The Bay Ridge Digest

Out now on all podcasting platforms, The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 24. In it we look up at the night sky, tell ghost stories, and focus on our mental health. 

Featured in this episode are these segments: 

• The Death of Margaret Barning in 1894 and the ghostly apparition that followed

• Kristen Cordero (@itskristencordero) on her Cuban heritage, growing up in New Jersey, working for UNICEF, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, burning out, finding herself, and going into one-on-one therapy and coaching

• Gary Esposito (@animalpantrybrooklyn) on some great Autumn deals at the store

• A 2026 Ragamuffin Parade (@Ragamuffinparadebayridge) recap

• Sputnik, Baseball, and my grandfather

• Marco Pirozzi on creepy experiences at his old house

• Katie Coughlin of Ovington Pottery (@ovingtonpottery) on her favorite Halloween memories, costumes, and Autumn offerings at the studio

• Halloween jokes from Freddie Friday (@freddiefridaystoryfuntime) with a PSA for the Itty Bitty Kitty Bay Ridge Cat Rescue (@ittybittykittynybayridge)

• Memories of The Haunted JanHus Playhouse Theater with Dr. Mary Elizabeth Micari (@acupuncturemaryelizabethmicari) 

• Looking ahead to Halloween and scary stories

For tickets and more info to my remaining Halloween tours and upcoming holiday tours, please go to https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

Subscribe to the Bay Ridge Digest’s Monday Morning roundup email for free at bayridgedigest.com/newsletter-1 and join the more than 4000 people who want more info on everything going on in Bay Ridge.

For more info on how to submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com. You can also get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayridgedigest/

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Out now on all podcasting platforms, The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 23. In it, we welcome Autumn by gearing up for the Ragamuffin Parade, talking about housing, stopping by The Bay Ridge Center, and making sure we’re internally aligned. 

Featured in this episode are these segments: 

• Allison Hope Greaker (@allisonhopegreaker) and Marianne Fezza of the Ragamuffin Committee (@Ragamuffinparadebayridge) on this year’s big 60th annual parade

• Katie Coughlin of Ovington Pottery (@ovingtonpottery) on Autumn studio offers, marching in the Ragamuffin Parade, and what she’s looking forward to this Fall

• Kayla Santosuosso (@councilmemberkayla) on the upcoming housing/zoning development charter changes and what this means for Bay Ridge

• A trip to Hinsch’s in September of 1948 for local school year news

• Todd Fliedner (@todd.fliedner) at the Bay Ridge Center (@bayridgecenter) on becoming their Executive Director, their new facility at 15 Bay Ridge Avenue, and the upcoming 50th Anniversary Gala

• Rob Burnett (@burnie_re) and Luisa Zapata (@luisa_inbayridge) with your real estate needs

• Autumn jokes from Freddie Friday (@freddiefridaystoryfuntime) with updated information on the recent string of stray cat deaths around Dyker Heights 

• Kristen Cordero (@itskristencordero) on moving to Bay Ridge and what she’s looking forward to this Autumn

• Gabe Berezin (@gabe.fugues) on working at the North Tower of the World Trade Center, coping with grief, and Autumn event updates

• Listening to Our Miss Brooks in the car in September of 1948

• Looking ahead to the Spooky Season

Subscribe to the Bay Ridge Digest’s Monday Morning roundup email for free at bayridgedigest.com/newsletter-1 and join the more than 4000 people who want more info on everything going on in Bay Ridge.

For more info on how to submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com. You can also get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayridgedigest/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bayridgedigest

Out now on all podcasting platforms, The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 22. This episode contains graphic audio of the events of September 11th, 2001. Please don’t listen if you feel this will trigger you. That’s not my intention. It’s the most difficult thing I’ve ever produced in more than twelve years of producing podcasts. 

Thank you to the guests: Gabe Berezin, Katie Coughlin, Chris Ghiorzi, Aimee Pagano, Marco Pirozzi, and Erica Stavrou.

Thank you to Gabe for allowing me to use two songs: “Here Now,” and “Silver Star.” 

