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May 1, 2010
It came from the Blogosphere...
Brooklyn the Borough, This Weekend Only! Freddy’s Last Hurrah
By Nicole Brydson
On Thursday night at Freddy's Bar, small magnetic LCD lights ascended rapidly from the hands of patrons, fixing themselves to the historic tin ceiling – a glowing, colorful metaphor for how this 70 year old establishment might soon be moving on.
The reality, however, is that the patrons and the staff are not willing to write the bar's obituary just yet. In fact, some don't even believe that despite the bar's eviction, Bruce Ratner's Nets arena will ever come to fruition. The Times, always ahead of the curve, did their obit today, and surely this weekend's last hurrah will bring a barrage of reporters and gawkers to the Prospect Heights bar, keen to experience the end of something – anything – authentic.
A Jaded Girl's Guide to NYC, paved paradise and put up a parking lot.
If you’ve never been to Freddy’s it’s hard to explain the vibe. Pictures won’t do it justice, it looks like a dive bar and essentially is. But the people, the music, the art, the culture of the bar in general, I don’t know that I’ve found anywhere comparable in the city. It’s the type of bar that immediately makes you feel at home. My theatre company has done a few shows there, and are looking forward to further cultivating our relationship with them at their new location, but in the meantime, a wonderful, supportive place is closing to be torn down and replaced by the Nets stadium and high-rises and God knows what else that goes against what the bar, and the neighborhood stands for. What I stand for, really. In high school, it always angered me that the jocks got preferential treatment to the artists. It angers me to see this consistently occurring in the real world as well, especially in such a seemingly cultural mecca.
Prepare for CrossCheck, Another Classic NYC Hangout Bites the Dust
We have the Atlantic Yards project to thank for this latest closure. Sure, the owners are looking to relocate on Fourth Avenue, the increasingly popular corridor between Gowanus and Park Slope, but just like when Siberia Bar vacated its 50th Street subway haunt for bigger digs off Ninth Avenue, it won’t be the same.
The bar’s website says today is the final day for paying respects to this Dean Street holdout, however I have it on good word that there will still be some drinking, dancing and memorializing going on tomorrow night, with a special appearance by The Spunk Lads—as close to a house band as you’ll get for Freddy’s. They take the stage at midnight.
I know I’ll be there, in my Docs, kicking back the chairs and several Jameson’s, one last time.
Gideon's Trumpet, Freddy’s Bar — R.I.P.
The closing of Freddy’s Bar appears to be the kind of rending of the social fabric of a neighborhood that Jane Jacobs deplored in her famous book, “The Death and Life of American Cities.”
Posted by steve at May 1, 2010 7:53 AM