Park though. An existing bus, the B70 , which currently runs on Seventh and Eighth Avenues, will be rerouted so that there is a segment on Bay Ridge Avenue ( between Third and Eighth Avenues ) , and along Third Avenue ( from Bay Ridge Avenue to 95th St or wherever ) then turning up to terminate at the VA Hospital. ( edit from initial post )

This is a creative solution that allows continued bus service for our neighborhood and for the largely senior citizen ridership that like taking the bus and who don't want to take the subway.

The B1 and B64 Switcheroo

The B1 currently runs up Bay Ridge Avenue ( 69th St ), hangs a right on 13th Avenue, takes the left on 86th St, then terminates in Manhattan Beach. The B64 runs up 86th Street, swings over to Bath Avenue, then winds up in Coney Island, by the subway terminal.

These routes will basically reverse their eastern terminals. The new B64 will run up Bay Ridge Avenue and end up in Coney Island. The new B1 will run up 86th St, and wind up in Manhattan Beach. I think that the reason they're doing this is to have one bus ( the new B1 ) run pretty much the entire length of 86th St.

It's fine by me - I live near Bay Ridge Avenue, and will now have one-seat service for the occasional trip to a Brooklyn Cyclones game.

No More Express Buses on the Weekend

The X27 and X28 Express buses will no longer run on Saturdays or Sundays. To be honest, I have no problem with that. These buses have an astonishingly low ridership on the weekends - some of the buses run completely empty to and from Manhattan during daylight hours. Anyone who says that this is an essential service is full of it.

The bus service changes will inconvenience some of us to be sure. But these are tough times, and we can't afford to have services that not enough people use. Use it or lose it.

Debate welcome, and if I have made any errors, let me know.