Final Bay Ridge Summer Stroll caps successful season

August 14, 2017 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

The air was filled with music on Third Avenue during Summer Stroll. A trio played some cool jazz for diners outside the Brooklyn Firefly restaurant. Eagle photos by Paula Katinas

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The final Summer Stroll on 3rd of the 2017 season took place in Bay Ridge on Aug. 11, giving thousands of visitors one last chance to enjoy the novelty of walking down the middle of a street free of vehicular traffic.

As part of Summer Stroll, Third Avenue, one of Southwest Brooklyn’s most vibrant shopping strips, became a giant pedestrian plaza featuring outdoor cafes, musical and dance performances and arts and crafts and games for children.

The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) banned vehicular traffic from the avenue from 68th Street to 80th Street from 6 to 10:30 p.m.

The Brooklyn Eagle followed the invitation extended to everyone by the event’s sponsor, the Merchants of Third Avenue business organization, and casually strolled down the car-free avenue to take in the sights and sounds of a glorious summer night in New York.

Diners were enjoying drinks at outdoor cafes, kids were trying their best to knock over cans at a carnival table, a jazz trio was playing for an appreciative crowd outside the Brooklyn Firefly restaurant. There were mothers and fathers with baby strollers, kids on skateboards and senior citizens walking arm-in-arm with each other on a night that featured comfortable temperatures and a cool breeze.

Friday night was the last of a series of four Summer Stroll on 3rd events for 2017.

The three previous Summer Stroll events took place on July 14 and 21 and Aug. 4. The event is rotated so that each part of the avenue gets a chance to shine. The Summer Strolls on July 14 and Aug. 4 were held on Third Avenue between 80th and 90th streets.

“I think this was the Merchants’ most successful Summer Stroll season ever,” Jerry Kassar, chief of staff to state Sen. Marty Golden told the Eagle as he sat with his wife Janet Kassar and a group of friends at an outdoor café Friday night.

Golden (R-C-Bay Ridge-Southwest Brooklyn) and Councilmember Vincent Gentile (D-Bay Ridge-Dyker Heights-parts of Bensonhurst) assist the Merchants group with the planning and execution of Summer Stroll each year.

During Summer Stroll, a section of the avenue is lined with outdoor cafes, performance spaces for singers, musicians and dancers, game areas for kids and information tables set up by elected officials, civic organizations and nonprofits.

The Merchants of Third Avenue organization has been hosting Summer Stroll on 3rd each year since 2012.

Summer Stroll is part of DOT’s Weekend Walks program, a series of events taking place around the city in which cars are banned from streets so that the roadways can be turned over to civic organizations and business groups to host recreational activities.

For a complete listing of Weekend Walks events, visit http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/weekendwalks/html/find/find.shtml.