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Bay Ridge is an interesting neighborhood with quiet residential areas, plenty of recreational activities, shops, and restaurants. The homes in Bay Ridge cover a wide spectrum of styles and prices. The housing here is mostly made up of single family homes on tree-lined streets, but there are also a lot of co-ops and some apartments. It's very safe; the neighbors in Bay Ridge are friendly and look out for each other. The population is mainly Italian, Greek, and Irish, but there are a good number of Arabic speaking residents as well. It also has a huge elderly population because this is a town where people stay their whole lives.
There is no shortage of things to do with lots of restaurants that serve ethnic foods, nice parks, and a lovely pier where people fish. Most of the action takes place on 86th street, and there are more than one hundred bars in this town. While there are subway stations and an express bus in Bay Ridge, the commute to Manhattan is lengthy. Drivers have easy access to major highways, but parking can be challenging. Most people, especially the senior will walk to their destination. The lack of parking adds to the problem. It does not make sense to move the car when there is no parking available. Some houses have created their own parking spaces by making a space in the front yard
Upon walking down 86th street, the street is lined with every kind of store you would expect to find in a mall in suburban America: Century 21, McDonald's, 86 Noodles, Star Bucks, Duane Reade, Bank of America, Washington Mutual, The Avenue Park Bank, Citi Bank, HSBC Bank, Verizon Wireless, T-mobile, Sprint, AT&T, Cingular Wireless, Gap, Unite Colors of Benton, New York and Company, Cohen's Fashion Optical, Circuit City, Game Stop, NY sports club, Radio Shack. On a typical afternoon, you can see schoolgirls in parochial Catholic uniforms, young Jewish Orthodox mothers pushing baby carriages, and Muslim women wearing head scarves and long robes.
Bay Ridge is home to one of the biggest populations of seniors in the New York State. Bay Ridge is also described as a naturally-occurring retirement community because many of its families have grown-up in the neighborhood and continue to live in at home while they raised their family. These seniors are vulnerable population. Intervention plan for actual or potential elder abuse and neglect is essential to ensure the safety and health of older adults in any home or clinical setting. Involving elders in elderly abuse prevention is essential because older people are sensitive to potential loss of independence, and involving them increases a sense of independence. Maintaining independence, optimal functioning and encouraging socialization can decreasing social isolation and prevent elder abuse.
History:
The community of Bay Ridge is bounded by 69th street to 101th street to the west from Shore Road to 7th Avenue to the north. The Bay Ridge area is very old, the Dutch bought the Bay Ridge area from the Nyack Indians in 1652 and developed it as a farming community which was then called Yellow Hook due to the yellow clay that was found in the soil. It was given the name Bay Ridge in 1853 because it was close to the New York Bay and had great views from the street which is now known as Ridge Boulevard. The view attracted high class wealthy people who wanted to build homes along the shore; many of these homes still stand today and are some are worth millions of dollars.
Many Norwegian and Danish sailors settled in Bay Ridge in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There are still many Norwegian people living in Bay Ridge today. There is an annual Norwegian Parade that runs along 5th avenue.
Demographics:
The population of Bay Ridge has grown over the past ten years, but current census data is not available yet. In 2000 there were 69,840 people living in Bay Ridge, 33,435 were male and 36,405 female. It doesn’t appear that there is much of a homeless or transient population in Bay Ridge. Bay Ridge today is not homogenous, it is mostly made up of Irish, Italian, Greek, Russian, Polish and Arabians with some Syrian and Lebanese starting to move in. Bay Ridge is a predominantly white neighborhood. The median age in Bay Ridge is 38.34 years of age.
Ethnicity:
Residents of bay ridge are from an array of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Walking down streets and you will see various ethnic groups and hear many different languages spoken.
The ethnic background of the people is broken down as follows: There are a very high percentage of whites, 78.2% and very few backs 1.6%. The next biggest groups are the Asians 10.1%. The newest immigrant group is Arabic, 10.8% of the population. The ethnic diversity of the community is reflected in the proliferation of international restaurants and bars that have sprouted along Third Avenue. Bay Ridge still boasts a heavy concentration of Norwegians, Greeks, Italians and Irish-Americans; newer residents migrating from nearby Sunset Park have roots in Asian, Latin and Middle Eastern countries, as well as Eastern Europe. A large Muslim population calls Bay Ridge home. There are many Catholic churches and parochial schools, a fair number of Protestant ones, synagogue and a few low-key mosques. You can find Italian, Chinese, Polish and Mideast foods on the same block. You may even find some small "hookah bars". All the groups get along very well.
