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‘South Brooklyn has regressed’: Bay Ridge has supposedly been a lot less tolerant toward LGBT lately

A vandal tore a pride flag down from a Bay Ridge storefront and burned it on the sidewalk, and a local advocacy group is searching for the culprit.

Locals found the flag outside of the former location of Catrina’s Mexican Grill on 3rd Avenue between 73rd and 74th streets on April 8.

“This comes at a time of heightened trans and queer-phobic rhetoric across the country, all of which is unwelcome in our hood,” advocacy group Fight Back Bay Ridge said online. “All of our neighbors deserve to feel safe in our streets.”

LJ Vogel, co-director of Gay Ridge, says that while the queer support group was disappointed to hear about the vandalism, he personally was not surprised.

“Many people think of Brooklyn as a melting pot and a place of acceptance but I think it is time for us to reckon with the fact that south Brooklyn has regressed and become a place where people are afraid of anything they don’t understand and intolerant of things they don’t personally believe in,” he told Brooklyn Paper.

According to Vogel, violence for queer Brooklynite seems to be getting worse instead of better despite the groups efforts.

“We clearly have a long way to go if our neighbors are taking to vandalizing property to send a message of intolerance and hate. What is most important to me at this time is that our allies in the neighborhood make it clear that this kind of act and the mentality behind it are not welcome here,” he said.

Gay Ridge hosts community events to promote allyship and allow locals to meet one another in safe spaces. Jason Graubard, co-director for Gay Ridge, considers the the groups work “vital” to deterring queer violence and hate.

“LGBTQIA+ people are in every neighborhood, town, city and state in this country and we have worked hard to create such a beautiful community in South Brooklyn in GayRidge,” he said. “It is extremely vital that communities like GayRidge exist to show that no person is alone and we stand together to make all spaces here in South Brooklyn a safe place accepting of all identities and cultures that stand for equality and inclusion.”

Council Member Justin Brannan also shared public comments on the event, calling it an act of queer discrimination.

“I am deeply disturbed that a pride flag was torn down and burned on 3rd Avenue in Bay Ridge this past weekend. Our whole community should reject this display of hate and bigotry in the strongest terms,” he said on Twitter.

Southern Brooklyn has their share of political disagreements, according to the council man. He says this recent incident is an example of “hateful rhetoric” increasing the marginalization of minority groups.

“If you’re like me and you grew up here always able to take your sense of safety and belonging for granted, and you somehow feel like welcoming queer and trans people, people of color, immigrants, people with disabilities, or low-income families into our neighborhoods somehow comes at your expense – I urge you to examine that, and I promise you it simply isn’t true,” he said online.

Locals and elected officials – including Brannan — pushed to have the former eatery’s liquor license revoked following multiple rowdy incidents that took place at the location including the fatal stabbing of 22-year-old Anthony D’Onofrio.

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by Anonymousreply 52April 13, 2023 10:50 PM

Wonder who does these things? Is it the hipsters? Seems like we’re going black in time.

by Anonymousreply 1April 13, 2023 2:16 PM

Bay Ridge is NOT gentrified, hipster Brooklyn by any stretch. It's heavily Palestinian, Italian and centrist middle/upper class lawyers, teachers, city workers, etc...with a smattering of young workers and professionals who are out there to save money.

Some areas are nice but there is a very heavy old school, conservative vibe to the place.

by Anonymousreply 2April 13, 2023 2:20 PM

Can you still get good pasticciotti there?

by Anonymousreply 3April 13, 2023 2:23 PM

R2 funny because as a native Brooklynite I love Bay Ridge because it does feel like BROOKLYN. Not like a white washed fake Manhattan that the white wannabe NYers from Iowa and Indiana are trying to make it into.

