Bay Ridge board says yes to another Summer Stroll on 3rd

March 3, 2015 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The Summer Stroll on 3rd event last year included outdoor cafes where families could relax, dine and enjoy the ambiance. Eagle file photo by Paula Katinas

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Old Man Winter still has a firm grip on New York City, but that’s not stopping Bay Ridge business leaders from thinking ahead to the long, hot summer.

The Merchants of Third Avenue business group is making plans to file an application with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) to hold its Fourth Annual Summer Stroll on 3rd this summer.

Under Summer Stroll, pedestrian plazas are created on the avenue so that residents can walk at their leisure, window shop, enjoy live music and dine in outdoor cafes. Motor vehicles are banned from the avenue on the nights when Summer Stroll on 3rd is taking place.

Summer Stroll on 3rd usually takes place on Friday nights during July and August.

The Bay Ridge warm weather event is run under the auspices of the DOT and is part of the agency’s Weekend Walks program, a citywide endeavor designed to open up the streets to pedestrians. There are Weekend Walks events all over the city during the summer.

The Merchants of Third Avenue organization, which represents hundreds of store owners on Third Avenue between 65th and 95th streets, sponsors the Summer Stroll on 3rd each year, partnering with state Sen. Marty Golden (D-Bay Ridge-southwest Brooklyn) and Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-Bensonhurst).

The Merchants group cleared its first hurdle last week when Community Board 10 voted to recommend that the DOT approve the Summer Stroll on 3rd application for 2015. The vote took place at the community board’s monthly meeting on Feb. 23.

The new application seeks to hold the event on six nights – July 10, 17, 24, 31 and Aug. 7 and 14 – and to alternate the event between upper and lower Third Avenue on successive Fridays. In previous years, the event took place on two consecutive Friday nights between 69th and 80th streets and then moved up the avenue for two nights between 81st and 90th streets.

“They are also applying to have the event remain open until 10:30 p.m. This extra half-hour will allow businesses to offer extra seating to their patrons coming in for a later dinner after the sun goes down,” Transportation Committee Chairman Jayne Capetanakis told community board members at the meeting.

Board District Manager Josephine Beckmann recommended that the city’s sound permit rules be enforced, however, so that all music ends at 10 p.m., even though the event will remain open until 10:30 p.m.

Robert Howe, president of the Merchants of Third Avenue, said he is pleased the community board voted to support the Summer Stroll on 3rd event.

“We’re gratified that the community board is supportive of Third Avenue and our efforts to bring Summer Stroll to the neighborhood again this year. They appreciate the importance of Summer Stroll,” he told the Brooklyn Eagle on Tuesday.