The Bay Ridge Digest

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 7 we pick up our chats with some of the influential women of Bay Ridge, and go back in time to highlight the beginning of the destruction of Bay Ridge for the construction of the Verrazzano Bridge. 

Highlights:

• New Year’s Day 1959: The Narrows Bridge Approach is Approved

• Jan Rideout in Dallas and Mississippi

• Bay Ridge Homes to Be Destroyed: Progress or Tyranny?

• Jordan Gass-Pooré on The Gowanus Canal

• Catherine O’Rourke of Cellary on Opening up the Shop

• January Jokes from Freddie Friday

• Erica Stavrou of Owl’s Head Yoga on Opening up the Shop and Beyond

• The Fight to Call the Narrows Bridge the Verrazano Bridge

• Michelle Perricone of Anthony’s Butcher & Deli on Growing as a Business Owner and January Offerings

• The End of January 1959

• Sal and Daymein Forte on Who is the Better Dancer

• Looking Ahead to Bay Ridge’s Food and Drink

The reading material used in today’s episode included articles from: 

• The New York Daily News

• The New York Times

Be on the lookout for walking tours I’m leading. Jordan Gass-Pooré and I are launching a new tour of Gowanus called “Gowanus: From Revolutionary Battlefront to Toxic Wonderland" on Sunday February 8th, and Sunday February 22nd. Both tours will be at 1PM. For tickets and more info, please go to Linktr.ee/TheWallBreakers. You can also find ticket links through @thewallbreakers on Instagram or the tours and events tab at TheWallBreakers.com.

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 6 we focus on some of the women making our community one of leaders, entrepreneurs, creative minds, and strong personalities in a way that only Bay Ridge can be. 

Highlights:

• Erica Stavrou of Owl’s Head Yoga on growing up In South Brooklyn and becoming a Yogi

• Emily Pagano on loving retail, owning Mixx Boutique, and the New Year’s Refresh

• Michelle Perricone on being a foodie, ad sales, and owning Anthony’s Butcher & Deli

• A January 1978 brutal cold front

• Catherine O’Rourke of Cellary on falling in love with, and becoming educated about wine

• New Year jokes from Freddie Friday

• Reminiscences of Lock Yard with Council Member Kayla Santosuosso 

• Jan Rideout on Growing up in Canarsie, the 1980 Transit Strike, and Leaving Bay Ridge

• Watching Saturday Night Fever at the Alpine in 1978

• Looking Ahead with a Bay Ridge blizzard

The reading material used in today’s episode included articles from:

• A Dangerous Woman: New York's First Lady Liberty — By Victor H. Cooper

As well as articles from:

• The Chicago Tribune

• The New York Daily News

• The New Yorker

• The New York Times

• The Staten Island Advance

• Variety

Interested in learning more about Bay Ridge and hey seeing me in person too!? I’m leading two separate history-based walking tours this month. They’re Murder, Mayhem, Money, and History in Old Bay Ridge. One covers the northern side of the neighborhood on January 18th, and one covers the south side on January 25th. I’m also co-launching a new tour around the past, present and future of Gowanus. More deets to follow in a couple of weeks. For tickets and more info to my walking tours, please go to Linktr.ee/TheWallBreakers. You can also find ticket links through @thewallbreakers on Instagram or the tours and events tab at TheWallBreakers.com.

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 5, we celebrate the holidays in Bay Ridge. 

Highlights:

• Karen Tadross on Running Bay Ridge Cares

• Reina Anderson on Running Henry Harde’s and Winter Offerings

• December 28th, 1944 in Bay Ridge

• Jan Rideout on Retiring in Bay Ridge

• Freddie Friday says Happy Holidays and highlighting the Itty Bitty Kitty Bay Ridge Rescue

• A Christmas Dream for Bay Ridge by Frank Griffin in 1961

• Holiday Thoughts from James Scully

• Looking Ahead to the New Year

The reading material used in today’s episode included articles from:

• The Bay Ridge Home Reporter

• The Brooklyn Eagle

• The New York Daily News

• The New York Times

• PastDaily.com

Interested in tickets and more info to my upcoming Christmas in Old Bay Ridge walking tours? Please go to https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 4, we take stock and usher in a season of cheer with tree lightings, Christmas carols, overeating, and caring about our fellow citizens. 

Highlights:

• James Vavas and the Merchants of Third Avenue Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration

• Michelle Perricone and Anthony’s Butcher & Deli Holiday Traditions

• December 19th, 1944 at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church with WW2 News

• Louis Coluccio and A.L.C. Italian Grocery

• Karen Tadross on Producing Musical Theater and Launching Bay Ridge Cares

• Christmastime on Senator Street with Aimee Pagano Colin

• Henry Harde’s 92nd Anniversary and Holiday Festivities with Reina Anderson

• December 20th, 1944 at the Bay Ridge Telephone Building with Bastogne Updates

• Holiday Jokes from Freddie Friday and highlighting the Itty Bitty Kitty Bay Ridge Rescue

• Upcoming Transportation Tasks with Transportation Alternative’s Rose Uscianowski

• Holiday Memories with Catherine O’Rourke from Cellary

• Holiday Reflections and an Upcoming Owl’s Head Yoga Beginner’s Workshop with Erica Stavrou

• December 21st, 1944 with Bing Crosby at the Leif Erickson Tavern

• Looking ahead to Christmas with Toys for Tots and Nicole Russell

The reading material used in today’s episode included:

• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from:

• The Brooklyn Eagle

• Nationalww2museum.org

• The New York Daily News

• The New York Times

• StPatrickBayRidge.Org

• warontherocks.com

Interested in tickets and more info to my upcoming Christmas in Old Bay Ridge walking tours? Please go to https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 3, we celebrate Thanksgiving in Bay Ridge with interviews, recollections, a bit of history, humor, and of course, food. 

