Bay Ridge is located in
Kings County along the
Hudson River on I-278 near Brooklyn and is in the
Southern Region.
Bay Ridge is part of the New York, New York metro area.
It was formerly called Yellow Hook and Yellow Ridge, for the color of clay found here. The name was changed after the yellow fever epidemic of 1848-1849. Construction of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge to Staten Island forced 8,000 local residents from their homes. The bridge opened in 1964.
