Michelle Danzig. Photo by George Napolitano

Second-year Beach Bum Michelle Danzig, 22, lives in Huntington Station, L.I. She is a graduate of Towson University with a degree in mass communication and a concentration in journalism and creative writing.
Just like fellow Beach Bums Sam and Alli, who recruited her for this summer job, she has been dancing since she was 3 years old. As a self proclaimed “huge Mets and Jets fan,” Danzig would like to use her degree to one day become a sports writer.
“I have a number of friends that I graduated with who came through the Penn League last year and played on other teams,” Danzig said. “I’ll be following their careers.”
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Look for a different Beach Bum profile each week, only at www.bayridgelife.com!

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For updated game results, see John Torenli’s “Straight From the Bleachers” at www.brooklyneagle.com.

Pictured (left to right) are Blue Storm sluggers (rear) Hugo Scully, Ricardo Ducasse, Tommy Palazzotto, Chris Pops, (front) Sergio Rodriguez, Enrico Saviano and Mikey Lopez. Photo courtesy of Melissa Palazzotto

By Matt DiGrigoli and Melissa Palazzotto

The Brooklyn Blue Storm 8U Lightning squad has won the Pony World Series!
Composed of six teams, the Blue Storm 8-year-olds started the Pony World Series with lopsided victories over Bergen Beach and the Bonnie Tigers. The Brooklyn boys defeated Bergen Beach by a final of 32-0 and dominated the Tigers by a margin of 34-0.
In the two games, the Lightning struck for  an incredible 12 home runs — four by Aeden Finateri, two apiece by Michael Sirota, Chris Campanella and Daniel Corona, and one each by Antonio DiGrigoli and Michael McGowan.
The Blue Storm pitchers combined to pitch two no-hitters, led by Jakob Alers, Antonio Morin and the young closer, 6-year-old Joseph “JoJo” DiGrigoli, who finished both games on the mound.
The third game of the tournament was a bit more interesting in that the Blue Storm defeated the Bonnie Orioles by a much closer margin of 2-0. Still, the incredible pitching continued as the Blue Storm threw its third straight no-hitter!
Finateri and Corona dominated the opposing hitters, striking out a total of 13 batters. Timely hitting by first baseman Ryan Melendez led to the two runs, which was all the Blue Storm needed to get to the championship game undefeated.
The championship game pitted the Lightning against the Orioles once again and, once again, the Blue Storm won by a close margin, 7-4.
With the Blue Storm trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Sirota changed the game with one swing, smashing a grand slam to put the Lightning up for good. Sirota and Corona starred on the mound, and Corona showed his toughness by pitching through pain with a swollen hand.
Hits by Melendez, DiGrigoli, Corona, Jonathan Larrea, Reid Heyman, McGowan, Morin and Finateri all led to runs, helping to  clinch the 2012 Pony World Series for the Brooklyn Blue Storm!
Next up for the Lightning squad is a Labor Day tournament in Manalapan, N.J.

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The Brooklyn Blue Storm’s 10U Elite Thunder squad took on the Spring Creek squad in an action-packed doubleheader that saw the Storm squad reign supreme this past weekend.
David Sierra started on the mound for the Blue Storm in the first game and endured a rocky first inning. The Blue Storm committed two errors in the field that led to three runs for Spring Creek in the first.
Then Sierra settled down and pitched no-hit ball until he was relieved by Ricardo Ducasse, who allowed his only walk of the game to score. Ducasse faced 11 batters and only two reached base — one on a walk and one on a hit-batsmen. Only one hit was allowed over the entire game!
Blue Storm’s bats would not be silenced.  With a total of  11 hits scattered throughout the lineup and eight runs scored, the team was able to end a four-game slide to remain in playoff contention.
Tommy Palazzotto, Chris Pops, Ducasse, Eddie Saviano, Billy Rozakis, Sierra, Sergio Rodriguez, Johnny Parker and Jason Jiminez each had a hit in the game. The Blue Storm won by a final score of 7-4.
The Thunder won the second game against Spring Creek by a score of 6-4. Four different pitchers took the mound for the Storm and allowed only one hit and four walks. Unfortunately, all four walks would come around to score.
The offense was able to squeak out three hits, but was able to score runs due to walks as well. Pops, Ducasse and Rozakis accounted for the hits, while Palazzotto, Saviano, Sierra, Rodriguez and Jiminez each showed great plate discipline and baserunning ability to score on walks.
On Sunday, the Thunder received great pitching and timely hitting en route to a doubleheader sweep of the Bonnie Rangers. In the opener, the Thunder came from behind to win, 5-3, thanks to the strong pitching of Palazzotto, who went the distance with a complete-game masterpiece. Palazzotto struck out five and allowed no earned runs.
With the Blue Storm leading by a margin of 5-3 in the final inning, the Bonnies were threatening with men on second and third and one out. A wild pitch was retrieved by hustling catcher Antonio DiGrigoli, making his debut from the 8-year-old team, and fired to a hustling Palazzotto, covering the plate, to throw out the runner for the second out. Then Palazzotto took care of the final out on a soft grounder to second base.
Timely hitting by Chris Papadopoulos, Michael Lopez and Rodriguez capped the comeback win.
In the second game against the Rangers, the Thunder built upon their momentum from game one and mercied the Bonnies, 12-2, behind the strong pitching of Sierra and Ducasse. Sierra recorded seven strikeouts and Ducasse struck out two batters.
Timely hitting by Enrico Saviano and Hugo Scully and two hits by Ducasse were all the Blue Storm needed to cement the victory.