Homophobia exists everywhere.

by Anonymousreply 4April 13, 2023 2:24 PM

I just moved out of that neighborhood. A lot of thinly veiled (and open) contempt for gays. And Jews. And blacks. And Muslims. You get the feeling you’re barely being tolerated. Meanwhile there’s a huge gay community but it seems a bit underground. It is akin to living during the 1950s. A lot of Trump signs and I saw someone wearing the only “Fuck Your Feelings” t shirt I have ever seen in real life.

by Anonymousreply 5April 13, 2023 2:26 PM

Bay Ridge has had a lot of Mafia living there (perhaps less so now) and the intolerance is coming from the older Italian contingent I would guess. Again, Trump brought out all the bigotry that was just under the surface.

by Anonymousreply 6April 13, 2023 2:34 PM

Gee, I wonder why.

by Anonymousreply 7April 13, 2023 2:36 PM

R5 you don't live there and never have. The minute you said a lot of Blacks and Muslims you exposed yourself.

by Anonymousreply 8April 13, 2023 2:40 PM

Someone should have done their research before commenting. Bay ridge is Italian, Jewish, Asian heavy. It is not a high black area, or high Muslim area.

by Anonymousreply 9April 13, 2023 2:42 PM

R5 A. You aren’t from NY. B. You didn’t live in Bay Ridge, ever. Your comment screams republican trash trying to cause racial drama.

Bay Ridge is only 1.8% black. There are very little black people in that area, yet you rushed to blame them. The area is 66% white, 15% Hispanic, 13% Asian. Those are the three biggest groups in Bay Ridge. If you break it down by ethnic groups, Jewish are #1 followed by Italian.

by Anonymousreply 10April 13, 2023 2:50 PM

R9 should have done her research. It is a high muslim area. It even had a islamic patrol a few years ago (2019) not sure if it still exists.

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by Anonymousreply 11April 13, 2023 2:52 PM

R10 are there any very tall black people in the area?

by Anonymousreply 12April 13, 2023 2:54 PM

R11 you’re speaking to a NATIVE BROOKLYNITE right now. Not someone pretending to be something like you are. You shouldn’t lie.

There are around 122k people in Bay Ridge, with less than 8k of them being Muslim. Just because an area has a strong Muslim community doesn’t mean it’s a Muslim area. They are a community with reason, meaning they’re a minority in an area where something else makes up the majority, the other thing being he Jews and the Italians.

by Anonymousreply 13April 13, 2023 3:05 PM

The* Jews and Italians.

by Anonymousreply 14April 13, 2023 3:06 PM

R11 your comment says “And Jews. And Blacks. And Muslims” Muslims are a minority there, despite building their own strong community and their own security patrol to keep themselves safe after having been attacked many times over the years there. Black people make up less than 2% of Bay Ridge, so you saying Bay Ridge is very Jewish, Black and Muslim shows you know nothing about the area and just threw out something racist. Jews are the majority there but hardly the ones attacking gays. It’s the fucking Italians, the same people who always chased out blacks and Hispanics for many years, the same people who would attack the Muslims, and the same people who made sure that there were some blocks mostly Italian and didn’t want Jews there. Some blocks are Jewish heavy and others Italian heavy. Not a blend.

There is this lie and rewriting of History that Italian Americans are warm people who love gays. That’s one of the biggest lies ever. Homophobia has ALWAYS been a problem in the Italian community, as much as racism and violence.

by Anonymousreply 15April 13, 2023 3:13 PM

Bay Ridge has never been particularly gay friendly. There was a great club SPECTRUM there, that was gay on certain nights, but you always knew to get out of the area quick afterwards

by Anonymousreply 16April 13, 2023 3:24 PM

Bay Ridge has never been particularly gay friendly. There was a great club SPECTRUM there, that was gay on certain nights, but you always knew to get out of the area quick afterwards

by Anonymousreply 17April 13, 2023 3:24 PM

Homophobia is everywhere. In Manhattan, in Downtown Brooklyn, everywhere.

by Anonymousreply 18April 13, 2023 3:26 PM

[quote]A vandal tore a pride flag down from a Bay Ridge storefront and burned it on the sidewalk, and a local advocacy group is searching for the culprit.

