Sixth Annual Summer Stroll coming back to Third Avenue soon

Get ready to stroll!

The Merchants of Third Avenue will host the Sixth Annual Summer Stroll on four nights in July and August, once again transforming Bay Ridge’s Third Avenue into an epicenter of cultural exhibitions, performances, local merchants and more.

Thousands of Brooklynites are expected to attend Summer Stroll, which will see a different section of Third Avenue closed off to vehicular traffic from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. depending on the night. Attendees will be encouraged to walk up and down the avenue, celebrating one of Bay Ridge’s most valuable public spaces.

According to Summer Stroll organizer Chip Cafiero, celebrants will have even more room to stroll, since the number of blocks closed will be extended this year.

“It’s the biggest Summer Stroll. Nobody gets crowds like we get on Third Avenue,” said Cafiero. “It keeps everyone together. Ninety percent of the people there are from the community and the other 10 percent were once Ridgeites, so it’s very tight knit. When I walk down there, I recognize everyone.”

As part of Summer Stroll’s welcoming environment, many of the restaurants on Third Avenue will have outdoor seating. Live entertainment will be available in the form of a stage setup for local performers, a six-to-eight-person New Orleans-style marching band and more.

“It’s a block party for all of Bay Ridge,” said Robert Howe, president of the Merchants of Third Avenue.” “It’s an opportunity for the residents to celebrate what a vibrant community we are, see each other in a setting we might not otherwise meet each other and just to link up the importance of a strong commercial strip with an equally strong residential community.”

“If it was up to us we’d have it on all 30-plus blocks,” said Howe.

Summer Stroll will take place between 80th Street and 90th Street on July 14 and August 4, and between 68th Street and 80th Street on July 21 and August 11. For more information, visit summerstrollon3rd.com.

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