Episodes
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
On The Ground for 2020
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
Tuesday Dec 31, 2019
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.
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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!
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
How Bay Ridge Became Bay Ridge
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
Tuesday Nov 19, 2019
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.
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Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
The 3rd Avenue Bay Ridge BID
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
Sunday Nov 03, 2019
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.
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Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Monday Oct 14, 2019
No Vacancy
Monday Oct 14, 2019
Monday Oct 14, 2019
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.
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Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Monday Sep 23, 2019
Using Data to Demand Better Schools
Monday Sep 23, 2019
Monday Sep 23, 2019
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.
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Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Monday Aug 05, 2019
The Origins of Fight Back Bay Ridge
Monday Aug 05, 2019
Monday Aug 05, 2019
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.
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Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material
Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Crafting Bay Ridge's Art Galleries
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
Sunday Jul 14, 2019
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!
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Expanding Bay Ridge’s Bike Network
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
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).
Friday May 03, 2019
Universal Rent Control Demystified
Friday May 03, 2019
Friday May 03, 2019
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.
Saturday Apr 27, 2019
The Bodega Boycott
Saturday Apr 27, 2019
Saturday Apr 27, 2019
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).