Brooklyn, New York contains a lot of world-famous neighborhoods that became iconic stand-ins for the borough as being a result of television and movies. Two such “nabes” are Dyker Heights and Bay Ridge. Dyker Heights is most famous these days for its annual display of Christmas lights and decorations, erected by residents on their own initiative.
A community tradition that spontaneously began sometime within the 1980s, the practice continues without any type of organization whatsoever to this day. Stories in the press and other media came to generate even additional participants, and now, above three decades later, Christmas displays is what Dyker Heights is best recognized for around the planet.
It was originally conceived being a premier suburb for New York’s middle and upper middle-classes, and still remains one on the city’s toniest enclaves, with bucolic streets and well-kept properties. No longer predominantly Italian-American, it has also become house to numerous Asians, especially the Chinese. Similar demographic trends have reshaped Bay Ridge, which, in addition to Chinese people, can count a sizeable Middle Eastern presence, having a tiny but active Muslim religious community.
Also typically quiet, though not as bucolic with less trees, Bay Ridge can occasionally contain the nearby community of Fort Hamilton, which may be the location with the few cultural attractions there are in an otherwise residential bedroom community. The area abounds in parks, nonetheless, and can be a short distance away from those in adjacent neighborhoods like Bath Beach and Bensonhurst. Indeed, the views around the Verrazano Narrows are majestic, and Bay Ridge had also once served being a rich man’s summer retreat.
For an idea of Old Brooklyn, as lived by generations of ordinary folks, a visit to Bay Ridge is in order. There is really a charm about the place which is tough to describe and easy to get sentimental over, but it can be a feeling that defines what it means to be from Brooklyn.
