A Look Back: The Bay Ridge Towers

In 1972, when the Bay Ridge Towers were built, was a watershed moment in the neighborhood’s history. The huge development — seen here under construction in a photo from the files of this newspaper — created a de facto border for the community at 65th Street, where previously it had extended into what we now call Sunset Park. It also jump-started the movement to protect the community’s scale and small town feel. Out of the controversy stirred by the development (along with Shore Hill) came the Special Bay Ridge District, which was put in place in 1978 and imposed height limits as well as density restrictions on new construction in the neighborhood.

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