Italian, Irish and Arab Americans are the predominant ethnic groups in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, but the neighborhood was once home to a flourishing Norwegian population. And if you look, you’ll see pieces of Norway’s rich history still exist in the neighborhood.

Leif Ericson Park, between 66th and 67th streets, is named for Norse explorer Leif Ericson. Ericson was the first European to set foot in North America, nearly 500 years before Christopher Columbus. The park's playground pays homage to his journey.

"People believe he was here first, but there's archaeological evidence that he was here first, so it's important to remember him for that reason," said Victoria Hofmo, the president and founder of the Scandinavian East Coast Museum.

Hofmo is a lifelong Bay Ridge resident of Norwegian descent. Odes to her culture adorn the park, from the pine trees to the sun dial.

“The designer did the long and short days of Scandinavia," Hofmo said. "The long days are the sunflowers, and the short days are the pine trees.”

Norwegians came to New York by the boatload in the 1800s. At its peak in 1940, Bay Ridge was home to some 55,000 Norwegians.

“I think the waterfront is so much the essence of Norwegians and Scandinavians that came to this country," Hofmo said.

Norway has one of the longest contiguous waterfronts in the world. Livelihoods rely upon it, and they did in New York as well, depending on the city's booming maritime industry.

But Norwegian Americans slowly moved away in the second half of the 20th century. And when the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964, the departure was palpable. The construction resulted in hundreds of homes demolished.

Recent census data shows more than 77,000 Norwegian Americans live in New York, with 21,000 across the five boroughs. Most are in Brooklyn, which is home to some 6,000 Norwegian Americans.

“The neighborhood does change, and I guess it’s somebody else’s time," said Eric Bjornson, a lifelong member of Sporting Club Gjoa. Since he was a child, he has played in the Norwegian soccer club, which dates back to 1911.

Adorned with Norwegian flags, hoards of soccer trophies and faded team photographs, Gjoa means a lot to Bjornson.

“For me, it’s a second home," he said. "We have a lot of club members over the years who have passed, but you come in here and it’s like they never left.”

He and Hofmo fear people will forget about the contributions of the Norwegian people.

“If you’re not documented, if you’re not visible, if you’re not loud about it, you don’t exist," Hofmo said.

She hopes the remaining odes to Norwegian heritage are reminders enough.

“It’s just giving a voice to New York City and the east coast of the country about what we contributed, and having it included in the picture," Hofmo said.