Radio Free Bay Ridge

We're excited to be back with a special live episode of Radio Free Bay Ridge! Join us as we return for a new season of episodes, starting off with a special interview with local historian Henry Stewart for the release of his latest book, "The Streets of Brooklyn", a collection of 1800s Brooklyn Eagle columns by a mysterious writer known only as "ERG". Over the course of an hour and half, we'll discuss why he thought the Statue of Liberty sucks, how Old Man Hicks invented the hill, why its good that Park Slope doesn't have donkeys, and question whether the residents of Clinton street are ugly. All that and more in a hilarious and enlightening walk through Gilded Age Brooklyn a few years after the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge. Special thanks to Barrow's Intense Ginger Tasting Room in Industry City for hosting us! And be sure to grab a copy of Henry's book on Amazon or from the Book Mark Shoppe! ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

There's another hyper-local gallery in Bay Ridge. Underland Gallery, a brainchild of Hannah Salyer, Ester Kwon and Maxim Elrod, opened softly in October 2021, just before the COVID Omicron wave. Shaded by trees and with a mysterious cat-headed-sea-serpent adorning the gas lamp outside, Underland is a strange chimera of performance space, art gallery, and community center. Join us as we explore this unique community space occupying an entire floor of gallery and performance space in Bay Ridge's brownstone belt between 5th and 4th Avenue. How do such unique galleries come to be? What does it take to get one running? And what's next for Underland? ---- Check out Underland at UnderlandGallery.com ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

CW // Alcohol Use The Democratic party has problems that stretch all the way down to its roots. But reformers and activists have been trying to bring democracy to its namesake party. Join us as we chat about how party politics works at the hyper-local scale with local District Leader candidate Mark Hanna, who is running in Assembly District 64 in northern Bay Ridge. At this scale, it's all about good governance... and Bay Ridge District Leaders are part of how we get there. We'll talk about opening up transparency around judicial screenings so that you can actually understand who those judges on your ballots actually are. Mark will also discuss the challenges involved in running, and how embedded party machines work to maintain patronage and power. Oh, and we got a little tipsy since it was St. Patricks Day... ---- District Leaders have their primary on June 23rd! Be sure to vote! ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

On today's episode, we sit down with local author and journalist Jessie Singer about her new book "There Are No Accidents: The Deadly Rise of Injury and Disaster - Who Profits and Who Pays The Price". Jessie's groundbreaking book has received national attention. It explores how, and why, we seem to dismiss preventable deaths and injuries as "accidental", rather than confront the dangerous conditions that make these supposedly random events inevitable. We'll explore how corporations and profiteers fail to keep us safe, and we'll find some examples right here in Bay Ridge. From car dealerships and unsafe streets, to the opioid epidemic, to trips and falls, we'll see who profits from our unsafe environment. We'll also explore how we can demand change, nationally and at home in our own neighborhood... and change our own thinking about "accidents" along the way. Check out the book, which is available now, and listen in as we discover that in Bay Ridge, there are no accidents. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Today we're checking in with State Senator Andrew Gounardes. Now into his second term (and seeking a third), Senator Gounardes has been part of a revolutionary period in Albany. The State Senate, under Republican control for nearly a century, has transformed into an uncharacteristic flurry of activity. New bills have been passed left and right. Gounardes, an original member of 2019 Blue Wave, has been through it all. Now, with nearly fifty (as of recording) bills passed, we sit down with our local State Senator to ask how a bill becomes a law in Albany. Where do the ideas come from? What is the process for writing a bill? How does he manage to keep up during long legislative sessions at the State Capitol? Join us as we learn how our State Senator accomplishes the one job so many other politicians ignore: legislating.  ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

We're back for a new year! To kick things off, we're delving into the history of racing dragons in Bay Ridge... fictionally, at least. Our guest is local author Katharine Dow, author of the short story The Brooklyn Dragon Racing Club, set right here in Bay Ridge. We'll chat with Katharine about the story and its influences. Katherine will discuss how her recent move to the neighborhood (in the middle of the pandemic!) influenced how she's grown to understand Bay Ridge. Along the way we'll also discuss good hangouts for writers in the neighborhood, and more! You can grab Katharine's story as part of the anthology "Dragons of a Different Tail 17: Unusual Dragon Tales" from Cabbit Crossing Publishing in both digital and paperback editions! ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

