Radio Free Bay Ridge

Meet Kayla Santosuosso, who's running for City Council in Bay Ridge. Our councilmember is our most important local elected official. Handling quality-of-life issues for the neighborhood, they are our advocate in city government and budgeting. And for the first time in nearly eight years, there is an open election with no incumbent. Our current Councilmember, Justin Brannan, is term-limited and can't seek re-election.  So Kayla, a longtime neighborhood activist, small-business owner, and friend of the podcast, has jumped into the race. Join us as Kayla discusses some of her interests, goes through her lengthy qualifications, and gives a few hints at what she has planned for Bay Ridge if she wins the primary in June and the General Election in November. ---- Check out the show notes for background info and bonus material Be sure to follow us on Bluesky, Facebook, and Instagram for more news and analysis!

Meet Ingeborg Andreas Blundell: Bay Ridge's midwife, nurse, and abortionist for over a half-century. Practicing from the 1910's through to the 1960's, Ingeborg was a Jordmor: a Norwegian midwife. Operating out of her apartment on 92nd street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, she oversaw a private clinic for women's reproductive health: delivering babies, caring for mothers, and, illegally providing abortions. Her story has been lost to history, until today. Join Rachel as she interviews co-host Dan about his never-before-revealed research into the hidden history of reproductive rights in Bay Ridge, spanning over a hundred years. Along the way we'll reveal how an entire apartment of working-class Bay Ridgeites defended an immigrant healthcare provider in court. We will discuss how the Norwegian feminist movement and radical Communist healthcare providers educated a trailblazing midwife. And we'll discuss tragedy, tribulation, and hope in the face of an increasingly chauvinist legal and medical establishment. It's a story about how, in defiance of the law, women's reproductive rights has always been a key component of Bay Ridge's identity. Content Warning: This episode features in-depth discussions of abortion, as well as references to maternal mortality, pregnancy complications, and infant mortality. ---- 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!

The Bay Ridge Environmental Group is one of the largest and most active groups to emerge out of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bay Ridge. Consisting of an ever-changing array of volunteers, it has gone on to not only beautify our local parks and playgrounds, but also advocate for cleaner and more equitable transit, better funding for green spaces, and much, much more. But every seed needs to be watered and cared for. Today, we sit down in our studio with Danny Loud, one of the founders of the Bay Ridge Environmental Group, as we dig deep into what has made the group so successful. We'll learn about the early years, the first cleanups, and the key partnerships that have made the group what it is today: and what the future holds as Bay Ridge steps up to tackle climate change. Along the way, we'll discover that not everyone is happy about having cleaner parks. There's been inexplicable opposition, but BREG. has emerged all the stronger for it, supported by constant action, responsive decision-making, and a friendly come-and-go-as-you-please style of membership. Join us as we kick off our second season of Radio Free Bay Ridge, explore the origins of the Bay Ridge Environmental Group, and welcome our newest official contributor to the podcast, Danny Loud! ---- 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!

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!

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!