A powerful and pungent odor invaded the streets of Bay Ridge this afternoon, Aug. 21, as residents in at least three locations in the community held their noses in disgust.
The odor, which some described as a gasoline-type of smell and others said smelled like raw sewage, was first reported to Community Board 10’s office at around 3:30 p.m., according to Board 10 District Manager Josephine Beckmann.
“We have received numerous phone calls on it,” Beckmann told the Bay Ridge Eagle after a reporter called to report the foul smell.
Beckmann said the complaint calls came from residents in three locations – Fourth Avenue and 86th Street; 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue; and Third Avenue and 92nd Street.
The latter is the location of a sinkhole caused by a rupture in a sewer line that is currently being repaired by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.
At close of business today, the source of the odor had not yet been discovered. It’s not clear if the bad smell was connected to the sinkhole repairs, officials said.
“We called it into 911 because of all the calls we received on it,” said Beckmann. “The Fire Department will investigate.”
Beckmann said she did not know what was causing the odor.
“Sometimes it comes from the Narrows – a barge carrying oil,” she said.
The smell had Bay Ridgeites making funny faces. One man, exiting the Capital One Bank on 86th Street near Fourth Avenue, opened the door, took a breath and said, “Whoa!”
He immediately headed back inside the bank.

Mary Nolan, a proud Irish-American, works on immigration causes with elected officials.

By Paula Katinas

Mary Nolan has lived in Bay Ridge since 1965 and has been active in politics since the time she moved here from Park Slope. Nolan, who emigrated from her native Ireland to the U.S. in 1953, became an American citizen in 1959. Much of her political work is devoted to immigration reform.
“This is a great country. There’s so much opportunity here. That’s why people want to come here. We shouldn’t act like people are criminals because they’re looking for a better life. This country was built by immigrants,” said Nolan, who was born and raised in County Limerick and still has traces of her Irish brogue when she speaks.
Nolan is the president of the Bay Ridge Irish-American Action Committee, a group that used to hold annual marches in Brooklyn to commemorate the victims of “Bloody Sunday,” the infamous incident in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland in 1972 in which British troops shot and killed 14 unarmed men and boys taking part in a protest march.
Nolan and the committee would lead marchers up 60th Street to the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, where a mass would take place to remember the victims.
“I used to bring my children to the marches when they were young,” Nolan said.
Last year, the group’s final “Bloody Sunday” march took place. The marches ended, Nolan said, because at last the British government took responsibility for the killings of the 14 victims and admitted that the soldiers had no right to shoot.
“For years, the British had blamed the victims. There was no compassion for people who were suffering,” she said.
The British government’s admission was the redemption the protesters had been seeking, Nolan said.
Nolan first became active in the Irish civil rights movement in the late 1960s.
“We raised money for the civil rights movement. I think the British were surprised at how much money we raised,” she said.
The Vietnam War was still being waged at that time. Bay Ridge was the site of one of the largest anti-war protests in New York City, a demonstration that took place in John Paul Jones Park and drew tens of thousands. Nolan said, however, that despite her feelings about the war, she respects and admires the soldiers who fought in the war.
“I have tremendous respect for all of our veterans. Without them, we would not have the freedoms we have,” she said.
Nolan has also worked with elected officials, including U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, to ease visa restriction for the country’s immigrants.
“We’re talking about legal immigration. A lot of immigrants come here on a visa and they overstay their welcome,” she said.
Nolan was also involved in politics in another way.
“I used to campaign for candidates running for seats on the local school board. We used to collect petition signatures for them,” she said.
Under decentralization, the state education law that was in place in New York City from the late 1960s until 2002, each local school district had a school board composed of nine members elected by the public. School board elections were fierce contests because the boards wielded a great deal of power. They hired and fired school superintendents, formulated budgets, and made decisions on curriculum in schools.
Nolan, who cast her first vote as an American in the 1960 presidential race, voted for John F. Kennedy.
“It was one of the proudest moments of my life,” she said.
Nolan said she loves living in Bay Ridge.
“It’s a good community to raise children,” said Nolan, the mother of four. “My children went to Saint Patrick’s School and I was always involved there. The school was wonderful. They gave you a chance to become involved, even if you were a newcomer. They welcomed the help.”
Nolan is a member of Community Board 10 and serves on its Police and Public Safety and Environmental committees.
“I wanted to help people with neighborhood issues,” she said.
As a proud Irish-American, Nolan also works to promote the history of the Irish in the U.S. She is president of the Commodore Barry Club, an organization named in honor of Commodore John Barry, a Revolutionary War hero known as the “Father of the American Navy.” Barry hailed from County Wexford in Ireland.
“Currently, we are focusing on raising money for a fitting memorial to Commodore Barry at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland,” Nolan said.

Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan speaks during a recent campaign event. AP Photo

By Paula Katinas

U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, the first elected official in New York State to endorse Mitt Romney for president, said the former Massachusetts governor made the right choice in picking Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate.
“In the time I’ve come to know Paul Ryan, I’ve learned he is a man of principles and traditional values, and that he truly has a sincere desire to put his country before politics,” Grimm said. “I believe he will be an excellent vice president, combining his knowledge on the economy with a strong work ethic to help put our country back on track and get Americans back to work.”
Grimm, a Republican conservative, voted in favor of the budget plan that Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, introduced. It includes a plan to totally revamp Medicare to turn the entitlement program into a voucher system. The House approved the budget in May. The budget bill died in the U.S. Senate.
Other Republicans also praised Romney’s choice of Ryan as the GOP’s vice presidential candidate.
“Paul Ryan has been a colleague and friend over the past year, and he will make an outstanding vice president. He has been a leader in providing serious solutions to our country’s problems, especially our debt crisis. We must prevent our country from falling over a fiscal cliff, and the Romney-Ryan team will give the nation a clear choice for the future,” U.S. Rep. Bob Turner said.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long said Romney’s choice of Ryan shows his commitment to solving the country’s economic problems.
“Congressman Ryan will use his budgetary expertise to stem the tide of our nation’s debt and restore fiscal sanity,” Long said.
Glenn Nocera, president of the Brooklyn Young Republican Club, expressed confidence that the Romney-Ryan ticket is a winning one.
“We at the Brooklyn Young Republican Club wish Congressman Paul Ryan good luck in his quest to restore America back to economic success,” Nocera said.
He added that Republicans will work to make sure that “President Obama joins the roles of the current 8.3 percent unemployed Americans.”
Democrats, on the other hand, said the Romney-Ryan ticket would be a disaster for the country.
Mark Murphy, who is running against Grimm, blasted the GOP.
“This shows that, more than anything, Congressman Grimm and the national Republican Party are committed to the extreme policies of ending Medicare as we know it, privatizing Social Security, cutting public education, and giving massive tax breaks to executives making over a million dollars a year,” Murphy said.
Immigration reform activists said Romney and Ryan are not on their side.
“Mitt Romney has promised to veto the DREAM Act, nationalize Arizona’s SB1070 ‘papers please law,’ and touted self-deportation. It is clear Paul Ryan does not stand with the Latino community since he has not only defended Romney on immigration, but also deployed degrading terms, including ‘anchor babies’ in speaking about immigrants and their families,” said Erika Andiola, who described herself in an e-mail to a reporter as an undocumented immigrant.

Scenes like this are becoming all too common in Bay Ridge, according to state Sen. Marty Golden, who is calling on the DEP to consider conducting a full overhaul of the community’s sewers and water mains. Eagle photo by Rick Buttacavoli

By Paula Katinas

Echoing concerns raised at a meeting with DEP officials on Tuesday, Aug. 9, state Sen. Marty Golden called on the New York Department of  Environmental Protection (DEP) to consider conducting a full overhaul of sewers and water mains in the wake of the sinkhole eruptions that have taken place in Bay Ridge this summer.
At the emergency meeting called by Community Board 10, DEP Deputy Commissioner James Roberts told local residents that a study of the current infrastructure is  being  conducted and  should  be  completed by the end of the year.
“I  want  to  compliment the Department of Environmental Protection for its commitment  to  inspect  the  sewer  lines  over  the  next  few months for potential  problems,”  Golden said.
While the formation of two sinkholes, on 92nd Street near Third Avenue and on 79th Street near Fifth Avenue, has garnered a great deal of the public’s attention, Golden said they aren’t the only situations the community is facing.
“With eight sinkholes in Bay Ridge since June 28 of this year, residents and elected officials are concerned over the state of our sewers. I believe it is time for a full overhaul and repair of the current infrastructure. We need the city to commit to a 21st-century repair and upgrade of the existing sewer system. Anything short of that leaves our city and community open to ongoing repairs that damage the current water system, block streets for lengthy repairs, and burden our quality of life,” Golden said.
Golden also called on DEP to ensure that the concerns of residents are taken into account and addressed as the repairs move forward.
“With an estimated two months left of work on 92nd Street, residents should expect that every effort is being made to have their concerns addressed. DEP has done an outstanding job so far, but residents have had to deal with the noise from generators, the smell lingering from Gravesend Bay to Shore Road, and ongoing  issues  of  street  closures  and unclean streets,” he said.

