On a visit to Bay Ridge in June 2024, I got a photo of the Emphasis Diner on 4th Avenue and Bay Ridge Avenue (69th Street). It’s in a propitious spot because it’s the first thing weary commuters from work in Manhattan see upon climbing the steps from the mugger-mover. Many moons ago, the Emphasis was the site of our postgame show on one of Forgotten NY’s Bay Ridge tours. (I remember on the first one, which took a good five hours to complete, we wound up at the Bridgeview on 3rd Avenue and 92nd.)
Here’s a photo of Ed Koch, NYC mayor from 1978-1990, crossing 4th Avenue in front of what would eventually be the Emphasis. (The guy to his left looks like Richard Dawson, but it can’t be him.) This must have been during or after one of Bay Ridge’s parades; my guess is the Ragamuffin Parade, which takes place in the fall. Ed once sat near me at a screening for a film version of Sharon Seitz and Stuart Miller’s The Other Islands of New York City. He was pretty tall, so I was glad he didn’t pick the seat right in front of me.
Here’s where my memory fails me. The old man often mentioned eating at Joe Major’s, 6814 4th Avenue, seen here on the right. It closed many years ago, so I know little about it (Bay Ridge oldtimers, hit me up in Comments). Was the restauranteur named Joe Major? Anyway, I always thought the Emphasis occupied the building home to Joe Major’s. It didn’t. It did take the place of a diner, but the other one in the photo, the New Royal, which shows up in 1940s tax photos. The Emphasis is in the low building on the left as well as the taller one to its left, out of the photo.
Joe Major’s remains one of Bay Ridge’s longtime restaurants I never made it into. We did frequent the Green Tea Room (I was perplexed whether the tea was green or the room), The Tiffany Diner on 99th Street and the Scab=ndia on 3rd avenue, and probably others I have forgotten. I lived across the expressway from New Corner on 8th Avenue and 72nd, but, alas, never went in.
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8/15/24