Values and Beliefs:
There are a lot of churches in Bay Ridge many of which are catholic churches. We observed one mosque and few temples. Many people in Bay Ridge have statues of the Virgin Mary or other religious figures. People in Bay Ridge seem to take pride in their homes and have beautiful groomed lawns and/or flowers planted in the front yard. There are also many residents of Bay Ridge that fly the American Flag outside their homes. Bay Ridge is home to the Harbor Defense Museum located in Fort Hamilton. It is a historic land mark that was built in the 19th century.
There seem to be a lot of bars located in Bay Ridge which can be a negative behavior of the culture. Children in Bay Ridge attend public schools as well as a number of catholic and Christian schools which instill strict old fashioned values.
Physical environment:
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City in the borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park on the north, Seventh Avenue and Dyker Heights on the east, The Narrows Strait, which partially houses the Belt Parkway, on the west and the Verrazano bridge on the south. The acre of land used in Bay Ridge as at today is 2,585.4 and 4.0 Square mile. There a decent amount of green areas. Kids can stretch out and enjoy 83 kids per acre of parkland - the most green space per child in Brooklyn.
The homes are tightly zoned, the Bay Ridge Special Zoning District was established in 1978 to maintain housing constructs at three stories on residential street and no greater than eight stories on Avenues. Because vacant lots are almost nonexistent in Bay Ridge, most of the new housing comes from renovated apartment buildings. Scattered throughout Bay Ridge, however, are pockets of new development, usually three-story, and three-family town houses.
Majority of the resident are family oriented and spiritual. The people who live here know their neighbors and are often found socializing with each other. The houses are attached row houses, mostly one or two family lime stone or brownstones. Fourth Avenue is mostly large multi-family apartment building and churches. Bay Ridge homes have stoops and porches in front and many people like to sit outside on the porch when the weather permits, catching up with current happenings on the block and around the neighborhood. Many streets have block associations which help to improve problems such as pot holes and also have an annual block party where everyone comes out to have fun.

Health and Social Services:
There is only one hospital in Bay Ridge, Veterans Administrative Hospital located at 800 Poly Place. This is a problem for the community because they only treat veterans. Victory Memorial Hospital was utilized in the past but has been closed for several years. It is now home to Downstate Medical Center’s, outpatient clinics and urgent care. The Lutheran Medical Center on 52nd street and 2nd avenue is where Bay Ridge residents are taken in an emergency. The Bay Ridge Volunteer Ambulance (BRAV0) is available in an emergency and is free of charge. It survives on personal donations and community funding. There are plenty of private practice, group practice and specialty practice medical offices in the area. Bay Ridge Parkway or 75th street as it is known to the locals has been referred as Doctor’s Row. There are several diagnostic office and laboratory services available. There is a walk in medical office Treat & Release on Third Avenue. The only caveat is that most resident would need health insurance to utilize these offices. The uninsured would present to the emergency room at Lutheran Medical Center. There is one assisted living residence The St. Nicholas Home.
Currently there are four senior centers in Bay Ridge area. Fourth Avenue Presbyterian Senior Citizen Organization on 67TH and 4th Avenue, Bay Ridge Center for older adult, Fort Hamilton Senior Center 99th street and Fort Hamilton Parkway. Three churches also sponsor senior programs but not on the same scale as the centers. The center offers hot meal daily, activities and trips and also nutrition and health prevention program. The services at the church are more of a social gathering offering tea, coffee, bingo and cards. The church programs are only once a week, the center functions on a weekly schedule. There are three food pantries and one soup kitchen in the area.
Sanitation:
The Department of Sanitation provides regularly scheduled curbside and containerized refuse collection services for every residential household, public school, public building and many large institutions in Bay ridge. Curbside sites are collected either two or three times per week and containerized sites are collected from one to three times per week, depending upon individual need, which is based on population density.
