These are bad days for New York's dive bars. City Hall and developers do not see their charms. So they are on their way out. And in December, they've been falling like barflies. Let's count them down, shall we?
- The Rum House. One of the last surviving dives in Times Square, exited in late September.
- Ruby's Bar and Grill. Coney Island legend. Not quite out (it keeps stubbornly opening even though it's supposed to shutter), but definitely down, and probably a goner.
- Mars Bar. The East Village ur-dive. Due to close for two years in 2011 to make way for a highrise. The owner says it will reopen and be bigger than ever. Whether it will be better, or ever the same, is highly in doubt.
- Max Fish. LES mainstay. Victim of a rent hike. Owners says they will relocate. But where, at a reasonable rent, in today's pricey Lower East Side?
- The Stoned Crow. Beloved Village dump, calling it quits on New Year's Eve.
- Hickey's. The latest victim. Dead on 33rd Street after 40 years.
Station Cafe, Holland Bar, Holiday Cocktail Lounge, Subway Inn, Rudy's Bar and Grill and all the rest—watch your back.
Hell (Bloomberg) marches on
ReplyDeleteIts amazing how quickly this has been happening.
ReplyDeleteIn some ways the Mars Bar closing is anticlimatic -the writing was on the wall when the surrounding blocks got redeveloped and overgentrified- but in some ways its very important in terms of symbolizing that bohemian New York is finally, really, gone.