A thick harbor fog settled over Bay Ridge shortly after dawn Thursday and remained in place until late evening, wrapping Shore Road and the waterfront beneath the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in a muted gray that residents described as “invigorating.”
By mid-morning, staff at the Bay Ridge Senior Residence realized something was different.
Residents were moving through the building with uncommon confidence, filling hallways that were normally quiet, circling the common room like teenagers waiting for music to start at the dance. Walkers were left behind. Eyes were bright. Hair was styled.
Throughout the day, residents got jiggy wit it, laughed, danced, and paired off with an enthusiasm staff had not seen in ages. Someone turned the radio up. Couples swayed closely, faces inches apart and closer, dentures or not!
“I’ve never seen people this old that vibrant and active,” Head nurse Pullman said. “They weren’t confused anymore. They knew exactly what they were doing. I mean Clarke was diagnosed with dementia last year and he was talking baseball stats with Denis all day!”
The fog stayed with them through lunch and into the afternoon, and so did the energy. Residents changed outfits. Compliments were exchanged freely. Hallway conversations leaned close. Doors closed, then opened again shortly after, often accompanied by laughter and flushed faces.
“At our age,” Alfred Klein said, “you don’t expect things to stand up to attention anymore. Today was full of surprises.”
Asked whether the fog had anything to do with it, Klein shrugged. “All I’ll say is, it’s been a very productive day.”
Geena Terruso, 82, standing nearby, laughed and added, “Some people remembered their dance steps. Others remembered other things.” She gave me with a wink. Geena then proceeded with "Is this what Seattle is like? I should have left New York decades ago!"
The unusual vitality extended beyond the residence.
Local jogger Alice Moreno said the fog changed the entire neighborhood.
“I ran a 10K that morning,” she said. “Ten minutes. I didn’t even mean to. I just kept going. I gave up cocaine in my twenties and I haven't felt this great since.”
Moreno described the day as unusually efficient. “I cleaned my apartment, ran errands, and still had time left over. I want more days like that.”
Weather services classified the phenomenon as “persistent coastal fog.” No further explanation was offered.
By nightfall, the fog slowly retreated toward the harbor. By morning, residents returned to their usual routines, slower steps, quieter halls, careful movements.
But the mood had changed.
“They’re disappointed today,” Pullman said. “They keep asking when the fog might come back.”
Residents across Bay Ridge report the same sentiment, many now watching the water and the bridge more closely at dusk.
The fog has lifted. The energy has faded.
But for one long day, Bay Ridge felt young again, and no one is eager to forget it.
The Brooklyn Herald will continue to monitor activity along the waterfront in The Outer Boroughs.