We've got a new contributor to the podcast! Meet Ember, perhaps one of the biggest fans of Bay Ridge ever. Together, we're going to update our old podcast episode called "Welcome To Bay Ridge", intended for new (and new-at-heart) residents. Get our recommendations on where to eat! Learn what "The Hole" is! Find out what restaurant has the most attractive servers! Does Bay Ridge have a travelator? And where can you find the local waterfall? Have you seen the parrot man? Tune in and find out the answers as we geek out about Bay Ridge, our nation's capitol. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Over 120 former Bay Ridge residents are homeless and in city-run shelters at any given time. And how many shelter beds do we have in our neighborhood to help them? Zero. Instead, we send our former neighbors away to other communities to be sheltered and cared for. It is fairly clear that Bay Ridge is not doing its fair share. In this episode, we're going to explore previous attempts at sheltering our unhoused neighbors in Bay Ridge, going back into the 1980's. Along the way, we'll dissect and tear apart the tactics that NIMBYs use to push the responsibility we have to shelter the homeless onto other neighborhoods. Most importantly, we'll make the case for creating two new emergency shelters in Bay Ridge. This proposal is entirely our own and isn't a part of any city agency or politician's plan. We hope that, by starting this dialog at a community grassroots level, we can finally prove that the original concept of "Fair Share" in the 1990s was not inherently flawed. We hope that we can prove that neighborhoods can welcome shelters with open arms. If you agree that Bay Ridge can read the way, please sign our petition below, and listen on! ---- Sign The Petition: https://www.change.org/rfbr-shelter ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

For years, spiritual spaces have been key to progressive organizing in Bay Ridge. In today's episode, we say goodbye to Reverend Robert Emerick of the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church. Bob is being forcibly retired after seventeen years in our community. We decided to sit down with Bob and reflect on how he and his congregation have let their spiritual and moral beliefs guide them through controversy, making innovative economic, civic, and educational decisions along the way. Reverend Bob began his tenure in Bay Ridge during the tense and much-debated decision to sell the famed Green Church building, then the home of the Bay Ridge United Methodist Church. The press and protests faded after the church's demolition and a new school went up on the site. But for Bob and his congregation, the story had just begun and the possibilities were endless. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

For the past year, Bay Ridge has struggled with the pandemic. We've lost loved ones, and there has been grief both public and private. But early in 2020, politicians began to push their own narratives. At a moment when we all should have been talking about staying safe and healthy, conservative politicians fought back against masking, lockdowns, and social distancing. The story they pushed was tempting to many: they used peoples fears about the economy to override science and safety. On today's episode, Ed Yoo returns to the show. Ed is the Director of Strategic Research at the NY State Nurses Union, but today he's speaking to us as a local Bay Ridge resident. We last spoke to Ed in early 2020 about a proposed Emergency Room that was in development for the old Victory Memorial hospital site. A year later, so much has changed. Ed will help us analyze how Bay Ridge responded to COVID. We explore how early COVID data was hidden or flawed, and lay into both Democratic and Republican politicians who used fearmongering about the economy to undermine our pandemic response. Along the way we uncover some disturbing data that is yet to be revealed about our local hospital system, and make some armchair predictions on what a true post-COVID economy might look like for our local stores and businesses. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Join us as we sit down with NY11 candidate Brittany Ramos DeBarros. We'll explore the dangers of partisanship and how military contractors and war profiteering have left troops tokenized, demoralized, and without basic services. To counter these forces, we'll explore how our district can engage with a Just Transition framework and invest in demilitarizing our civic systems. By removing our reliance on militarism and nationalism, we can build a leaner government that maximizes health and sustainability. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Our long-awaited episode digging into Nicole Malliotakis's legislative history... such that it is. We'll go over her voting record before digging into a very unusual bill that leads us on a journey back to the 1970s. We'll unravel a web of land-grabs, NIMBYism, political backstabbing, racism, and legal maneuvers to keep Staten Island segregated. And how, aware or not, Nicole's only legislative achievement has its roots in Staten Island's long history of oppression and exclusion. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

We are joined by Bay Ridge resident and former NYPD officer Mike DeCillis to discuss how we can meaningfully reform a broken police force, and transition it into a police service that keeps us safe without violating our civil rights. From training to culture, we'll explore key flaws that Mike has witnessed firsthand, and figure out how to reform *our* NYPD. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Whether it is giving some money, to volunteering, to simply going out and enjoying what the neighborhood has to offer, there are many ways to give back this holiday season. Here are a few of them.--- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

