Bath Beach is a neighborhood located in Borough of Brooklyn, Long Island, New York. It runs from Gravesend Bay on the south, Bay Parkway and Avenue P to the east, 65th Street to the north and 14th Avenue to the west. Bath Beach is primarily a working class community of small homes and row houses.
Bath Beach is served by the West End Line of the New York Subway system, also called the BMT West End Line. Stations along the line serving the community are 18th Avenue, 20th Avenue, Bay Parkway, 25th Avenue (D only), and Bay 50th Street (D only). It is located on the opposite side of the bay from Coney Island.
As of the 2010 census, there were 29,931 people, 11,324 households, and 7,507 families residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village is $50,387. Elevation is 26 feet.
Bath Beach once described the beach resort specifically as part of the community of Bath, New York. Bath and Bath Beach are now more or less synonymous. The community was originally named for the city in England. The population received a boost at the end of 1863 when steam dummy railroad service connected the community to the horse-car system of the City of Brooklyn at 25th Street and 5th Avenue. The Long Island Rail Road has played an integral part in making Bath Beach a widely known place. During 19th century, the area was considered a fashionable neighborhood with a quiet beach of its own. It had some popular hotels such as the Lowry apart from residences of the rich and powerful. The Gambinis managed their empire of crime from Bath Beach. Immigrants from the third world continue to arrive and set up homes in the community.
Well-known residents include Vic Damone (singer) and Vincent Gardenia (actor). Bath Beach becomes a diverse ethnic community as recent Chinese, Arabic-speaking, and Russian-speaking immigrants displace the native-born Italian-Americans, continuing a cycle (the Italian-Americans’ immigrant parents and grandparents displaced native-born German-Americans in the mid-twentieth century). The main shopping strip is in the 86th Street that features everything from Italian bakeries to bagel shops to newsstands to gas stations. The New Utrecht Library bases on 86th Street between Bay 17th Street and 18th Avenue.
The other big shopping area, the Kmart Shopping Center at Bay Parkway and Shore Parkway that includes a Waldbaum’s supermarket, Modell’s Sporting Goods, Radio Shack, Toys ”R” Us, Kids ”R” Us, banks, and restaurants. There are also several amusement parks in town such as the Nellie Bly Amusement Park that offers rides and related recreation during summer and the 19-acre Bensonhurst Park which is an open space of great value to residents. Housing in Bath Beach consists of mostly brick one and two family semi attached and attached homes and both low and high raise apartment buildings. The price range is very much affordable starts from $500,000’s to $900,000’s. Because of its flexibility and easy accommodations, it is not hard to find a place to buy or to rent in Bath Beach for there are a large number of realtors who serve the area.