The media material used in today’s episode included snippets from:

• The CBS World News Roundup, September 10th, 2001

• 1010WINS’ broadcast from September 11th, 2001

• Jules Naudet’s footage from September 11th

• The FDNY Dispatch audio from September 11th

• Chris Hopewell’s video from September 11th

• NJ Burkett’s ABC-TV broadcast from September 11th

• NY1’s broadcast from September 11th

For more info on how to submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com. You can also get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayridgedigest/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bayridgedigest

Hey everyone,

I'm hard at work getting the next episode of The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast and the Monday Morning Roundup Email together, but in the meantime, do you know Katie Coughlin of Ovington Pottery (264 Ovington Avenue)?

Come get your hands in clay at your neighborhood clay studio in Bay Ridge! Grab a seat at their 10-week Fall Session (9/21/2026 to 12/3/2026). Beginners and advanced students welcome! Here are some of their classes:

Adult Beginner Wheel Throwing — Tuesday Nights — 6:00PM - 8:30PM taught by Katie — 1 spot left

Adult Handbuilding — Wednesday Nights — 6:00PM - 8:30PM taught by Jiyu — a few spots left

Monthly Making Nights — Grab your friends and join a Group Clay Night. This hour-and-a-half class is an intro to hand-building and the ceramic process. Each student is guided through basic building techniques and each month is a different theme. 

Date Night — Join Ovington Pottery for a private Date Night. You’ll work side by side to create beautiful pots and enjoying each other’s company while indulging in a beverage of choice and chocolate.

Fall 2026 Registration is now open for after-school programming for Kids and Teens. Get those hands in clay to grow dexterity, creativity and problem solving while practicing patience and imagination. The Fall Kids Class for Ages 5-11 still has spots open. Classes will take place on Thursdays from 3PM to 5PM between 9/25 and 12/4 and pickup is available from local schools

Fall 2026 Adult Session Registration is now open. Classes will begin on 9/21 and run through 12/3.

Please email [email protected] with any questions!

Out now on all podcasting platforms, The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 21. It’s the beginning of the harvest season and tonight we’ll meet with longtime Bay Ridge residents and talk about old houses, centers, and civic engagement. 

Featured in this episode are these segments: 

• Aimee Pagano Colin (@aimeenicolecollin) on her 1910 townhouse, her grandparents' old home at 8320 Ridge Boulevard, her ideal 2026 Halloween, and her love of mahjong

• Bay Ridge and National News from 1954

• More Stories from Flagg Court with Marilyn Walters, Jimmy Johnson (@jimmydjohnson), and Christine Walters (@finnmom) 

• Kayla Santosuosso (@councilmemberkayla) on what her office can help you with

• Maryland Memo from August of 1959 with the late Frank Griffin of The Bay Ridge Home Reporter

• Back to school jokes from Freddie Friday (@freddiefridaystoryfuntime) with a PSA for the Itty Bitty Kitty Bay Ridge Cat Rescue (@ittybittykittynybayridge)

• Todd Fliedner (@todd.fliedner) on the Harvest season at the Bay Ridge Center (@bayridgecenter), expanded programming, what’s going on this Autumn, and how to join

• Rained out on Shore Road during Hurricane Carol in late August of 1954 

• Looking ahead to September

Subscribe to the Bay Ridge Digest’s Monday Morning roundup email for free at bayridgedigest.com/newsletter-1 and join the more than 3600 people who want more info on everything going on in Bay Ridge.

For more info on how to submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com. You can also get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayridgedigest/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bayridgedigest

Out now on all podcasting platforms, The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 20. It’s Old Home Week and tonight we’ll visit some of our neighborhood’s most iconic houses and talk with the people who live there. 

Featured in this episode are these segments: 

•  Stories from the Golden Age of Flagg Court with Marilyn Walters, Jimmy Johnson (@jimmydjohnson), and Christine Walters (@finnmom) 

• Kayla Santosuosso (@councilmemberkayla) on what her office can help you with

• Memories from the August 2003 Blackout

• Stories from growing up at the Andrews/Elliot Mansion at with Marco Pirozzi 

• Harvest season jokes from Freddie Friday (@freddiefridaystoryfuntime) with a PSA for the Itty Bitty Kitty Bay Ridge Cat Rescue (@ittybittykittynybayridge)