The school year has been a total mess. So lets figure out how we can do better, and what we should have done different.In today's episode, we're joined by our Senior Education Correspondent Erik Shell. We'll dig into why we should have kept school closed during the pandemic, and how poor leadership and systemic inequality led to a botched hybrid-learning system. We'll debunk Educational Policy arguments made by the CDC, and explore how New York's school system has historically handled pandemics in the past.Finally, we'll look at some major policy initiatives we can undertake to ensure something like this doesn't happen again.---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

An episode over two years in the making! Join Dan and our guest John Hagan, a local social studies teacher, as we analyze our local racist monuments. Yes, Bay Ridge is host to multiple Confederate monuments. How did they get here? Why are they still up? And why should we tear them down? Find out! We'll expose a never-before-discovered history involving the United Daughters of the Confederacy, greedy Rectors, and a  Lost Cause mythology. Along the way we'll talk about cool Union Generals, Thurgood Marshall's connection to Bay Ridge, and why Robert E Lee disliked living in Brooklyn. As we go, John will connect our local happenings to a broader context of Reconstruction, resurgent racism, and Jim Crow. By the end of the show, you'll be equipped to tear apart any argument for keeping these racist monuments standing! ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!  

It's seems like longer, but it's been four years since the 2016 elections. And now more than ever, our vote matters in the upcoming election. But frustratingly, it seems like things are getting in the way of an easy, simple election day. From Postal Service shenanigans to COVID-19, never before has our electoral process been more fraught. So today on the show, we're going to do a quick guide on how to vote in a pandemic. We'll let you know the key deadlines for this years election, and some of the ways you can make your voice heard in addition to going to the polls on election day. We'll cover Absentee Ballots, how to mail them, and some of the common ways people mess them up. We'll also go over Early Voting, which is a great way to avoid the crowds but still get your vote counted on Election Day itself.---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!  

Join us for a walking tour… of the future! On today’s episode, co-host and transit nerd Dan will bring us on a walking tour of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park in an alternate future where The Triboro has been built... a proposed passenger rail line running along the old train tracks north of Bay Ridge. But it's not just about a rail line. We'll explore multiple ways that communities can regain control over their local development, and push for a vision of their neighborhood that promotes equity and sustainability. This includes mixed-use development, local job creation, Community Land Trusts, eco-friendly development, and more. And at the end, we'll tie it all together with an interview with the folks at the Regional Plan Association, who proposed The Triboro back in the 90's! Sit in and relax as we explore an idealized future of our neighborhood, and what it might become if we take development out of the hands of developers. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!  

We're back from our Coronavirus hiatus with a celebration for our 50th Episode... and the return of a lost co-host! We couldn't think of a more important topic for this occasion than the 2020 Census that's currently underway in Bay Ridge.Join us as we discuss how the pandemic and the federal goverment has thrown the census into disarray, and how local activists and politicians are working to ensure we get an accurate count. We'll join Councilman Justin Brannan to discuss how local government is often hobbled by bad census data, especially when it comes to local services, whether it's school funding, road construction, or poll translation. We'll also join activists from Fight Back Bay Ridge and The Arab American Association of New York to see how local organizers are pivoting to digital outreach in order to raise awareness about the census. Finally, we'll look back and share a few memories about our last three years, as well as giving some sneak peeks about what's to come, including an all-new way to support the podcast. Thanks to all of our listeners for an amazing three years, and here's to many more! ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!  

