by Andrew Frisicano

Freddy's last night... (pexy)

"Today is a sad day for a lot of people who live close to Flatbush Ave. Fort Greene, Park Slope and further. In fact for a lot of Brooklyn. It is sad because Freddy's is closing. It's closing because greedy, glutinous rich people think they know what's best for this neighborhood & are erecting some god awful monstrosity that is going to turn this Neighborhood in to a Manhattan-esque commercial nightmare.

The Barclay's Arena.

Freddy's is the bar where so many people have partied in Brooklyn. Some have had too much to drink, have danced way too long and accidentally torn muscles. Some even made out with people because their beer goggles were on super tight. But that's what happens when you're with friends creating memories that last a lifetime. To be honest, the fight to keep Freddy's isn't all about these memories. It's about the rights of the people to live in their homes, drink in their bars, and love their neighborhood.

Unfortunately, we lost the fight to big business and millions of dollars. The organizers say a giant arena is supposed to give back to the city. Some people say that Ratner is a huge philanthropist and that the arena is intended to revitalize the community. I'm going to put my money on the memories to revitalize rather than basketball scores.

We're going to miss you Freddy's. You always knew how to make us feel like old friends." [pexy]

The above letter and picture were posted to Flickr by David Pexton, along with the tags "Freddy's Bar", "Bar", "Ratner", "Jay Z", "Fuck You Jay Z", "Eminent Domain Abuse", and others.

Freddy's Bar & Backroom, the Prospect Heights bar forced out by the Atlantic Yards project, had its final nights on Friday and Saturday. Friday was supposed to be the last hurrah, but the bar was open for business on Saturday too...

Freddy's packed Bar - Saturday, May 1, 2010 (by Tracy Collins)

The decidedly upbeat crowd, crammed into Freddy's to celebrate, commiserate, and pay their respects. They treated to ridiculousness that only happens at Freddy's. Speeches by bartenders professing love for each other and fake marriage proposals, a constant stream of women dancing on the bar, a fire dancer that twirled flaming torches and the frequent "DON-ALD! DON-ALD!" chants, cheering Manager Donald O'Finn, that interrupted its dance friendly music selection were just a few of the highlights.

The patrons, who poured in from all parts of Brooklyn and the rest of the City, spanned every age, neighborhood, and ethnicity danced the night away and purposefully ignored the smoking ban, lighting up cigarettes all night long. The ridiculously hot backroom was somehow even hotter as the sweaty band and patrons rocked. [NY Drinker]

That description is from the bar's Saturday night party. Friday's scene was very much the same (though Friday the fire dancer was outside), with the bar already starting to run out of some of its booze. A band in the back played originals and covers (Dylan, etc.) until around 3:30am when the tired staff cleared everyone out. Saturday had a more varied entertainment lineup.

More pictures from Saturday, like the one above, can be seen at Tracy Collins' Flickr. One more, with the full entertainer list from Saturday night (including Alex Battles and a skimpily dressed Anna Copa Cabana), is below.

Freddy's had planned to move to a new location on Union St and 4th Avenue (about 10 blocks into Park Slope), but NYDrinker (the site quoted above) says that playn has fallen through. Admittedly I did get nervous when I read the bar owner's recent (and still posted), and apparently premature, letter that said, "Currently we are negotiating a new location near Union Street and 4th Avenue. We'll be open as soon as time and paperwork allows, hopefully in about 2 or 3 months."

Some videos of the bar's last night (music, dancing, open flames) are also below...

Continue reading "Freddy's Bar & Backroom stayed open one extra night (RIP)"

"Hipsters, old-timers, and barflies will raise their glasses at Freddy's Bar for the last time on Friday -- making a final toast to a Prohibition-era watering hole, but one man won't be there: the man whose name is on the awning.

Freddy Chadderton, who sold the bar to its current owner in 1996, lives on Long Island -- but at age 82, he isn't looking back at his salad days.

"I had a good run," he told us this week.

But Chadderton is one of the few people connected with this bar that isn't crying at least a bit in his beer this week, recalling a neighborhood joint that apparently has to be torn down so that Bruce Ratner can build a basketball arena.

It was indeed a good run." [YourNabe]

Some related videos and a letter from the bar owners, which outlines their plan and hatred for Bruce Ratner, below...

Continue reading "Freddy's is closing on Friday, but opening somewhere else "

the Brooklyn Museum, April 3, 2008 (The Brooklyn Paper / Adrian Kinloch)

Outside the Eastern Parkway art institute, hundreds of protestors started gathering at around 6:30 pm to greet more than 1,000 Museum supporters as they entered for cocktails and hors-d'oeuvres of miso-marinated cod and spicy taro with caviar.

Celebrities including designer Marc Jacobs and tennis legend John McEnroe were also on hand.

Protesters condemned the Museum's decision to honor Ratner, some holding signs reading, "Con Artist" and, in a particularly nifty bit of memory, "Dung Deal," a reference to the Museum's 1999 controversy over its "Sensation" exhibition, which featured a painting of the Virgin Mary adorned with elephant dung.

Joining the protesters was former city Department of Environmental Protection commissioner Marilyn Gelber.

Referring to the protesters outside, Borough President Markowitz -- a major support of Atlantic Yards -- smiled and said, "It shows that this is a great country." [Brooklyn Paper]

"Ratner - Hands Off Our Homes" (horseycraze)

Continue reading "Kanye West playing Brooklyn Museum, honoring Bruce Ratner"

Editor's Note: This story originally reported that the Clive Campbell who filed the lawsuit was the real name of D.J. Kool Herc, a founder of hip hop. In fact, it is a different Clive Campbell. Mr. Campbell is a Brooklyn-based activist. The story has been corrected........

A man known as the father of hip-hop, Clive Campbell (a.k.a. D.J. Kool Herc), Clive Campbell is seeking $5 billion from rapper Jay-Z, developer Bruce Ratner and Barclays bank, filing a "claim of lien" in property records that seeks the money for slavery reparations.

Mr. Ratner, Jay-Z, and Barclay's are all linked through the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn, for which Mr. Ratner plans to build a Frank Gehry-designed basketball arena for the Nets and more than 6,000 apartments. Jay-Z, a partial owner of the Nets, has been a major supporter of the project, appearing at press conferences to tout its merits. Barclays owns the naming rights to the arena, and has been accused of having links with the slave trade--an accusation the bank denies.

In the claim, Mr. Campbell said that Mr. Ratner and Jay-Z worked "in concert" with Barclays, and "profited from the African Slave Trade.... [NY Observer]