Summer Stroll on 3rd draws big crowds

July 17, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Ally Alzaid (left) and her sister Anna take time out to sip lemonade outside Café Caffe. Eagle photos by Paula Katinas

Share this:

The sidewalk cafe outside Cebu Restaurant on the corner of Third Avenue and 88th Street spilled out onto the middle of the street Friday night, but the diners enjoying such delicious dishes as shrimp and risotto weren’t worried about the possibility of a car coming down the street.

That’s because there were no cars.

Welcome to the first Summer Stroll on 3rd of 2017!

Sponsored by the Merchants of Third Avenue organization, Summer Stroll on 3rd is series of outdoor happenings in which a 10-block section of Third Avenue is closed to vehicular traffic so that a pedestrian plaza could be created to give families the opportunity to stroll along the avenue.

On Friday, there were no cars on Third Avenue between 80th and 90th streets. Instead, pedestrians found numerous sidewalk cafes, like the one Cebu owners Mike Esposito and Ted Nugent set up outside their restaurant.

The sights and sounds of Summer Stroll also included musicians singing rock ‘n’ roll songs outside bars like the Kettle Black, hula-hoop games outside the Kaleidoscope toy store, children’s book authors like Rita Meade talking about their books outside the BookMark Shoppe and other fun events.

The Brooklyn Eagle’s beloved mascot Eddie the Eagle also came to the Summer Stroll and was a big hit. Eddie posed for pictures with children and handed out free copies of the newspaper.

The idea for the Stroll, according to leaders of the Merchants, is to give residents and visitors a golden opportunity to take in the glorious ambiance of a New York summer night.

The Merchants group, which represents hundreds of storeowners on Third Avenue between 68th and 95th streets, has been hosting Summer Stroll on 3rd each year since 2012.

On Friday, the threat of rain didn’t keep the crowds away. Despite the weather forecast, which called for rain the entire night, the rain was kept at bay long enough as to not interfere with the four-hour-long Summer Stroll.

“We’re very pleased with the way everything is turning out. It’s turning out to be a great night. It’s great to see that so many people came out,” Merchants President Bob Howe told the Brooklyn Eagle as he strolled on Third Avenue near 82st Street with his wife Diana.

There will be three other Summer Strolls this season; another one between 80th and 90th streets and two set to take place between 80th Street and 68th Street.

On July 21, Summer Stroll takes place between 80th and 68th streets. The event comes back to the 10-block area between 80th and 90th streets on Aug. 4. A week later, the final year’s Summer Stroll on 3rd is set for the stretch of the avenue from 80th Street to 68th Street.

The Merchants of Third Avenue group works in close consultation with the New York City Department of Transportation (DOT), Community Board 10, state Sen. Marty Golden and Councilmember Vincent Gentile to plan and coordinate all of the Strolls.

Leaders of the Merchants admitted that part of their motivation for hosting Summer Stroll is to entice visitors to shop in Third Avenue stores. The hope is that visitors will come to the Stroll, like what they see and return to shop on another day, leaders said.

The Bay Ridge event is part of DOT’s Weekend Walks program, a series of happenings taking place in all five boroughs in which cars and trucks are temporarily banned from streets so that the roadways can be turned over to civic organizations and business groups to host sports and recreational activities.

For a complete listing of Weekend Walks taking place around the city, visit nyc.gov/html/dot/weekendwalks/html/find/find.shtml.