Something is happening at the old Victory Memorial hospital site in the 90s... a new Emergency Room!But the hospital itself isn't reopening. Instead, we're getting a satellite ER run by Maimonides. Technically it's known as an "Off-Campus Emergency Department". What does that mean for the community? What kinds of services can we expect? And are there any downsides?Our guest Ed Yoo will guide us through what's in store, and how we can make sure Bay Ridge has a voice in the process. We'll also dig into what conditions led Victory Memorial to close in the first place, how single-payer healthcare can revitalize community health outcomes, and how we need additional hospital capacity in the face of new challenges like COVID-19. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Our origin stories for Bay Ridge's activist groups continues!Today we're going to hang out with three founding members of Bay Ridge For Social Justice. One of the older and more progressive groups in the neighborhood, they were formed in 2015 to explicitly counter racism, state and police violence, islamophobia, and homophobia... all while promoting grassroots organizing outside of the electoral system. We'll talk to our guests Yasmine, Sherry and Danielle about the first two MLK Marches Against Hate in Bay Ridge, how the group dealt with the Trump election, and how they organized in the fallout of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Importantly, we will confront the group's failures in addition to their successes. Finally, we reflect on how much Bay Ridge has changed since the group's formation and where we can go from here, including the need to create more LGBTQ-friendly spaces in Bay Ridge and build stronger bonds with neighboring communities of color.---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Happy New Year!Uh oh... 2020? Already!? There's no doubt, this year is going to be tough. A national election is going to sweep across the district, and local conservative hopefuls are already vying to undo the 2018 Blue Wave. Meanwhile, we're in the midst of a Democratic primary where candidates are shifting position at the top of the polls almost daily. How do we gear up and organize in the midst of this chaos?Fear not. We have two stellar guests in the studio today, Tyler and Matt. They've been organizing locally for South Brooklyn for Warren! Together we'll discuss how to keep our energy reserves up, help out our fellow activists, and successfully bridge the divide between local and national issues. 2020 is here. It's game time.---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Our very first live episode! Join us at the Owl's Head Wine Bar with Henry Stewart as we do a book talk in front of a live "studio" audience! We'll chat about Henry's latest book, "How Bay Ridge Became Bay Ridge", which chronicles the history of the neighborhood from Nyack settlement to rural Dutch farmland to suburban neighborhood. We'll drink some wine, chat with the audience, and demolish a few persistent neighborhood myths along the way! Was "Bay Ridge" really a named in order to avoid association with Yellow Fever? How involved was Bay Ridge in the slave trade? How did our turn-of-the-century Athletics Clubs treat their female members? Why did the military occupy all of Shore Road Park during World War I? And where did our farmers get all their manure??? These are just a few of the topics we'll touch on as we go on a whirlwind tour of Bay Ridge's past. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Continuing from our last episode, we dig into the latest economic controversy in Bay Ridge: the proposed 3rd Avenue Bay Ridge BID. We already dug into what a BID actually does in our 5th Avenue BID episode in January... but how does a Business Improvement District actually happen in the first place? To find out, we invited members of the new 3rd Avenue BID steering committee to swing by the studio! We'll talk about the trials and tribulations of their attempt to transform the existing Merchants of 3rd Avenue group into a BID. We'll learn what their vision for the avenue is, address some concerns about what a BID might mean, and why they decided to make this change in the first place! We'll also learn a bit about why we might choose to oppose a BID... but more importantly, how we can break out of the binary narrative that currently exists around the economic future of Third Avenue.----Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook

The stores are closing! The Avenues are vacant! Or are they? Today, we're talking Storefront Vacancy rates.Join us as co-host Erik interviews our other co-host Dan, who has been walking around the neighborhood since January collecting some hyper-local data about our commercial vacancy rates. We'll learn what can lead us to think that there is a vacancy "crisis", what the actual numbers are, and how we can begin to move away from a narrative that centers the concerns of property owners and get back toward the concerns of mom-and-pop merchants. We'll also get a bit of data literacy about how storefront vacancy surveys are conducted, and how we classified and improved our data over time.----Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Bay Ridge is known for excellent schools... but how do we define excellence? On today's show education correspondent Erik Shell swings by the studio to talk about school metrics, and how they can help us demand better school policy. We'll look at the data we use to rank local schools, how to redefine the narrative around education, and what we can do to demand politicians develop more progressive policy platforms.We will also go over recent developments in educational policy for 2019, including the controversy around SHSAT and the Gifted and Talented program.----Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook

The progressive action group Fight Back Bay Ridge is one of the largest grassroots activist groups operating in the neighborhood. They've distributed yellow bags at the Summer Strolls to highlight climate change and pollution. They'be put on informational town halls. They've protested, they've educated, they've registered voters, they've cleaned up trash on the sidewalk. But today, we're going back to the very beginning: Election Night 2016.Sally was sitting in her Bay Ridge apartment, watching the election results that changed the course of the nation. But what she, her friends, and her family decided to do next changed the course of the neighborhood. Join us as we interview the first few members of Fight Back Bay Ridge about the early days of the group, how they got their name, and how they organized into what they are today. We'll also take a peek into what's next for the group, and how you can get involved.----Check out the show notes for background info and bonus materialBe sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook

Bay Ridge art galleries? Yes, they exist, and they're growing rapidly. Today on the show we are sitting down with local gallery impresarios Jeannine Bardo and Elena Soterakis. Jeannine is the founder of the Stand4 gallery on 78th street, and together they run the BioBAT Art Space a short walk north at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. We'll explore the origins of Bay Ridge's burgeoning art gallery movement, and take a peek behind the scenes of how a show is put together. Along the way we'll learn about the many local artists who are increasingly looking toward their own neighborhood for studio space. Finally we'll explore how science, activism, and environmentalism are woven throughout the local art scene! Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/episode/bay-…bike-network Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine podcasts are displayed and appreciated!

