The demise of the Dive Bar

[Gmann]

Lately more and more all my favorite watering holes in the city are being closed down. Some because of shitty ownership, rent hikes and others are just being bought out and replaced by Duane Reids and other mega-franchise type stores and whatnot.
Here's a list of just some of the places Ive frequented that have closed down in the past few years :
Bellevue Bar
McHale's
Racoon Lodge
Siberia
Ski Bar
Scruffy Duffy's
Time Out
Village Idiot
Who's on First
Chumley's
Kevin St. James
Koyote Kate's
The Gold Rush
Scrap Bar
Clifford's
Alligator Alley

Now most recently closed is my all time fav place Red Rock West. WTF??!!??
Ive been going to this bar for the past 12yrs. I feel like Im without a home now.

And to make things worse for the common alcoholic, here's a little article I read few months ago http://www.nypost.com/seven/04182008/news/regionalnews/2_a_m__closing_times_a_sobering_reality_106982.htm

WTF is happening to NYC ?? :wallbash:

[Don Stugots]

Red Rock west is closed? what the fuck? i used to go there after union meetings.

[Tall_James]

Did they close down both Raccoon Lodges? I used to love the one downtown.

[ChrisTheCop]

Red Rock west is closed? what the fuck? i used to go there after union meetings.

I think he means the one uptown on 2nd avenue, which indeed is closed.

A few of the bars he mentioned are in that area, and frankly, I blame the 2nd avenue subway project.

[Don Stugots]

if all the dive bars close, where will lleeder sleep?

[Gmann]

Yeah the 2nd Ave Uptown bar has been closed for quite sometime.They tried a couple times to get it to work but apparently they just couldn't.
Im talking about the original one on 17st and 10Ave. Theres a nice FOR RENT sign on it and the place where Bob used to have his sunday BBQ's has now been turned into a plant store.

Its gone :glurps:

[ChrisTheCop]

Yeah the 2nd Ave Uptown bar has been closed for quite sometime.They tried a couple times to get it to work but apparently they just couldn't.
Im talking about the original one on 17st and 10Ave. Theres a nice FOR RENT sign on it and the place where Bob used to have his sunday BBQ's has now been turned into a plant store.

Its gone :glurps:

Wow. That does suck... not really "my type of place" but I have a lot of good memories stemming from that bar. :sad:

[Gmann]

Yep.

The next bar on the chopping block apparently is Yogi's uptown. They say it wont make it till the end of October.

[A.J.]

I would be happy with a neighborhood bar within walking distance. Fucking sterile suburbs.

[Don Stugots]

I would be happy with a neighborhood bar within walking distance. Fucking sterile suburbs.

i have several of bay ridge's finest to choose from and none of them require me losing my parking spot.

[sailor]

in their defense didn't part of the building chumley's was in fall down?

[Gmann]

Yeah. I think it was built around the 1800's or something.

[A.J.]

i have several of bay ridge's finest to choose from and none of them require me losing my parking spot.

Rub it in Stugots. Rub it in.

Well, I suppose I could walk over to the Legal Seafoods bar a few blocks away at the Tyson's Galleria.

[Gmann]

One of the former bouncers from RedRock wanted to open up a similar type of bar around the corner from my apartment but the fucking stupid new councilman rallied against it saying "we dont want that in our neighborhood". Meanwhile the place has been closed for 2yrs now and its just sitting there getting graffitied on.

Such bullshit.

[frye hole]

From that article in the Post about new NY bars closing at 2 AM instead of 4 AM:

"If New York wants to stay a bad-ass tourist capital, it will keep the bars open," she said.
"What do we want to become, Boston?"

[Hosp]

Wow. That does suck... not really "my type of place" but I have a lot of good memories stemming from that bar. :sad:


What was that girls name?

[Tall_James]

i have several of bay ridge's finest to choose from and none of them require me losing my parking spot.

Is Kitty Kiernan's still open? I loved that place, it was almost right at the end of my block.

