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March 5, 2010
Freddy's prepares for art retrospective, condemnation, move; it's the centerpiece of (libertarian) reason.tv's take on AY case
Atlantic Yards Report
With low prices, no cover for its eclectic events, and a low-key vibe, the much-honored Freddy's Bar & Backroom, slated for demolition for the Atlantic Yards project, probably qualifies as an "authentic" place as delineated in sociologist Sharon Zukin's new book Naked City: The Death and Life of Authentic Urban Places.
And the bar, located at Dean Street and Sixth Avenue, stands in stark contrast to the plans for the Barclays Center, where as many spaces and elements are "branded" with corporate logos as possible.
Freddy's on Sunday opens a retrospective on 13 years of art, a sign that its current incarnation--morphing from a true workingman's bar to a neighborhood bar for a diverse neighborhood--is well less than 20 years old.
...While some associated with Freddy's plan a last stand--chaining themselves to the bar to protest eviction--the bar is not a place of constant anti-AY fomentation.
I stopped by Monday night, after Justice Abraham Gerges had sealed the bar's fate. The Backroom was packed with people watching comedy, performed from Freddy's non-elevated "stage."
The barroom was mostly full. I chatted briefly about AY with the bartender, who had recently had to move from the apartment he rented in the footprint. Everyone else was just enjoying their neighborhood bar.
Posted by eric at March 5, 2010 12:42 PM