Half of the cyclist deaths so far this year in New York City have been in Southern Brooklyn. Bay Ridge and it's neighbors have historically lagged behind in cyclist safety improvements, while the rest of the city has seen major investment. But 2019 marks a turning point, as Bay Ridge will see it's first protected bike lane (that isn't inside a park), and a possible 53% increase in it's total bike lane mileage. That includes a massive 114% increase in it's dedicated bike lanes. Today on the show our longtime transit correspondent Brian Hedden gets to talk about his work with Bike South Brooklyn!, our local cycling advocacy group. We will break down the new bike lane proposals, how they work, and some of the misconceptions around the design. We also suggest a few improvements, and rate the overall proposal. Is it too much? Not enough? Listen in and find out! Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/episode/bay-ridge-bike-network Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever you get your podcasts for those long, relaxing bike rides down Shore Road (or those stressful ones everywhere else).

2019 is a critical year for every single renter in New York State. The state’s Rent Control laws expire this June, and we have a major opportunity to overhaul and reform our housing laws. Join activists Andrea Shapiro and Genna Goldsobel as we dig into the nine bills that comprise Universal Rent Control, analyze how they will affect Bay Ridge, and look into what bills our State legislators Andrew Gounardes and Mathylde Frontus support (and what they don't!). Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/rent-control-2019 Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever you get your podcasts while you're waiting for your super to finally show up and fix that leak in the ceiling.

Erik Shell interviews Yemeni-American organizer Rabyaah Althaibani about how the news media, past and present, has impacted Yemeni immigrants in Bay Ridge. We'll discuss how misinformation has fueled the Muslim Ban and the conflict in Yemen... and how a community is fighting to reclaim that narrative. Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/bodega-boycott-new-york-post Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever you get your podcasts, morning coffee, and a bagel (and certainly not the Post).

Today we sit down with the women who made 2018's South Brooklyn electoral blue wave a reality. Our panel discusses the importance of a ground game in politics, tips for canvassers, and what it's like to manage teams of volunteers and staff during an election year. Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/bay-ridge-field-organizing Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever kindly door knockers direct you to download your podcasts

Warning: On today's show, we curse a bit and briefly discuss violent traffic crashes and fatalities. It's a serious topic; listener discretion is advised. In our last episode, we promised to bring you a bigger, badder deep-dive into street safety! One of our most requested topics, Dan and Brian will take you on a whirlwind tour of as many street design concepts as they can fit into an hour and change, as well as a brief history on why Bay Ridge has lagged behind in innovation. Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/bay-ridge-street-safety Subscribe on iTunes or wherever podcasts get very pedantic about naming street design elements.

On today's episode, our transit correspondent Brian Hedden will dig into our local politicians' recent reaffirmation of the Vision Zero program, and what we can expect from the DOT in terms of traffic safety improvements in the near future. Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/bay-ridge-vision-zero Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever podcasts move freely along safe, road-dieted streets.

Bay Ridge is teeming with commercial possibilities, and is home to three major shopping avenues in close proximity. Today we’ll learn what it takes to help them flourish. We sat down with Amanda Zenteno, the Executive Director of the Bay Ridge 5th Avenue BID, or Business Improvement District. We’ll cover what a BID does and how it’s organized, and what services it provides to the businesses it serves. We also talk about keeping commercial corridors clean and dispelling misconceptions about vacant storefronts. Support your local businesses and have a listen! Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/bay-ridge-5th-avenue-bid Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever podcasts are distributed by friendly shopkeepers who always remember your name and your bagel order.

Welcome to 2019 and happy New Year! While we’re busy nursing our hangovers, we threw together a short episode for you. Chill out with us in our newly renovated studio as we reflect back on 2018! Plus, Rachel will reveal the results of our latest poll! What were your favorite episodes? What were ours? Find out, and get a sneak peek into the episodes we have planned for 2019! Be sure to check out our show notes and more at: www.radiofreebayridge.org/new-year-2019 Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever podcasts are thrown to the masses like confetti on a rainy Times Square New Years Eve celebration.

