Local pols debuts Bay Ridge digs

Constituents far and wide gathered on Saturday, September 20 to celebrate the grand opening of Councilmember Vincent Gentile’s brand new district office – a hop, skip and a jump from one busy Bay Ridge strip to another – nestled between two busy Fifth Avenue businesses.

“I get a Fifth Avenue address!” exclaimed Gentile, surrounded in his new office space by dozens of donated dishes from local bakeries and restaurants. “I appreciate everybody coming out today to our big open house.”

Finally settled in from their summer move, Gentile and his staff were more than ready to debut their new digs.

“We’ve been graced with a nice new space complete with a full conference room – something we’ve never had before – and enough space for our constituent workers and our constituents to come in and feel comfortable,” said Gentile who served for over 10 years from the corner of Third Avenue and 87^thStreet. “I think it’s set up for better constituent service.”

On top of a shiny new space, Gentile’s staff has added extra hours to their Wednesday workdays.

“We also have four hours at the Bay Ridge Green Market on Saturdays, so we try to cover as much of the week as possible for anyone who needs to reach out to us,” he said, praising the community – Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights and Bath Beach all included – for making his time spent at the district office so pleasurable.

“I’m excited about this,” said the councilmember, pointing to trays of free food provided by local eateries like Salty Dog, Cebu Bar & Bistro, The Kettle Black, Al-Safa Restaurant, Villabate Alba, Bagel Boy, Chopstix, Balady Foods, and more. “This is what makes Bay Ridge and the rest of the district a great place to be, because it’s a community. It’s a small community in a big city and everyone comes together.”

Gentile was joined by Assemblymembers Alec Brook-Krasny and Felix Ortiz as well as Borough President Eric Adams, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carlo Scissura.