Other garbage collection is removal of recycling. The recycling collection operation consists of several programs: curbside collection, containerized collection, school night truck collections, bulk metal recycling, tire disposal, special waste sites, leaf and Christmas tree collection, and chlorofluorocarbon (C.F.C.) evacuation.
The Owls Head Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP) serves an area of approximately 12,638 acres in Western Brooklyn, including the communities of Bay Ridge. The total sewer length, including sanitary, combined, and interceptor sewers, that feeds into the Owls Head WPCP is 471 miles. The neighborhood is entirely served by the Sewer Facility with neither cesspools nor drywells. The sludge from the waste treatment are collected and deposited in an approved NYC Landfill.
Three types of diseases are associated with improper sewage disposal. They are Cholera, Yellow Fever, and Typhoid Fever. Bay Ridge has not experience these diseases because of improved treatment and waste disposal methods.
Economy:
There are 1,841 businesses in Bay Ridge, employing 15,207 people with an annual payroll of $1,000 - $572,459.00. 86th Street was Bay Ridge’s First Business Improvement District. It has now attracted popular retail chains such as Gap, Children’s Place, Benetton, Game Stop, Foot Locker, Modell’s, PayLess, Aerosoles, Circuit City, Radio Shack and PC Richard Sons which facilitates many employment for the citizens. .Many Bay Ridge commuters opt for the relative comfort and convenience of the express bus to Manhattan, where most of them work. Bay Ridge also is readily accessible by car, encircled by the Belt Parkway and Gowanus Expressway
The majority of the Bay Ridge citizens are white - collar workers about 12,138 while Blue - collar workers are around 3084. The median cost of a home in Bay Ridge is around $244,230.
Resources:
Resources from Bay Ridge vary; some come from Private and Government sources. For example, residents get their salaries or pension from social security benefit, while banks, real estates, business enterprises, restaurants, taxis ,school ,university, malls provide monetary resources by paid salaries, orders or businesses transactions.
Transportation and Safety:
Bay Ridge is a neighborhood that is easy to get around in thanks to service provides by the Metropolitan transportation agency (MTA) to the entire community to accommodate commuters via mass transportation. For example, From Manhattan by mass transit, take the R train going Down Town or express bus X 27 from down town Manhattan or express bus X 37 travel midtown. There is the B70 MTA bus that runs along 4th Avenue; which mainly serves for the commute to Manhattan, but also runs during off-peak hours on weekdays. Additionally, there is the R train on Fourth Avenue that runs from 69th street to 95th street, but the subway steps may be an issue for some of the older or handicapped residents since there is no elevator or escalator in the train station. There are five local car services in the area. The closest airport is JFK airport. Bay Ridge is patrolled by Hundred auxiliary policemen attached to the NYPD's 68th Precinct and can be reach at 7184394211 which is composed of constable, sergeant, detective captain and superintendent. While some policemen patrol bay ridge on foot; other use a cars and helicopter for patrol. Beside that; Shops employed well train private security officers to protect their goods from shoplifter; among them are Metro one security firm that cover Barnes and nobles book store, Summit security that protect Verizon asset. Like in any community, some shoplifter, arm robber, pick pocket and gangster can be found in Bay Ridge. Bay Ridge is the safest place in New York where it residents are satisfy with the reduction of crime and it is rank 7th among the safest in New York.
The fire department of New York Engine 241, Engine 242, and Ladder 109
Serve Bay Ridge in case of emergency and is the best rapid response team in the city.
Among Bay Ridge natural resources is the Bay Ridge River and beaches.
Politics and Government:
The geographic district of Community Board Ten of Brooklyn encompasses the three neighborhoods of Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Fort Hamilton. The current Chairwoman is Joanne Seminara. Brooklyn Community Board Ten meets on the third Monday of each month, except during January and February when, due to holidays on the third Monday, they meet on the fourth Monday of the month. The Board does not normally meet during July and August unless the need for a special Board Meeting arises. Community Boards in general have three distinct areas of focus - land use, budget and service delivery. Democrat is the dominant political party. All meetings are open to the public. In an attempt to maximize accessibility, the general meetings are held at different locations within the district. The citizens are actively involved by applied to be members of Community Boards and participate in the meeting.
