In Kevin Walsh’s most recent installment of Forgotten NY, Walsh takes his ‘Forgottening’ back to where it all began, his hometown of Bay Ridge, with a trip down 3rd avenue.

Face it: your pathetic, moldy old life is no match for ‘the modern life.’

If you’re not living the ‘modern life’ by now you may as well go home, crawl into a warm bath with a major appliance, turn it on and kill yourself – because it’s over for you.

Resist?
Why?
To what end?

Bay Ridge will be modern!

In case you haven’t noticed – the site of the old Bay Ridge Victorians has now officially become part of the ‘modern life’ franchise too.

‘Yellow Hook Townhomes‘ are 1-2 bedroom, 1000-1200sq feet of ‘Modern’ (but classic) Living.

Just in case any of you were worried about being priced out of your own neighborhood… this is from their website:

“Yellow Hook Town Homes soar elegantly in [it's] beautiful Bay Ridge surroundings…. No luxury has been overlooked and each home has been built with the discriminating needs of the Manhattan buyer in mind.”

Oh, and Cento – the nickel plated beast across from Pazzo you didn’t think anyone would spend 900K on to watch an orange skinned goomba from over the Goethals beat the mascara off his girlfriend’s face at 2am?

Well, turns out more than half the windows are sporting signs that say – ’sold.’

The modern life: you’re either in, or you’re out.

via Brownstoner: Windsor Terrance boycotts Basile Builders’ Simone.

Despite the efforts of Bay Ridge transportation activist Heather McCown, and her Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance, Heather’s mission to turn the 69th street Veteran’s Pier into our own commuter ferry port suffered a major setback when New York Water Tax announced they’d be suspending service from Sunset Park, last January. NYWT’s President then citing: dwindling ridership, subsidies, and prohibitively rising costs.

Now, Monday, State Senator Marty Golden and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz were on hand to pass the bouquets as it were, to herald the return of commuter ferry service to Sunset Park – via Breezy Point, Rockaway.

While not the 69th street launch McCown had lobbied so tirelessly, for over a year, the Water Taxi officially resumed service to the southwest corner of Brooklyn, making it the second stop after the Rockaways to Pier 11 in Downtown Manhattan – reports this week’s Brooklyn Eagle.

Last year, Heather started a petition drive garnering over 2000 signatures, and became a driving force behind bringing low-impact, sustainable transportation to Bay Ridge by way of her Sunset Ridge Waterfront Alliance, which evolved into a highly visible non-profit advocacy organization

The much anticipated resignation of troubled 13th district congressman Vito Fossella could come some time within the next 72 hours – reports MSNBC.

According to New York political reporter Jay DeDapper, the state’s top Republicans — who believe the resignation could come as early as Friday (Monday the latest) — weighed how best to preserve the House seat, in the face of a growing Democratic lead.

State Republicans believe nothing could be gained by Fossella remaining in his seat, and want Fossella gone ‘ASAP’ to make way for a special election with a strong candidate for the upcoming fall election against Democrat Steve Harrison – while Staten Island Republicans felt Fossella should at least be allowed to serve out the remainder of his term.

Fossella’s hometown paper, the Staten Island Advance, called for Fossella’s swift resignation following the DUI arrest, which lead to a series of scintillating revelations involving a double life led with an ex-congressional Air Force liaison in Virginia, with whom the Staten Island congressman fathered a 3-year-old daughter.

photo courtesy: Daily News

Local blogger Left in Bay Ridge has decided to enter the very thorny field of Bay Ridge civic life, by taking a stab at what he hopes will be the first truly independent and accessible Bay Ridge Preservation Group – and he wants you to be part of it.

Lefty, better known as Mark Brown, is a Brooklyn native with a genuine enthusiasm for his Bay Ridge community. He’s been a staunch proponent of thoughtful preservation, with an emphasis on the long term environment impact of different kinds of infrastructure, such as the building of condos vs. much needed school construction.

e-mail Mark Brown to get involved.

The Gregory, Bay Ridge’s 4th avenue hostel from which three different locals have checked out– permanently– now boasts an in-house exorcist.

According to today’s Daily News - Michael Casale, an ordained minister of the independent, nondenominational group, ‘Summary of God,’ has officially turned the conference room of the otherwise cursed Bay Ridge hotel into ’spook central;’ where Casale is said to perform a series of rituals that includes demonic exorcism.