If it was the new design with pastels, black and brown, I can understand why. I would too.

by Anonymousreply 19April 13, 2023 3:28 PM

They need to chill out with a Bud Light!

by Anonymousreply 20April 13, 2023 3:31 PM

I used to live in Bay Ridge. It's Staten Island-adjacent trash.

by Anonymousreply 21April 13, 2023 3:33 PM

Now he came back but on another account. R11 and R21 are the same person.

by Anonymousreply 22April 13, 2023 3:34 PM

I'm an employee for the Dept of Ed in the area and all the Italian women I work with who grew up in Bay Ridge disparagingly refer to it as "Bay Root" (as in Beirut).

by Anonymousreply 23April 13, 2023 3:34 PM

[quote]Now he came back but on another account. [R11] and [R21] are the same person.

I assure you I am not.

I lived there for my final two years of medical school, because I spent most of it at Staten Island University Hospital and there was no way in hell I was going to live there. I moved to Queens almost six years ago, first to Forest Hills and now Long Island City.

by Anonymousreply 24April 13, 2023 3:36 PM

I'm not R21.

- R11

by Anonymousreply 25April 13, 2023 3:37 PM

R13, so am I.

- R11

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by Anonymousreply 26April 13, 2023 3:42 PM

[Quote]A lot of thinly veiled (and open) contempt for gays. And Jews. And blacks. And Muslims. You get the feeling you’re barely being tolerated.

Learn how to read, whoever is blasting r5. ^He grouped himself (gay) in with those groups. He was not commenting on the ethnic make-up of the area.

by Anonymousreply 27April 13, 2023 3:57 PM

I’ve never thought of Bay Ridge as having a lot of Jews living there. That statistic is off to me. It was always mostly Italian, but has changed over the years. Shore Road and along 4th Ave in the 90s has a Manhattan vibe to it now. There are still Italians, but there is a large Muslim population in BR. Adjacent Dyker Heights in majority Asian now.

by Anonymousreply 28April 13, 2023 4:01 PM

Most of you on here discussing this have no business doing so. I bet most of you have never even set foot in Bay Ridge yet alone lived there to know anything about it. Stay in your transplant Manhattan areas and leave the natives to themselves.

by Anonymousreply 29April 13, 2023 4:10 PM

R27 incorrect. But nice try.

R25 your IP would say otherwise.

by Anonymousreply 30April 13, 2023 4:11 PM

[Quote]I’ve never thought of Bay Ridge as having a lot of Jews living there.

I wanted to look at houses in BR back in 97 because there are gorgeous properties, convenient shopping and great restaurants. Even then it was mostly out of our price range but I wanted to look because you never know. My husband said no, I can't live there. I pressed him on why and he just said "I gotta live among my people." He's Jewish. He's not the least bit religious, at all. I still find that comment funny because it's the only time he expressed any allegiance to "his people".

by Anonymousreply 31April 13, 2023 4:39 PM

Bay Ridge is a mostly very Catholic area, with a strong Jewish community and strong Muslim community, but a lot of Italians, with some Irish and Russians. Of course others live there but it’s mostly Italian now. They also have a lot of Hispanics and Asians now, something they didn’t have 20 years ago.

Kings Highway is almost all Jewish.

by Anonymousreply 32April 13, 2023 5:15 PM

Bay Ridge (District 46) is represented by Assemblymember Alex Brook-Krasny, who's Jewish and Soviet-born. There is an area of BR that is mostly Jewish but as a whole they’re a minority there to Italians and Irish.

by Anonymousreply 33April 13, 2023 5:17 PM

r27 Thank you. I had lived there since 2005 in four different homes between located between 72nd and 95th and 6th Avenue and Colonial. I am an expert on the area and could provide hundreds of examples of casual and blatant bigotry. Nearly every contractor or handyman I ever hired had something to say about people who were not white, Catholic, and of Western European background. They test a few comments with you and then, if you don't object, they go full force.

The main door of the Bay Ridge Jewish Center was defaced with antisemitic language a few years ago and had a patrol car parked outside for many months in response. When I was responsible for my mother, I tried to move her to an apartment with her nearly full time caregiver so she would be near me. Regarding the caregiver, the woman who owned the building asked me "What is she? What color?" When I said "black," she said, "thank you for telling me." I dropped out of that apartment and found my mother another place.

