Holland Bar to Reopen on Wednesday

The good news: The Holland Bar, dives of dives, will reopen Wednesday.

The bad news: All that stuff they scraped off the walls when they gutted the place last summer is gone for good. "The photographs of customers who had died years before, the posters for shows at the dear, departed CBGB — is gone, too. [Owner Gary] Kelly sent many framed pictures home with regulars as farewell gifts, other memorabilia went into storage. One of the relics of the Holland’s lore — an urn containing the ashes of Charlie O’Connor, a former bartender — had gone missing."

The news news: The Times reports that the reason the Ninth Avenue dive closed in the first place were the villainous dreams of the greedy landlord, Ebeden Wong. "According to Mr. Kelly, who has owned the bar since 1998, the landlord refused to renew the lease in the hopes that he could make more money converting the building for residential use or selling it off. But such plans apparently did not work out, and the landlord offered Mr. Kelly his old space back starting Jan. 1, albeit at a 20 percent increase in the rent."

The article also tells us where Holland's devoted barflies have been these past months. Rudy's mainly, a few blocks north. Others went to the Bull Moose Saloon. They followed the Holland bartenders. "Bill Leary, known as Dr. Bill, took over the Monday and Tuesday shifts at the Bull Moose Saloon, on 44th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenues, and Steve Bibko has been serving free hot dogs along with Jameson shots and Budweiser back at Rudy’s Bar and Grill, at 44th and Ninth."

Makes sense.

Happy Holland News

As I had hoped and expected, the Holland Bar dive of Ninth Avenue, the Holland Bar, is not gone for good. EV Grieve (via Eater) reports:

"The sign is still on the wall. And! The fellow at East West Grocery right next door emphatically told me the Holland was reopening -- 'in two weeks.' Really? 'Yes, it is reopening.' After that, I stood out front and waited for the lone construction worker...Is the bar reopening? 'Yes.' Do you know when it will reopen? 'No.'"

Good news. Always knew that sign on the wall boded well for the place.

Some Stuff That's Interesting

EV Grieve takes a look-see at the Holland Bar situation. [EV Grieve]

Some more typical anti-New York behavior from Bloomberg's City Hall. [NY Post]

More Coney Island soap opera grist, with developer Joe Sitt maybe going down to defeat, finally, but (of course) making a profit in the process. [NY Post via Curbed]

A handy City Council political corruption guide. [Queens Crap]

People from City Island call the proposed new City Island Bridge a "monstrosity." They're right. [NY Times]

A new location for A&S Pork Shop. [Gowanus Lounge]

The Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park is rededicated and relit. [Brownstoner]

Brightening Light at the End of the Holland Tunnel

Even after learning that the Holland Bar might just be closed for renovations, the idea that the grand old dive might have closed for good rattled me so that I had to go and take a look at the place.

The Ninth Avenue saloon was gutted, as advertised. The bright orange awning remained, as did the elaborate interior neon sign reading "Holland." Three men were busy ripping up the floor. They didn't seem too inclined to talk to me. But one did say "Hope so" when I asked if the bar would be returning. I got a more solid reply next door at a deli, where the owner said the bar would be returning "in January." I'm beginning to feel sanguine about the Holland's fate.

Horrors?: Holland Bar Gutted, But May Return

In a possible sure sign of the dying soul of New York City, Holland Bar—dive of dives, hell hole of Times Square past, hard-drinking haven, irony-free zone—has been gutted. If it is gone for good (and this is not a certainty—see below), it follows its brother in gritty Ninth Avenue degeneratacy, Bellevue Bar, into history. If Ray Milland in "The Lost Weekend" were alive today, where would he drink!?

The beloved dump used to be inside the Holland Welfare Hotel in 42nd—hence the name. It only moved to its present location in 1987. Legend has it that jazz great DexterGordon was a regular. The liquor was rotgut, but the beers were good. And everything was cheap.

But there's a possible silver lining. I called around and learned this from the owner of the nearby Manganaro's HeroBoy: "There's a possibility that it may reopen in the spring. The landlord is making some renovations, but if you look in you'll notice that while some stuff has been ripped out, other things have been left. I think the owner and the landlord are trying to come to an agreement."

So there's hope.

The phone has been disconnected. A job action filed with the DOB on Oct. 30 by one Harry H. Hong describes the work this way: "INSTALL EXHAUST HOOD FOR AN EXISTING DELI STORE ["Deli Store"?] ON 1ST FLOOR. INSTALL METAL CHIMNEY FROM 1ST FLOOR ROOF TO 5TH FLOOR ROOF. NO CHANGE IN USE, EGRESS AND OCCUPANCY." I called Hong's office and they didn't know what was going on with the space.

Hong filed another job on Oct. 24 to "REMOVE EXISTING WOOD BEAMS AND REPLACE WITH NEW STEEL BEAMS AND METAL DECK CONCRETE FOR 1ST FLOOR RIGHT FRONT STORE. INSTALL FIRE RATED SHEETROCK ON CELLAR AND 1ST FLOOR CEILING."

The owner of the building is listed as one Eleben Yau Mei Wong, who seems to have bought the property in 2007. Norman Daskefsky used to own the bar. Maybe still does.