Our very first audio walking tour! Pop in your earbuds and head down to Owl's Head Park, where we'll join our guide, local historian and Hey Ridge editor Henry Stewart. We'll explore the history of the park and learn more about our neighborhood, it's people, and it's past. Be sure to check out our walking tour map and historic photos of things we discuss at: https://www.radiofreebayridge.org/owls-head-tour The music accompanying this tour was licensed from Audio Network and created by Paul Mottram. Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever miles of metaphorical digital bookshelves store the collective audio history of our planet for your listening pleasure.

Today we're bringing you interviews from Fight Back Bay Ridge's "Art of the Gerrymander" auction and art show. The show was a one-night fundraiser for the grassroots activist group. Rachel spoke throughout the night with local activists, artists, and neighbors about how arts and politics intersect, and to hear more about the issue of the day: our Gerrymandered district and how it affects our democracy. We'll learn more about what it's like to organize these events, how activism provides new senses of belonging and friendship, and how art can empower people to change their neighborhood. Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/art-of-the-gerrymander Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever bespoke podcasts are artfully designed and distributed to the masses.

On October 3rd, sixteen-year Republican State Senate incumbent Martin Golden faced off against second-time Democratic challenger Andrew Gounardes at a debate held at the Fort Hamilton Senior Center. Today, our co-host Dan will bring you there... and by popular demand, we will provide analysis and fact-checks between questions! Who prevailed? Who made the most misstatements? Was the moderator biased, as the Republicans claim? Who is the woman who Marty dismissed, claiming she had been ignored by his office for over 200 days? We'll get to the bottom of these questions, and more, in our first debate fact-check episode! Enjoy. Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/fact-check-golden-gounardes-debate Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever podcasts sneak quietly through the moonlit night.

Last year was the "Summer of Hell"... but how hellish was it? In this brand-new episode, we look Bay Ridge's transit ridership numbers with our local transit correspondent Brian Hedden. Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/bay-ridge-transit-2017 Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever you follow the plentiful populations of free-range migrating podcasts that occupy this world.

What do we do with a million dollars? That's the question we need to answer as we begin Bay Ridge's first Participatory Budgeting cycle. A people-driven grassroots process, we get to decide as a community how to allocate part of our own tax dollars. Learn what's involved in this mini-episode! Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/participatory-budgeting-bay-ridge Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever hyper-local podcasts roam free.

Welcome to Bay Ridge! Moving season is over, and we want to welcome our newest neighbors with a brief overview of our little corner of Brooklyn, complete with food, drink and event recommendations from the Radio Free Bay Ridge team, and ways to get plugged into the progressive community in the neighborhood. Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/welcome-to-bay-ridge-2018 Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever hyper-local podcasts can be seen fleetingly in the wild.

On today's episode, we'll bring you our recording of the June 6th, 2018 march in solidarity with Pablo Villavicencio Calderon. Pablo, a deliveryman, was arrested trying to deliver pizza to the Fort Hamilton Army Base. A few days after his detainment by ICE, neighbors organized, attended, and spoke at a rally in front of the Fort Hamilton Army Base. We'll bring you a narrative of the events that day with live recordings of the speeches given by neighbors, politicians, and activists. Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/march-for-pablo-villavicencio-calderon Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever hyper-local podcasts can be seen fleetingly in the wild.

Today we sit down to chat with Mathylde Frontus, running for New York’s 46th State Assembly District. The district covers the southern portion of Bay Ridge. Mathylde is a nonprofit director, scholar, and organizer who grew up in Coney Island. She has focused her life and studies on Social Services, mental health, community organizing and education. She's also been a major component of the anti-violence initiatives going on in Coney Island. We'll also dig into what is driving Mathylde’s candidacy: a desire to systematically reform government. This includes improving community feedback (by creating new mechanisms such as a community think-tank), encouraging residents to become more aware of their government (by creating new civic workshops to help people run for office), and by pushing for more transparency in the Albany budget process to uncover corruption and improve accountability. We also discuss specific issues, such as education and mental health services. Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/ Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine, hyper-local organic podcasts are lovingly grown.

