Jackie's 5th Amendment (photo via Here's Park Slope)

That East Williamsburg petition has started a trend:

WE PETITION THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO:
Allow the bar Jackie's 5th Amendment to secede from the neighborhood of Park Slope in Brooklyn, NY.

Due to the changing nature of the neighborhood and the fact that we are beginning to take offense when potential customers come into the bar, look around them with disdain, and leave, immediately, we the people of Jackie's 5th Amendment at 404 5th Avenue request the permission of the United States Government to peacefully secede from Park Slope and become our own neighborhood, to be tentatively known as "Brooklyn".

They only need 24,972 more signatures. Not too bad.

DNA Info points out:

Jackie's is one of the few remaining dive bars in the neighborhood, and drinkers who wander in looking for high-priced artisanal cocktails poured by "mixologists" will be disappointed. The bar's specialty is a $10 ice-filled bucket of six "ponies," or 7-ounce domestic beers.

"The neighborhood is changing," [bartender Rebecca McCarthy who started the petition] said. "People walk in and they're like, 'Oh no, not this.' We don't even have vermouth. We couldn't make martinis if we tried."

They should get in touch with the Old Carriage Inn on 7th and make it a movement!

For further reading, check out an interview with Linda the bartender at Here's Park Slope.

Stickers covering the wall tell some of the story.

Bold letters and designs shout out names such as Spredhaus, All Eyes West and Dinosaur Eyelids -- as well as dozens of other bands who performed there.

"People have told me, 'Don't take down that wall,' " said Mike Barrood, new owner of the Court Tavern, the legendary New Brunswick bar and music venue that closed in January.

Barrood, 33, is renovating the place and hopes to open within a month.

"A lot of the old customers called and offered to help and work for nothing," he said.

"Actually, people don't want it fixed up," he said of patrons who affectionately remember the scruffy-grungy atmosphere at the Church Street venue that gave bands their start.

Drummer Benny Horowitz remembers playing at the Court Tavern with six bands.

"I celebrated my 21st birthday there," said Horowitz, now with the Gaslight Anthem, a New Brunswick-based group that tours internationally. The band's first show was at the Court Tavern. [NJ.com]

Previously: Court Tavern RIP

The Gaslight Anthem's song "The Diamond Church Street Choir" is about the Court Tavern. They play Webster Hall tonight, and talk about the club and its booker Andy Diamond, in the video clip below...

Continue reading "Court Tavern renovating and reopening with new owner"

Sad news you may have read back in December:

As the [LES] became gentrified -- a Steve Madden shoe store and the posh Rivington Hotel have helped bring a commercial sheen to the artsy quarter -- Max Fish and Pink Pony remained popular.

But [in December], the two Ludlow Street colonizers announced they will shutter Jan. 30 because of a steep rent increase. And nearby, Mars Bar, at First Street and Second Avenue in the East Village, is also set to close as plans to redevelop the site into a mixed-income condo move forward.

Mars Bar -- a dingy saloon famous for cheap brew, punk rock and its lack of toilet paper -- could reopen in two years but would have to negotiate a market-rate rent with the developer. The community board is scheduled to vote on the proposal later this month.

"The Lower East Side felt like it was over a while ago, but [Max Fish] is a very symbolic closing," said author Richard Price, who used the neighborhood as a backdrop to his best seller "Lush Life."

"There are no neighborhoods in Manhattan anymore. South of Harlem, it feels like a bunch of districts where rich people can crash." [NY Post]

That said, the LES still remains the best neighborhood for live music outside of Brooklyn thanks to Cake Shop, Pianos, Living Room, Rockwood Music Hall, Arlene's Grocery, Mercury Lounge, the Delancey, and the new Tammany Hall to name a few.

And as far as Mars Bar... I'll be sad to see it go, but like CBGB before it, does it even matter at this point? No disrespect to the owners, but Mars Bar sticks out like a sore thumb now that everything around it has already changed. It hasn't felt the same for a long time, even if it still looks exactly the same on the inside.

Black Book: What bars do you claim as your own these days?

Johnny T: Black & White, Niagara, Bowery Electric, Cabin Down Below, and Pizza Shop.

Continue reading "spotlight on Johnny T (recently opened Cabin Down Below)"

I didn't even realize Remote Lounge closed.....

NEW The Bowery Electric The latest in a series of bar openings along the Bowery includes this 2,000-square-foot drinkery from nightlife entrepreneurs Johnny T (Black & White), Mike Stuto (HiFi) and Jesse Malin (Niagara). Located in the former Remote Lounge space, TBE features a wenge (dark African wood) bar, custom-made mohair couches and vintage trunks that serve as extra seating. Old Speckled Hen and Sapporo are among the dozen beers on tap, and house cocktails include the eponymous Bowery Electric (vodka, Midori and lemon juice) that ought to be a hit with the ladies. 327 Bowery between 2nd and 3rd Sts (212-228-0228) [Time Out]