95th is definitely more like Staten Island (perhaps because it is closer to SI) and 72nd was way more Muslim (perhaps because the Islamic Society on 68th and 5th). You would have to be blind to not get off the train at the Bay Ridge Ave stop and not notice that the many of the riders are wearing hijabs and that much of Fifth above Bay Ridge Parkway on 5th Avenue until about the Alpine features stores catering to the local Muslim community.

by Anonymousreply 34April 13, 2023 5:24 PM

R34 you never lived there.

by Anonymousreply 35April 13, 2023 5:30 PM

Can’t believe r34 writes lies like that with such confidence, knowing they’re lies.

Maybe his mother needs to learn of the lies he’s posting on a gay forum.

by Anonymousreply 36April 13, 2023 5:32 PM

r36 Instead of using an anonymous board to continue to dig in, use it to tell me you're wrong and to apologize. You can even tell me you have a crush on me. No one will ever know.

by Anonymousreply 37April 13, 2023 5:37 PM

I think it's tremendous!

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by Anonymousreply 38April 13, 2023 5:39 PM

R37 I’m sick of your incessant lying. It’s become ridiculous. No, you aren’t from NY. No, your mother isn’t from NY. You don’t even live here now. You’ve never lived in Bay Ridge. And you’re not even posting from NY.

So why lie? You stalked and harassed a law enforcer online for over 3 years. If I wanted I could have you locked up at the snap of a finger. You don’t realize you’ve been monitored for over 3 years.

How about some honesty instead of lying when someone on here knows the truth.

by Anonymousreply 39April 13, 2023 5:41 PM

r39 Tell us you write at a Flesch-Kincaid third grade level without telling us you write at a Flesch-Kincaid third grade level.

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by Anonymousreply 40April 13, 2023 5:52 PM

The cruising on Shore Road in the nineties was phenomenal. I wonder if it’s still busy.

by Anonymousreply 41April 13, 2023 5:53 PM

R39 Tell us you write at a Flesch-Kincaid third grade level without telling us you write at a Flesch-Kincaid third grade level.

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by Anonymousreply 42April 13, 2023 5:54 PM

[quote] and the same people who made sure that there were some blocks mostly Italian

Italians do tend to keep their areas low crime, clean, with shops and eateries people want to visit.

by Anonymousreply 43April 13, 2023 6:13 PM

Isn’t that where the Norwegian Catholics live?

by Anonymousreply 44April 13, 2023 6:26 PM

[quote]Italians do tend to keep their areas low crime, clean, with shops and eateries people want to visit.

Italian neighborhoods are safe AF. Nobody fucks with the Italians.

by Anonymousreply 45April 13, 2023 6:58 PM

I’m embarrassed for r10!

by Anonymousreply 46April 13, 2023 8:27 PM

R46 I’m embarrassed for you. Lying for sport? You should be thanking God I’ve taken it easy on you and your mom.

by Anonymousreply 47April 13, 2023 8:30 PM

Huh?

by Anonymousreply 48April 13, 2023 8:34 PM

R45 how come?

by Anonymousreply 49April 13, 2023 8:48 PM

Bay Ridge. Sigh.

Guidos aren't known to be welcoming

by Anonymousreply 50April 13, 2023 10:11 PM

R10 aka r35 aka r36 aka r39 is a straight up nutter. And stalker. R27 has him pegged. I believe r5/r34/r37 lives in Bay Ridge because he describes a neighborhood that I am very familiar with. R10 started this shit storm because he misread/misinterpreted the original post by r5. The Voice of The Night always posts as TVOTN. ALWAYS. R10 would know that if he hadn’t just arrived here on the SI ferry.

by Anonymousreply 51April 13, 2023 10:30 PM

Tasteful Friends - A Bay Ridge mansion for $10 million.

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by Anonymousreply 52April 13, 2023 10:50 PM
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