Today, Rachel and Dan sit down with Andrew Gounardes to talk about his campaign to win the Democratic nomination for New York's 22nd State Assembly District, which includes Bay Ridge and a huge chunk of Southern Brooklyn. If he wins the primary, he’ll be squaring off against Republican incumbent Martin J Golden, the lone Brooklyn Republican in the State Senate who has gerrymandered the district in his favor. We’ll talk with Andrew about his life in public service, as well as Mr. Golden’s inability to solve perennial problems in the neighborhood. We also discuss reforming New York State’s archaic voting laws, how to get engaged in civic life, improving neighborhood transportation options and street safety. We also chat about property taxes and housing reform, including giving the city control over rent laws and making it easier to own a home. Andrew also discusses his proposal for a major South Brooklyn waterfront park, connecting and expanding the green spaces along the Narrows and Gravesend Bay! Show notes are available at www.radiofreebayridge.org/ Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine hand-crafted locally-sourced artisan podcasts are sold.

Today, Rachel and Dan are sitting down and talking with Ross Barkan, who's running for the 22nd New York State Senate District, currently occupied by Republican incumbent Martin J Golden. Ross is a former journalist and was briefly a teacher at Fort Hamilton High School. He's been a longtime political reporter, with an in-depth knowledge of Albany politics and brings a unique, insightful perspective on how to fix a corrupt and often unresponsive political system. We'll go over exactly what a State Senator does and how Albany dysfunction affects Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. We'll also get into the weeds on specific transportation, education and climate-change policy proposals for the neighborhood, like an exciting new commuter rail line running through the heart of the district, reducing student debt burdens, and tidal protections for the next superstorm.

Today Radio Free Bay Ridge is sitting down with Ahmed Mansour, a budding documentary filmmaker. We'll explore the story behind his upcoming film "Brooklyn, Inshallah" which covers last years City Council run by Khader El-Yateem, and more importantly, the community that turned out to support him. We also discuss what's next for Ahmed as an artist, and how he perceives Bay Ridge from the point of view of being a simultaneous outsider and insider. Show notes are available at http://www.radiofreebayridge.org/2018/05/07/brooklyn-inshallah/ Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine local podcasts are sold.

Get ready for our biggest episode yet! Five local activists cram into our tiny study to fill in the gaps of our NY11 Congressional Democratic Primary coverage. We heard from the candidates, now it's your turn! We'll cover transit, the environment, women's health issues and family leave, campaign finance, the primary fundraising process, and much more! We also check in on local news and events for the coming week. Show notes are available at http://www.radiofreebayridge.org/2018/04/24/congressional-contenders-finale/ Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine local podcasts are sold.

The #MarchForOurLives movement isn't just some nebulous national event. Right here in our neighborhood, local students are organizing and demanding answers from us and our elected officials. Today, we sit down with John Papanier, who helped organize the recent Staten Island Town Hall For Our Lives. We spoke about what it is like to be a part of the #MarchForOurLives movement and what barriers are in place in our own community that are stifling the conversation. This movement is just getting warmed up. Show notes are available at http://www.RadioFreeBayRidge.org/2018/04/12/john-papanier-staten-island-town-hall-for-our-lives/ Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine local podcasts are sold.

Bay Ridge is a neighborhood of immigrants. Even when Bay Ridge was not much more than farmland on the Narrows, we have been a landing spot for numerous waves cultures and ethnicities. Bay Ridge doesn't exist in a bubble, so today we are breaking our hyper-local-only format to discuss the international affairs that affect our neighbors. Today, were going to learn about the longstanding Yemeni community in Bay Ridge. With our guest Rabyaah Althaibani, we'll get some background on what is happening to Yemenis across the world and how it affects their loved ones here in our community. Show notes are available at www.RadioFreeBayRidge.org Subscribe on iTunes at itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/radio-free-bay-ridge/ or wherever fine local podcasts are sold.

On our final Congressional Contenders interview, we are happy to talk with Radhakrishna Mohan, a civic leader and Executive Board member of the New York State Public Employees Federation. Mohan discussed his lifelong Union background, both in India and Staten Island, and his experience organizing on a state-wide level. We talked about the role Unions play in being a watchdog for dangerous federal policies, and how a Unionist congressman can bring together Unions to fight for more organizing power. We also discussed how investing in high-tech jobs and infrastructure can help balance our ballooning public debt and federal trade imbalances, how to combat the Opioid crisis on Staten Island, and how we can position Staten Island and Brooklyn to reinvent itself with new cultural institutions and tourism. Check out of full show notes and subscribe at www.radiofreebayridge.org