Highlights:

• Bay Ridge Cares Thanksgiving Meal Delivery Service with Karen Tadross

• Three Upcoming Christmas Tree Lightings

• Thanksgiving 2025 with A.L.C. Italian Grocery and Louis Coluccio

• Reasons for Gratitude with Laurie Savino

• Thanksgiving Plans and Expanded Hours with Catherine O’Rourke from Cellary

• Thanksgiving 1947 in Bay Ridge’s Changing World

• Minnesota Nice Along The Shear Line with Eirik Gislason

• November’s New Books with Jess from The Bookmark Shoppe

• Narrows Botanical Garden in the Winter with Jimmy D. Johnson

• Thanksgiving Jokes from Freddie Friday and highlighting Sean Casey Animal Rescue

• News on the New Staten Island to Bay Ridge Ferry Connection with Rose Uscianowski

• Dear Folks, by Martin J. Hansen from Thanksgiving 1955

• Looking Ahead to the Holiday Season with Erica Stavrou

The reading material used in today’s episode included:

• Network Radio Ratings, 1932-53 — by Jim Ramsburg

As well as articles from:

• The Bay Ridge Home Reporter

• Broadcasting Magazine

• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle

• Radio Daily

Interested in tickets and more info to my upcoming Christmas in Old Bay Ridge walking tours? Please go to https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 2, take a trip along the shore line to the Narrows Botanical Garden, talk to the woman behind Destination Bay Ridge, meet a new resident of our neighborhood, learn more about the Brooklyn Hall of Fame, and hear from the President of the Merchants of Third Avenue about upcoming holiday festivities.

Highlights:

• The Narrows Botanical Garden, with Jimmy Johnson

• How Shore Road became Shore Road

• Thanksgiving Wines with Catherine from Cellary

• Our New Neighbor, with Nicole Russell

• Jokes from Freddie Friday and highlighting Sean Casey Animal Rescue

• Destination Bay Ridge, with Laurie Savino

• 1958 Election Results — Fighting to Stop The Narrows Bridge

• Thanksgiving Packages with Michelle from Anthony’s Butcher & Deli

• The Brooklyn Hall of Fame, with Chis Wiecha

• Upcoming Tree Lighting with James Vavas from the Merchants of Third Avenue

• Looking Ahead to Thanksgiving

The reading material used in today’s episode included:

• Reminiscences of Old New Utrecht and Gowanus — By Charlotte Rebecca Bangs

• Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 — By Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace

• How Bay Ridge Became Bay Ridge — By Henry Stewart

• The Bridge — By Gay Talese

As well as articles from

• The Bay Ridge Home Reporter

• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle

• Hey Ridge 

• The New York Sun

• The New York Times

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

For more info on about my walking tours, advertising rates, or other various audio production capabilities, please go to TheWallBreakers.com or https://linktr.ee/thewallbreakers

In The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast episode 1, we celebrate Mischief Night and Halloween with trips to cemeteries and old houses. We’ll stop by the 5th Avenue B.I.D.’s office, learn from a negotiation expert, and talk about life in Bay Ridge with a local leader. 

Highlights:

• Who was Frederick Hardy Jr.?

• The Early History of Bay Ridge, with Aimee Pagano Collin

• Michelle from Anthony’s Butcher Shop

• The Season of Fear, with Eirik Gislason

• Jokes from Freddie Friday

• A Life in Bay Ridge, with Kayla Santosuosso

• Jess from The Bookmark Shoppe

• J. Frank Griffin’s Editorial on the Narrows Bridge

• The Fifth Avenue B.I.D., with Elizabeth Lovejoy

• This Old House, with Aimee Pagano Collin

• Catherine from Cellary

• The Ghosts of New Utrecht Past, with Christopher Wiecha

• Looking Ahead to November

The reading material used in today’s episode included:

• An Historical Sketch of the City of Brooklyn and the Surrounding Neighborhood, 1840 — By J.T. Bailey

• Reminiscences of Old New Utrecht and Gowanus — By Charlotte Rebecca Bangs

• Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 — By Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace

• Old Brooklyn In Early Photographs  — By William Lee Younger

• Native Americans in Brooklyn — A Primary Source Packet 

As well as articles from

• The Bay Ridge Home Reporter

• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle

• Hey Ridge 

And the Obituary of Sonja Bernt Jones from MonarchSociety.com

Subscribe to The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast everywhere you get your podcasts.

To submit a story lead, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com

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

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

If you’re interested in more info about my walking tours, advertising rates, or other various audio production capabilities, please go to TheWallBreakers.com or email me at [email protected]

Coming Thursday, October 30th: The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast, a new bi-weekly hyperlocal Bay Ridge show, combining everything from culture, restaurant recs, history stories, current events, interviews, humor, and human interest. 

It’s produced and directed by me, James Scully, and available everywhere you get your podcasts and at BayRidgeDigest.com

You've found the feed for The Bay Ridge Digest Podcast, coming this fall, 2025. It's a new bi-weekly hyper-local Bay Ridge digest podcast combining everything from local culture, restaurant recommendations, local history stories, current events, interviews, humor, and human interest.

To find out more, please go to BayRidgeDigest.com where you can subscribe for email updates and submit story leads.