How do you spell community? P-I-E

By Meredith Deliso

Nothing brings folks together like some warm, homemade pie.

That’s what Justin Brannan (left) thinks, at least, as he brings a small-town staple to the neighborhood with the closest thing to a small-town vibe in Brooklyn with the Bay Ridge Pie Social.

“I’m always looking for ways to bring people together,” said Brannan, a Bay Ridge native who’s hosting the Nov. 28 social at the Art Room, a school he runs with his girlfriend. “We don’t hang out on stoops with our relatives, friends and neighbors like we used to. Pie brings us back to the days of rotary phones and ZIP codes.”

Brannan looked to other Brooklyn pie socials, such as Bubby’s Pie Company’s in DUMBO, for his own affair. Twenty bucks gets you samples of five different pies, and there’s no bake-off — every participant gets a ribbon.

The social also serves as a benefit for the Guild for Exceptional Children, a non-profit in Bay Ridge that addresses the needs of children and adults with developmental disabilities.

“The work they do is absolutely priceless,” said Brannan. “As someone with a family member who is developmentally challenged, I care very much about the health, prosperity and progress of the Guild.”

Brannan hopes to make his inaugural social as established as other Bay Ridge community events, such as the Ragamuffin Parade or Halloween at Owl’s Head Park.

“We’re really looking to build an institution out of it,” said Brannan. “I would love to be talking about our 10th annual pie social.”

Bay Ridge Pie Social at the Art Room [8710 Third Ave. between 87th and 88th streets in Bay Ridge, (347) 560-6572], Nov. 28 at 1 pm. Admission is $20 for five tasting tickets. Entry fee for bakers is $5, which includes five tickets. To sign up, e-mail bayridgepie@gmail.com.


Photo by Stefano Giovannini