Sheepshead Bay: Vibrant nabe known for its fishing industry still has a bite

Like many neighborhoods around New York City, Sheepshead Bay is no stranger to diversity or change.

The middle-class neighborhood located in southern Brooklyn boasts a melting pot of cultures from Russian and Turkish to Chinese and Italian.

But it is also unique for its generational range.

“This isn’t an area where you’ll only see young moms pushing strollers,” explained Theresa Scavo, a life-long resident. “If you come here on a Saturday night, you’ll see people from all walks of life and you’ll see young families alongside older people who’ve been here their whole lives.”

Scavo, who chairs Community Board 15, recalled the Sheepshead Bay she grew up in. The neighborhood was known then for its vibrant fishing industry, which many residents relied on make ends meet.

“Fishing was everything. You’d come here and they’d be selling fresh fish that was just caught at the waterfront,” she said.

While fishing is no longer done out of necessity to survive, it still remains a popular activity along the waterfront, which spans Emmons Avenue from Knapp Street to 15th Street.

The dock is currently filled with boats that offer commercial fishing trips. It is home to dinner and charter cruises, and a string of waterfront restaurants line Emmons Avenue.

“It has changed just like every other place in New York City but it has always been a place to walk by the waterfront, have dinner and enjoy the vista,” Scavo said.

Sheepshead Bay (called “The Bay” by locals) is named after the body of water which is located on its southern tip. The bay takes its name from the Sheepshead Fish, an edible species once found there but that no longer inhabits the area.

Though the nabe is slowly changing, remnants of its past linger. A number of long-time establishments have remained strong throughout the years. Places like Jordan’s Lobster Dock and Brennan and Carr — both of which opened in 1938, and Randazzo’s Clam Bar are frequented by old and new residents as well as tourists.

In spite of the presence of chain restaurants and retail stores, Sheepshead Bay also boasts many small businesses. A walk down any of the main avenues like Emmons, Ocean or Avenue U will take you by thriving family-owned businesses, many of whom have managed to open up shop again after Hurricane Sandy’s aftermath — a testament to the neighborhood’s resilience.

According to Real Estate Broker Peter Bacarella at Brooklyn’s Scenic View Real Estate, The Bay’s ethnic makeup has become more diverse in recent years with Chinese, Turks and Russians moving in. New families, young professionals and retirees are also attracted to the area, he said.

“When houses go on the market here they sell quickly,” he said, noting that most of the homes come with driveways, garages, and backyards. “But people don’t often change homes every five years here; they settle here.”

New condominium developments along corridors like Emmons, Voorhies and Ocean Avenues, as well as East 24th Street, are making up for the low inventory of houses for sale, he said.

Both Bacarella and Scavo say the only thing in store for Sheepshead Bay in the future is more growth. The recent condo developments were halted after Sandy but now construction has resumed, aiming to gain more residents.

“People want to live here; and they want to be able to walk to the beach and know that they are within walking distance of restaurants,” Scavo said. “For me, I have no intentions of leaving. When you call a place home, it’s home.”

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Lawmakers and officials are pushing for the installment of speed-enforcement cameras, especially in the wake of numerous hit-and-run accidents across the city. And Senator Martin Golden of Bay Ridge sponsored legislation that aimed to increase penalties for hit-and-run drivers who leave the scene of an accident from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class E Felony. Drivers who flee a scene where someone was killed would be hit with a Class C Felony.

The state Senate approved the bill in February but it still awaits a vote from the Assembly. Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, who represents Sheepshead Bay, is the bill’s Assembly sponsor.

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Theresa Scavo has lived in Sheepshead Bay for 61 years. She raised two kids in the neighborhood and still resides there with her husband.