Casale’s ‘healing touch’ is being credited by Ann Pietavalle, of his “Cavalry Praise and Worship Center,” for curing her of a sarcoma of the skull and face.

‘It feels like a jolt of electricity going through your body,’ said Pietavalle

During his services, Casale says he sometimes does a “laying of the hands” on parishioners. When he touches them on the forehead, he says, they often collapse to the ground or faint, the Daily News goes on to explain.

A pedestrian was struck on the corner of 79th street and 3rd avenue, this morning – according to Gothamist newsmap.

It’s believe a car struck a young boy at approximately 7:40am.

Traffic was briefly diverted when police closed off 3rd avenue between 79th and 80th, while police investigated.

Local preservationists expecting to sit down with State Senator Marty Golden at a town hall meeting last evening got some face-time with Assemblywoman Hyer Spencer, and Councilman Gentile instead.

Gentile and Spencer essentially bemoaned the loss of the church, and reiterated their approval of an idea to use the Green Church as a performing arts center.

‘How,’ still seems to be the operative question.

For those of us who remember – Bay Ridge’s Alpine movie theater was heralded as a ‘four star rescue’ back in 2005 when Nicolas Nicolaou purchased the rundown theater in a deal brokered by Golden, and frontloaded with all sorts of tax breaks through the NYS Development Corporation’s ‘Empire Zone’ program.

The promise was for its new owner to revitalize the theater, where it would function as a multiplex, and a performing arts venue for Bay Ridge in exchange for these tax breaks.

Neither of these promises every materialized, and it’s still believed Nicolou enjoys tax exemptions – as do most BID members, regardless of whether or not they meet benchmarks for the program.

Sadly, while local preservationists busy themselves with saving a church that has already been sold – with visions of a state-of-the-art performing arts center for a neighborhood seemingly ambivalent about having such a venue – it would appear that at least three additional houses of worship are currently on (or close to) the chopping block along 4th avenue.

One of them, ironically, the church of local preservationist Victoria Hofmo – Bethlehem Lutheran Church, adjacent to the embattled Green Church.

According to Left in Bay Ridge, members of 4th avenue’s Synagogue, Sheiris Israel, are also meeting to vote on a proposal to sell their property to a developer.

While just a few steps down from Congregation Sheiris Israel and the Bay Ridge Jewish Community Center, Our Savior Luthern Church is also on the verge of putting its assets up for sale. Essentially making that entire block between 80th and 81st street soft for development.

The prospective developer of the Congregation Sheiris Israel is rumored to be Jabour Realty.

Vito Fossella, the 13th district congressman representing Staten Island and Bay Ridge, has admitted to being pulled over and arrested for drunk driving; yesterday, in Alexandria, Virginia.
The congressman, who faces re-election this year, is expected to give a press conference later this afternoon on his arrest.

Yesterday, Fossella gave a brief apology:

“As a parent, I know that taking even one drink of alcohol before getting behind the wheel of a car is wrong,” the statement said. “I apologize to my family and the constituents of the 13th Congressional District for embarrassing them, as well as myself.”

Bob Casserra, President of the Bay Ridge Community Council – who invited Fossella to a May 1st Town Hall meeting – had this to say:

“Had he accepted our offer and stayed in town, he probably wouldn’t have found himself in this predicament…”

Fossella is charged with ‘driving while under the influence as a first offense,’ according to the warrant issued in Virgina superior court.

Virginia Commonwealth Attorney Randolph Sengel, while declining to comment on the Fossella case specifically, said Friday afternoon that “as a general rule we don’t plea-bargain drunk driving cases.”

Under Virgina law Fossella could face up to 5 days in jail, and suspension of his license for up to one year.

Democratic congressional rival Stephen Harrison, told WNBC.com Fossella should “consider taking himself out of the race. This isn’t just an embarrassment,”

Harrison said, “it’s a crime.”

At a press conference in Staten Island, Fossella returned to ‘look his consituents in the eye,’ calling his arrest ‘a learning process,’ and vowed never to repeat his mistake.

Fossella declined to comment on the details of his arrest, his blood alcohol level was .17, twice the legal limit in Virginia – according to the Brooklyn Eagle.

Fossella did reiterate that he apologized to his constituents for his ‘error in judgement,’ and said he did not resign.

Fossella, pressed several times on details, said he could not elaborate due to the nature of the ongoing legal matter.

more from: Gothamist