My observations of Bay Ridge are the opposite of gentrifying. I think it's gotten more trashy, for lack of a better word. When i think of gentrification I think more whites moving in, but Bay Ridge is less white than it used to be.

86th street by Century is absolutely disgusting. 5th Avenue as well, just gross. Loads of Arabic shops, at one time they ended at about 75th street, now they come all the way up to 86th.

There are still gorgeous residential blocks between Ridge Blvd and Shore Road, with very high ticket real estate and some excellent restaurants on 3rd ave, as always, but the ethnic makeup of the place has changed dramatically.

I grew up in Dyker, went to grade school in Bay Ridge. Lived there until my early 30s. I'm still in Brooklyn about once or twice a week and we never fail to comment on how the place has changed. Had dinner at Ho'brah on 3rd and 87th just the other day, and when we parked and walked from 4th to 3rd we were shocked by all the garbage bags on the street.

Bensonhurst is practically unrecognizable. 18th avenue has Chinese storefronts all over, Bath avenue has Arabic stores everywhere, or Russian, Cropsey Ave too (although the Cropsey lounge is still there, just saw it last week). The old Deluxe theater is a giant mosque.

Shockingly, I just found out that the old Fortune Cookie chinese restaurant on 13th in Dyker has now been sold to a Puerto Rican pastor, for another branch of his church. He has a radio show or some such. That's something I could never had imagined while I was living there.