Nino Columbo

True Crime Bay Ridge: A Mafia Murder on Shore Road

James Hawkes took his terrier, Spot, for a walk. It was a cloudy Sunday, February 6, 1938, and it had probably either just stopped raining or was about to start. Hawkes lived at 9203 Third Avenue, in a building long since torn down. Despite the weather, the 15-year-old planned to walk almost a mile; he […]

Johnson's Dock

True Crime Bay Ridge: The Many Murders of John Kilbride

A young art student was killed in Bay Ridge in 1899 and dumped in the bay. His killer remained undiscovered for decades—until two more people were murdered.

Crescent Club tennis

The Epic Rise and Fall of Bay Ridge’s Once Most-Important Institution

A microcosmic history of Bay Ridge in the tale of how a country club was formed, dissolved, and transformed into Fort Hamilton High School.