Fifth Avenue in Bay Ridge turns into a Halloween street festival on Saturday, October 24, when the Bay Ridge 5th Avenue Business Improvement District runs its Halloween Fest from 2 to 7 p.m. between 72nd and 85th Streets. The free kids' program is the centerpiece of a full week in the neighborhood that also includes a Halloween movie night in Owl's Head Park, a weekend of volunteer planting on the park's hillside, the weekly free 5K along Shore Road, and new numbers from the Citi Bike network that started its latest expansion here.

Halloween Fest on Fifth Avenue: Saturday, October 24

The BID's flyer for the event lists free children's activities along a 13-block stretch of Fifth Avenue: rides, trunk or treat, a puppet show, haunted trucks, a pumpkin patch and crafts. Music is planned along the route, and the avenue's restaurants and shops will be open, with the BID promoting the day as a chance to shop local. Brooklyn Bridge Parents is listed on the flyer as a partner.

  • When: Saturday, October 24, 2 to 7 p.m.
  • Where: Fifth Avenue from 72nd Street to 85th Street, Bay Ridge
  • Cost: The kids' activities are free
  • Getting there: The R train stops at 77th Street and 86th Street on Fourth Avenue, one block east of the festival route. The B63 bus runs along Fifth Avenue.

The Bay Ridge 5th Avenue BID is the nonprofit that manages the commercial strip from 65th to 85th Streets. It handles sidewalk cleaning, holiday lighting, planters and seasonal events on the avenue. The BID ran a self-guided coffee crawl along the same blocks on October 17, and its next listed event is Small Business Saturday on November 28.

Movie night in Owl's Head Park: Friday, October 23

NYC Parks and the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment are screening The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) on the lawn in Owl's Head Park on Friday, October 23. The free showing is part of the city's Movies Under the Stars series and is listed for 7 to 8:15 p.m., with films starting at dusk. The film is rated PG. Bring a blanket; glass bottles and alcohol are not allowed. Parks says a screening may be called off for heavy rain or extreme weather, with any cancellation posted on its website ahead of time.

  • Where: Lawn area, Owl's Head Park, at the northwest corner of Bay Ridge
  • Getting there: R train to Bay Ridge Avenue, then walk west

Daffodils and a forest cleanup: October 24 and 25

The same park hosts two It's My Park volunteer sessions that weekend, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to noon. Owl's Head Park Volunteers, the group organizing them, will cut back introduced plant species in the wooded section along the bike path and greenway connector and plant daffodils. Volunteers meet on the hill behind the playground. Both sessions are free. The organizers can be reached at owlsheadvolunteers@gmail.com, and registration runs through the NYC Parks event page.

NYRR Open Run on Shore Road: Saturday, October 24

New York Road Runners holds a free, community-led 5K in Shore Road Park every Saturday, and this week is no exception. Runners and walkers of any level can join. The course is three loops along Shore Road with views of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and Road Runners notes it is one of the longer Open Run courses in its program. The group gathers on the lawn near the 79th Street entrance between 8:45 and 11 a.m. Sign-up is free through the link on the Parks event page. From the R at 77th Street, walk west to Shore Road.

Citi Bike's expansion wraps up after starting in Bay Ridge

On October 15, the city, NYC DOT and Lyft announced that the latest round of Citi Bike expansion is complete: more than 230 new stations and about 3,700 docks across seven neighborhoods in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens. Bay Ridge was where the rollout began, with its first stations opening last September, and the city reports that riders in Bay Ridge have taken more than 75,000 trips since then. All of the new stations use Lyft's newer Pillar dock design.

For anyone who has not signed up yet, Citi Bike lists an annual membership at $239, or $19.92 a month. A single classic-bike ride is $4.99 for up to 30 minutes, and a day pass is $25. E-bikes cost an extra $0.27 a minute for members and $0.41 a minute for everyone else. NYCHA residents and SNAP recipients can join Reduced Fare Bike Share for $5 a month with no annual commitment.

At the Bay Ridge Library

The Brooklyn Public Library's Bay Ridge branch at 7223 Ridge Boulevard (at 73rd Street) has a steady weekday lineup this week. Highlights include Chess for Kids on Saturday, October 24 at 11 a.m. and a Shape Up NYC dance class at noon the same day, Chess for Adults on Sunday, October 25 at 1 p.m., a Creative Aging painting session on Thursday, October 22 at 2 p.m., and a Monday movie screening of Dear Evan Hansen on October 26 at 1:30 p.m. Storytime is Wednesday at 11 a.m., and Afterschool Playtime runs at 3 p.m. most weekdays. The branch is open Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. The nearest subway is the R at Bay Ridge Avenue.

Plan the week

Start Friday night at Owl's Head Park for the 7 p.m. screening, run or walk Shore Road on Saturday morning, then head to Fifth Avenue between 72nd and 85th Streets for Halloween Fest from 2 to 7 p.m. Volunteers can pick Saturday or Sunday morning at Owl's Head. Event details and any weather updates are posted on the Bay Ridge 5th Avenue BID and NYC Parks pages below.

Sources