• Memories of growing up in Bensonhurst with Dr. Mary Elizabeth Micari (@acupuncturemaryelizabethmicari) 

• Stories from being a new parent with Kayla Santosuosso (@councilmemberkayla) 

• Todd Fliedner (@todd.fliedner) on what the Bay Ridge Center offers (@bayridgecenter) and how to join 

• Fourteen August at the Leif Erickson Tavern with Orson Welles

• More memories from Flagg Court

• Looking ahead to the Harvest Season

Subscribe to the Bay Ridge Digest’s Monday Morning roundup email for free at bayridgedigest.com/newsletter-1 and join the more than 3600 people who want more info on everything going on in Bay Ridge.

For more info on how to submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com. You can also get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayridgedigest/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bayridgedigest

Just a quick programming note: There's no audio version of The Bay Ridge Digest Monday Morning Roundup highlights this week because I'm knee deep in putting together The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 20, which will be out this Thursday 8/13. Called "Old Home Week," we'll visit some of our neighborhood's most iconic houses and talk with the people who live there. 

The Bay Ridge Digest Monday Morning Roundup email will be out tonight around 9:30 like always. If you're note subscribed, please do so for free here — https://www.bayridgedigest.com/newsletter-1

And if you're ready for the spooky season, I've got at least 8 Halloween tours coming this October. For tickets and more info on individual tours please go here — https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

This is The Bay Ridge Digest's Monday Morning Roundup for 07/27/2026. These are the highlights. Subscribe to the free email at BayRidgeDigest.com for the full breath of everything happening in Bay Ridge this week. 

Know of important stories or events that will be happening this Summer? Please send them to me! My goal is to make this the most jam-packed Bay Ridge email out there. You can submit things to me in the forms at https://bayridgedigest.com/

When you subscribe and open the email, you’ll notice that local businesses have sponsored this email. For one monthly fee your business’ logo can appear in 4-5 monthly emails with a link out to your choice. If this interests you and you want more information, please check out my Media Kit — https://www.bayridgedigest.com/media-kit. Already know you want to become a sponsor? Do so here — Patreon.com/TheBayRidgeDigest. 

Out now on all podcasting platforms, The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 19. Summer rolls on as we highlight local businesses from then and now. 

Featured in this episode are these segments: 

• News from Fort Hamilton and Bay Ridge in the post-World War II world

• The benefits of acupuncture with Dr. Mary Elizabeth Micari (@acupuncturemaryelizabethmicari) 

• Jess from The Bookmark Shoppe (@thebookmarkshoppe) with some hyper-local reads

• Ness from July of 1956 at Mitchell’s Drive-In

• Hyper-local home owning with Rob Burnett (@burnie_re) and Luisa Zapata (@luisa_inbayridge) of Revived Residential

• Bay Ridge coffee with Ron Kavral of Latte Da Cafe (@lattedacafes)

• Hot summer jokes with Freddie Friday (@freddiefridaystoryfuntime) with a PSA for the Itty Bitty Kitty Bay Ridge Cat Rescue (@ittybittykittynybayridge)

• News from July of 1966 on the Verrazzano Bridge

• Looking ahead to the harvest season and local old homes

Subscribe to the Bay Ridge Digest’s Monday Morning roundup email for free at bayridgedigest.com/newsletter-1 and join the more than three thousand people who want more info on everything going on in Bay Ridge.

For more info on how to submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com. You can also get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bayridgedigest/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/bayridgedigest

This is The Bay Ridge Digest's Monday Morning Roundup for 07/27/2026. These are the highlights. Subscribe to the free email at BayRidgeDigest.com for the full breath of everything happening in Bay Ridge this week. 

Know of important stories or events that will be happening this Summer? Please send them to me! My goal is to make this the most jam-packed Bay Ridge email out there. You can submit things to me in the forms at https://bayridgedigest.com/

When you subscribe and open the email, you’ll notice that local businesses have sponsored this email. For one monthly fee your business’ logo can appear in 4-5 monthly emails with a link out to your choice. If this interests you and you want more information, please check out my Media Kit — https://www.bayridgedigest.com/media-kit. Already know you want to become a sponsor? Do so here — Patreon.com/TheBayRidgeDigest.