Getting Here Is the Part Nobody Plans
People plan the walk. They plan the coffee. They almost never plan the ten minutes between leaving home and standing on the promenade, which is why so many first visits to the Bay Ridge waterfront start with a slow lap around the block looking for a spot.
It does not need to go that way. The western end of Bay Ridge Avenue is served by a subway line, a ferry landing, a bus route and ordinary street parking, all within walking distance of each other. The trick is knowing which one you actually want for the kind of visit you are making, because the answer is different for a Tuesday coffee run than it is for a Sunday afternoon with two kids and a stroller.
Park once and walk. Everything worth seeing down here is closer together than it looks on a map, and moving the car is almost always the slower option.
Driving: Where to Actually Park
Street Parking on Bay Ridge Avenue and the Side Streets
There is street parking on Bay Ridge Avenue itself and on the side streets running off it. This is the default for most visitors and it works more often than people expect, particularly outside the early evening. The further you are willing to walk, the faster you will find something, and because the walk down to the water is pleasant rather than a chore, a spot two or three blocks east is not a worse spot.
The one real rule: read the sign on the pole. Brooklyn street parking is governed entirely by the posted signage, and the rules change from block to block and by day of the week. Alternate side cleaning, hydrant clearance and time limits are all decided at the sign rather than by anything you can generalize about the neighborhood. Thirty seconds reading it is cheaper than the alternative.
The Shore Road Lots
If the street is full, there are additional parking lots nearby on Shore Road. This is the move for a longer visit, especially if you are heading for the promenade or Owl's Head Park and expect to be out for a couple of hours. It takes the alternate-side question off the table and puts you at the water end rather than the avenue end.
If You Are Only Stopping for Coffee
Do not park at all. Pier 69 Market does curbside pickup: call (718) 777-6969 ahead, pull up outside 10 Bay Ridge Ave, and the order comes out to the car. For anything bigger than a coffee, or for a full order placed in advance, pickup and delivery both run through GetSauce. Between the two, a morning coffee stop does not have to involve a parking spot at all.
The R Train: Bay Ridge Avenue Station
The R stops at Bay Ridge Avenue, and from there it is a short walk west down the avenue toward the water. This is the simplest way to visit if you are coming from elsewhere in Brooklyn or from Manhattan, and it removes the parking question completely.
It also has a quiet advantage that regulars understand: the walk from the station to the water is downhill toward the harbor, and it ends with a view of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opening up at the end of the street. Arriving on foot is a better introduction to this part of Bay Ridge than arriving in a parking spot. Pier 69 Market sits along that walk at 10 Bay Ridge Ave, which makes it a natural first or last stop depending on which direction you are going.
The NYC Ferry at Bay Ridge
The Bay Ridge ferry landing is about an eight minute walk from the cafe, which puts the boat within easy reach of a coffee beforehand. Because the counter opens at 6 AM Monday through Friday and 7 AM on weekends, it is open before most people need to be at the landing rather than only after. The full version of that routine, including what travels well on a boat, is in the NYC Ferry coffee guide, and the coffee near the ferry page has the short version.
Ferry schedules change seasonally, so check the current timetable before you build a morning around it. What does not change is the geography: the landing, the pier and the cafe are all within a few minutes of each other on foot.
The B70 and Getting Around Without a Car
The B70 bus route runs nearby, which covers the gap for anyone who finds the walk from the subway longer than they want. Combined with the R and the ferry, it means a visit to the Bay Ridge waterfront is entirely possible without a car, in any weather, at any hour the cafe is open.
Walking Distances Once You Are Here
This is the part that makes parking once the right strategy. From the door at 10 Bay Ridge Ave:
- Owl's Head Park is roughly a two minute walk, with harbor views, playgrounds, dog runs and trails.
- The Shore Road promenade is about three minutes, and it runs for a long stretch along the water.
- The American Veterans Memorial Pier, the 69th Street pier, is about five minutes.
- The NYC Ferry landing is about eight minutes.
- The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is visible from here, which is the whole reason the view works.
Five destinations inside a ten minute radius. Driving between any of them would take longer than walking, and you would lose the spot. The waterfront walk guide strings them together into a single route, and things to do on the waterfront covers what is actually at each one.
Park Once. Coffee First.
La Colombe coffee and Rishi tea at 10 Bay Ridge Ave, open from 6 AM on weekdays and 7 AM on weekends. Curbside pickup if you would rather not get out.
Timing the Visit
Early is easier. Before the middle of the morning the avenue is quieter, spots are more available and the promenade is mostly runners and dog walkers. That is also when the 6 AM crowd is in, which tells you something about who has figured this out already.
Late afternoon is the hardest window for parking and the best window for the view, which is an annoying combination. If you are coming for golden hour, consider the train. The sunset guide covers where to stand once you are down there.
If You Are Staying a While
There is free WiFi and seating, which turns a parking spot into something more useful than a fifteen minute errand. People work here for stretches, and the work-from-cafe guide is honest about which hours are realistic for that. If the weather is cooperating, the outdoor dining guide is the better reference, and the full waterfront day is the version where the car stays put from breakfast through sunset.
For anything feeding a group, the parking logistics matter less than the order does. That is a catering conversation, and the office catering page covers how delivery works for a local floor.
Where to Find Us
Pier 69 Market is at 10 Bay Ridge Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11220, open Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 9 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 7 AM to 9 PM. Street parking is on Bay Ridge Avenue and the side streets, with additional lots nearby on Shore Road. The R train stops at Bay Ridge Avenue, the B70 runs nearby and the NYC Ferry landing is a short walk. Delivery and pickup run through GetSauce, and curbside pickup is available by phone. Directions, a map and current hours are on the visit page, the menu is worth reading before you arrive, and the Owl's Head Park page and waterfront cafe page cover the surroundings. Anything else is on the FAQ or a call to (718) 777-6969.