Editor’s Note: “Citizen Kane’s Bay Ridge Beat” was created by late Bay Ridge Eagle Community Editor Tom Kane, who passed away in February 2011 after a brave battle with cancer. This column, now penned by Friends of Tom Kane, continues to publish as a tribute to its creator.

Strolling along … Who pays these weathermen, anyway? After constant thunderstorm warnings spooked organizers into canceling the third installment of “Summer Stroll on 3rd” last week, we were befuddled when 6 p.m. rolled around and the rain had all but stopped for the night. What a shame!
Still, it is better to be safe than sorry.
Organizers said they could not risk having that many people in an open area with the threat of severe thunder and lightning looming. Hard to argue with that!

Among the talented performers at the second “Summer Stroll on 3rd” were the folks from brooklynONE Theater, which was co-founded by Anthony Marino (rear, left) and the late Tom Kane. Eagle photo by Marc Hibsher

Nevertheless, many Bay Ridgeites still flocked to the avenue to enjoy a meal in their favorite restaurant or “stroll” along the sidewalk. The real shame is that the chance to take in some truly unique and entertaining performances was washed away. However, the hardworking folks who have organized the innovative “Summer Stroll” program are determined to try again this week.
Be sure to stop by from 6 to 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17, for the final installment of this popular program, which we all hope returns bigger and better next summer!

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Cool contest … Need to cool off in the hot weather? There’s no better way than to enjoy some delicious ice cream!
State Sen. Marty Golden and Maria “The Ice Cream Girl” Campanella, are co-hosting an event that will give you a chance to enjoy eating all the ice cream you want.
Marty and Maria are inviting local residents to take part in the Fourth Annual Ice Cream Eating Contest on Sunday, Aug. 19, at 5 p.m. at L&B Spumoni Gardens, 2725 86th St., in Bensonhurst.
“Who doesn’t love ice cream and who doesn’t love Spumoni Gardens?” Golden said. “What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon and take a break from the summer heat. And if you don’t want to compete, be there to watch the contest!”
Here are the rules: Those wishing to participate must be 18 years of age or older and have valid identification. Participants must not have had or currently have any allergies to nuts, nut oil, milk or milk products, and must sign a waiver and release form and abide by all rules and regulations.
L&B Spumoni Gardens is an event sponsor and representatives from the Frankie Loccisano Memorial Foundation will be in attendance to raise awareness about children with cancer.
For more information, contact Maria Campanella at (917) 578-6374, or Sen. Golden’s office at (718) 238-6044.
We’ll see who gets last licks!

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Globetrotting in Brooklyn … The Harlem Globetrotters are coming to Brooklyn!
For the first time in the team’s 86-year history, the Harlem Globetrotters will play in Brooklyn. The game will be one of the first events in the brand-new Barclays Center on Sunday, Oct. 7, at 5 p.m.
Brooklyn native Donte “Hammer” Harrison is scheduled to be on the Brooklyn roster. He will be joined by TNT Maddox, the Globetrotters first female since 1993, and many other fan favorites.
For more information, visit the website www.harlemglobetrotters.com.

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ESLL Charles Langere Tournament

BROOKLYN UNITED 5 STATEN ISLAND TIGERS 4
The Brooklyn United All-Star team, which combines children from five baseball organizations (Knights, St. A’s, IHM, Huskies and Guadalupe), competed in the second round of the East Shore Little League tournament on Saturday, Aug. 11.
In the bottom of the first inning, The Tigers scored a run on a triple and a single. In the top of the second inning, Brooklyn United scored two runs when Matt McCarthy and Michael Iacobucci walked and Sean Gilhuley drove both of them in with a double.
The Tigers tied the game up in the bottom of the inning when three straight batters walked and the next batter singled in a run. But the Brooklyn United team was able to hold the Tigers to just that one run.
The Tigers scored two more runs in the bottom of the third on a double, two walks and a single. Brooklyn United came into the fifth inning, trailing 4-2. In the top of the fifth, Brooklyn United scored two runs when Gilhuley walked and stole second and third, Chris Ourzdine singled and stole second, and Nick Tarallo singled in both runs to tie the game at 4-4. Brooklyn United set down the Tigers in order in the bottom of the fifth.
In the top of the sixth inning, Brooklyn United scored the go-ahead run. Lorenzo Pisano singled, then stole second and third. McCarthy singled in Pisano to give Brooklyn United a 5-4 lead, which they were able to preserve in the bottom of the sixth to win the game 5-4.