Bath Beach, Brooklyn

Located in southwestern Brooklyn, Bath Beach was once a Hamptons-like summer resort community for New York's powerful and elite. There isn't an actual beach there anymore; it was paved over to make a highway, but the residents still enjoy access to great recreational areas like Bath Beach Playground and the waterfront promenade located next to the Belt Parkway. Decorated with an ocean motif, the playground has lovely gardens, playground equipment for children, basketball courts, and roller hockey courts. The town's businesses are mostly small family shops and some chain stores. However, there are big-box stores like Best Buy and Toys R Us nearby at Caesar's Bay. The population in Bath Beach has also changed a lot over the years. Although it was once a predominantly German and Italian town, Bath Beach now has a far more diverse immigrant population of Hispanic, Chinese, Arab, and Russian immigrants. The main problems with living in Bath Beach include the noise from the elevated subway trains that pass through the town and the long commute to Manhattan. While public transportation options are numerous and diverse, the commute is still pretty time consuming. Overall, this is a fairly typical suburban community that boasts affordable housing and a peaceful environment.

Bath Beach is primarily a working class neighborhood with semi-attached houses and small apartment houses. Bath Beach has recently become an extremely diverse ethnic community with many Chinese, Arabic, and Russian immigrants as well as native born Italian and German Americans. As a result of the immigration, the neighborhood contains quite a variety of family owned and operated businesses. There are a few chain stores but for the most part small family owned commerce prevails. Caesar’s Bay Shopping Center provides most of the retail chain stores.

Some other neighborhood amenities include the 19-acre Bensonhurst Park, the waterfront walkway, and the New Utrecht branch of the Brooklyn Library. Transportation will get you anywhere in Bath Beach. The D and M trains make several stops in the area, and local buses run throughout the neighborhood. Even the express bus will get you into Lower and Midtown Manhattan.

There are two public elementary schools in the area. Middle school students attend I.S. 201 in Dyker Heights. There are two parochial schools serving children from pre-K to the eighth grade. High school students can attend either Lafayette High School or New Utrecht High School.

Bath Beach is much greener and more dense than other Brooklyn neighborhoods. It has everything one might need in a community and then some, as Manhattan is not far away.

Bath Beach is located in the borough of Brooklyn, New York and is bordered by Gravesend Bay, New Utrecht, Dyker Beach Park, and Gravesend, not to mention near to the famous Coney Island.

The history of Bath Beach included an actual beach, but today, that beach has been covered by the Shore Parkway, leaving behind a somewhat harsh appearance. Residents and visitors can still enjoy the nearby beaches however. The neighborhood is comprised of apartment buildings and family owned businesses and is home to a mainly immigrant-based population of Irish, Italian, and Chinese descent.

The commercial street in this neighborhood 86th Street is filled with small boutiques and lower quality stores and some locally owned restaurants. A “good fellas” vibe still remains in the neighborhood, though drowned in changing times and styles, heavily impacted by the new ethnic groups calling Bath Beach home. Bath Avenue at one time used to house several popular restaurants and stores, but with time, has become a less desirable location to spend leisure time. A nice place to spend a day in this neighborhood is the Oceanview Tennis Center at 9000 Bay Parkway, though membership is a requirement.

Transportation can be a bit of a headache, with the slower D and M trains servicing the area. Some consider the best route to be the R train to the 86th Street stop followed by the B64 bus one stop to 86th Street and Bath Avenue.

Real Estate in Bath Beach is not as desirable as in the other waterfront neighborhoods of Brooklyn, with the average price to rent or sublet ranging from$500 to $1,200 and the average cost by buy beginning at $300,000. Mainly available are small apartment buildings and small free-standing homes, as well as condominiums.

Though to some a neighborhood long past its prime, Bath Beach, named for the beautiful Bath, England still has its highlights.

Places to Dine in Bath Beach:
Pino's Italian Restaurant, Pizzeria and Catering
2025 Bath Ave.
Hollywood Tans
1875 86th St.
Tommaso Restaurant
1464 86th St.
Villa Paradiso
1969 Bath Avenue

Hmmm… I’m not so sure I should direct this review at tourists, as it’s highly unlikely they’ll end up in such a place as Bath Beach. However, if say, either your Aunt Marie or Anastasiya lives here and you’ve decided to stay with them during your vacation, then you should check out Pino’s Italian Restaurant on Bath Ave. You can pick up a pizza, and you will hardly be disappointed.
If you’re thinking about moving here, it might be a good idea if you have a family with young kids or even if you want to retire in a New York neighborhood that somehow resembles suburbia.