16 JULY 21 - JULY 27, 2017 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP
First of four Summer Strolls
thrives despite wet weather
BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK
MMCGOLDRICK
BROOKLYNREPORTER.COM
Despite some wet weather,
crowds came out on
Friday, July 14 to revel
in the fi rst of four Summer
Strolls this season.
The event — a part of the
Merchants of Third Avenue's
Sixth Annual Summer Stroll
— once again transformed Bay
Ridge's Third Avenue into an
epicenter of cultural exhibitions,
performances, local
merchants and more.
Friday's Stroll spanned
from 80th Street to 90th Street
where vehicular tra c was
closed from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
to accommodate the festivities
which, according to organizer
Ilene Sacco, went on despite the
forecast.
"It went really, really well
considering it was pretty much
monsooning a couple of hours
before it started," said Sacco. "I
never thought we were going
to pull it o ."
Still, Sacco said, thousands
of people hit the pavement for
the fi rst Stroll of the summer.
"There were parts that were
so crowded, you couldn't see
anything but people," she
recalled. "It was really, really
cool."
The event, she said, serves
more than one purpose.
"I think Summer Stroll is
just an awesome event," Sacco
said. "I think it gets people out,
it helps the businesses and it
helps the community."
As part of Summer Stroll’s
welcoming environment,
many of the restaurants on
Third Avenue o ered outdoor
seating and — despite some
drizzles here and there — the
majority of the scheduled entertainers'
shows went on. "At
3:30 it was pouring rain and
somehow, by 6:30, the gods of
the Stroll were with us and it
cleared up," Sacco said, looking
forward to the festival's
second installment, coming
up this Friday.
Summer Stroll will take
place between 68th Street and
80th Street on July 21 and August
11 and between 80th Street
and 90th Street again on August
4, . For more information,
visit summerstrollon3rd.com.
BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/
Photos by Arthur de Gaeta
Emily and Cailyn Ryan. Anna and Jess Rathkoph.
The Cosmos had a table at the
Stroll.
Aaliyah
Colon.
Chip Ca ero, Bob Howe, Diana
Howe and Chuck Otey.
Restaurants created outdoor
cafes for the evening.
Outside the Bookmark Shoppe.