Today – Bay Ridge retail giant, Century 21, prepares to break ground on 279 units of additional parking and expanded retail space, in a ceremony that includes Bay Ridge’s most prestigious business and civic leaders: Councilman Vincent Gentile, 5th avenue/86th street BID chairman Pat Condren, CB10′s Josephine Beckman, 68th Precinct Commander Eric Rodriguez, among others.
Pat Condren, doing his usual soft-shoe for all things retail, bills the retailer and its plans as:

“… a community-minded business and the largest corporate retail contributor to the 86th Street Bay Ridge BID… We’re happy about the additional retail space and the new parking garage coming here. The garage will help relieve parking and traffic congestion. The expanded store space will entice even more shoppers to shop Bay Ridge rather than going to Staten Island and New Jersey, when they can get what they want right here.”

Not all residents share in Mr. Condren’s ambitions for Bay Ridge.

To most Bay Ridgites, Century 21 is considered not only the cause of the very congestion they now seek to remedy, but cite tone deaf local pols’, and business leaders’ pathological obsession with keeping the mega-retailer happy as reflective of their broader attitudes on the future of Bay Ridge’s development – both commercial and residential.

It’s worth noting that Century’s expanded parking facility is in addition to 86th streets massive, underutilized(?) Municipal Parking Facility on the corner of 5th avenue between 86th and 85th street *on the site of the old bowling alley, next door to Legacy Suite.

full article from Brooklyn Eagle