Communications:
People in Bay Ridge obtain information from newspapers, televisions, radios, meeting groups, web sites and federal agencies. There are 3-4 newspapers in Brooklyn that provide news and events in Bay Ridge. Formal communications include all forms of media, including newspaper, television, radio, telephone and the internet. While informal communications tend to occur at post offices, local café, recreational centers, barber shops and so on. The media can be effectively used to influence the health of a community. There are groups of certain activities in Bay Ridge such as The Bay Ridge Walking group and Bay Ridge Book Club. They exchange information and arrange the meeting by using the website (www.meetup.com). There is no particular television station for Bay Ridge community. However, there are many television stations in New York City that provide local news and information for New Yorker, including Bay Ridge residences, such as NY1 News. There are many radio stations that provide information for New Yorkers, including Bay Ridge residences. Media in Bay Ridge community provide the residences news, information, events, etc. Useful information can be offered to people even when they are at homes or workplaces. Also, gathering people to get involved in activities is getting easier by using media, such as forum on the web site. There is a Disaster Assistance Service Center is located at 552 59th Street, Bay Ridge, that provide information about disaster. Residences in Bay Ridge can also get information at www.fema.gov or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA (3362).
Education:
Bay Ridge is famous for its excellent schools, both public and private. There are 18 schools in Bay Ridge community. There are pre-schools which include four Catholic, one Lutheran, three private and four public. High schools include two public and three private. Schools like Polytech Prep and the High School of Telecommunications offer diverse curriculums that focus on excellent technical knowledge as well as the development of character. The Xaverian High School offers one of the few International Baccalaureate programs in NYC. All schools have nurse and health care workers available. Health is promoted within the schools by teaching students about adequate nutrition, exercise and hand hygiene. The residents of Bay Ridge are well educated. Eighty-two percent graduated from high school and 35.5% have a bachelor’s degree. This is much higher than the national average of 80.4% and 24.4% respectively. (www.factinders2census.gov). Some schools need electrical upgrades to meet the challenges of the increased capacity and to keep up with technological equipment necessary for proper learning.
Recreation:
Bay Ridge has a number of wonderful parks and recreational facilities. Owls Head, which was originally E.W. Bliss estate. Shore Road oak goes from the 69th street pier all the way along the Shore until the Verrazano Bridge. There is a bicycle path along the water where families or residents can walk, run, ride their bikes, fish or just watch the water. The Narrows Botanical Garden is run by volunteers and hosts an annual pumpkin patch and animal costume contest for local residents. The facilities are kept safe by the parks and recreation workers and are used all the time. The parks are very safe.

References
Abuse of Seniors: A Growing Epidemic Retrieved April 18th, 2012 from http://www.pinewswire.net/article/abuse-of-seniors-a-growing-epidemic/ American psychology Association Retrieved April 16st, 2012 from http://www.apa.org/pi/aging/index.aspx
Bay Ridge Community Council Retrieved March 8th, 2012 from http://www.bayridgecommunitycouncil.com/
Bay Ridge Community: Service Retrieved March 6th, 2012 from http://bayridge.com/community/services.php Brooklyn Demographics (2007-2009) Retrieved from http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/census/puma_demo_07to09_acs.pdf#bk10
Department of City Planning. 2000. Brooklyn Community District 10. Land Use Retrieved March 20th, 2012. From http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/pdf/lucds/bk10profile.pdf#land_use Elder Abuse and Neglect Warning Signs, Risk Factors, Prevention, and Help Retrieved April 16th, 2012. From http://www.helpguide.org/mental/elder_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm National Center on Elder Abuse Administration Retrieved March 1st, 2012 from http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/NCEAroot/Main_Site/About/Initiatives/Join_Us_Campaign.aspx New York Police Department. Retrieved March 29th, 2012 from http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/precincts/precinct_068.shtml New York City Parks and Recreation:Owls Head Park Retrieved March 20th, 2012 from www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/historical-signs/listings?id=151
The Bay Ridge Center Retrieved March 10th 2012 from http://www.bethlehembayridge.org/brc.html