[mikeyboy]

Here's a list of just some of the places Ive frequented that have closed down in the past few years :
Bellevue Bar
McHale's
Racoon Lodge
Siberia
Ski Bar
Scruffy Duffy's
Time Out
Village Idiot
Who's on First
Chumley's
Kevin St. James
Koyote Kate's
The Gold Rush
Scrap Bar
Clifford's
Alligator Alley

Now most recently closed is my all time fav place Red Rock West. WTF??!!??
Ive been going to this bar for the past 12yrs. I feel like Im without a home now.
[/URL]

WTF is happening to NYC ?? :wallbash:

You know, not my business, but if you have a list that long of defunct bars that you used to frequent, you might want to think about taking a meeting. :wink:

[Gmann]

Dont judge Mikey!

[Don Stugots]

Dont judge Mikey!

Yeah, stop judging and keep lawyering.

[sailor]

Yeah, stop judging and keep lawyering.

don't judge mikey

[ChimneyFish]

I would be happy with a neighborhood bar within walking distance. Fucking sterile suburbs.

I'm in the suburbs, and I have two.

Too bad I hate humans.:happy:

[Ritalin]

Hey, as long as the Subway Inn is open, I'll be fine.

That and the Mickey Johns out here in Sunnyside. And Saints and Sinners in Woodside. And the Von over on Bleeker.

Then I'll be fine.

[cougarjake13]

im seeing the same thing down here, pretty soon the only bars left will be the ones in resturaunts like applebees and fridays etc

[Don Stugots]

Rub it in Stugots. Rub it in.

Well, I suppose I could walk over to the Legal Seafoods bar a few blocks away at the Tyson's Galleria.

that place sounds, um, er, nice.

Is Kitty Kiernan's still open? I loved that place, it was almost right at the end of my block.

i will let you know.

[Doogie]

Yeah the 2nd Ave Uptown bar has been closed for quite sometime.They tried a couple times to get it to work but apparently they just couldn't.
Im talking about the original one on 17st and 10Ave. Theres a nice FOR RENT sign on it and the place where Bob used to have his sunday BBQ's has now been turned into a plant store.

Its gone :glurps:

A few weeks ago I was in the city with my brother, his fiancee and a few of their friends. They all wanted to go to Hogs N Heffers (ecch...), I suggested we go to Red Rock and they agreed. Well we got their and lo and behold it was closed. I was so disappointed...

[Freakshow]

dude, that's why I love Balmer. It's a dive city...

[DonInNC]

dude, that's why I love Balmer. It's a dive city...

I was in town a couple weeks ago and noticed that Edgar's was closing. That place had been around for awhile.

[hedges]

One of the first bars I went to was a place called The Cam, in Boston, near the Prudential Building. Lots of Budweiser served and there was sawdust on the floor.

[Gmann]

A few weeks ago I was in the city with my brother, his fiancee and a few of their friends. They all wanted to go to Hogs N Heffers (ecch...), I suggested we go to Red Rock and they agreed. Well we got their and lo and behold it was closed. I was so disappointed...

Avoid Hogs N Heffers!!!
Its an awful awful place. Its nothing but a bar that rips off tourists and dopes willing to waste....WASTE ....their money and time there. The place charges something like a $15 cover to get in and the bartenders are slow and rude.
Ive only been to Hogs twice and each time its been nothing but a shitty experience.


There are still a few good bars here and there in the Lower East Side. Double Down Saloon and Doc Hollidays for example.

Tonight I was at Coyote Ugly with alot of the RedRock faithful.....patrons and former employees. It wasnt quite the same as being home.....but it was like youre in the same neighborhood.

[Doogie]

Avoid Hogs N Heffers!!!
Its an awful awful place. Its nothing but a bar that rips off tourists and dopes willing to waste....WASTE ....their money and time there. The place charges something like a $15 cover to get in and the bartenders are slow and rude.
Ive only been to Hogs twice and each time its been nothing but a shitty experience.


There are still a few good bars here and there in the Lower East Side. Double Down Saloon and Doc Hollidays for example.

Tonight I was at Coyote Ugly with alot of the RedRock faithful.....patrons and former employees. It wasnt quite the same as being home.....but it was like youre in the same neighborhood.

Ohhh trust me, I know to avoid that awful touristy place. But my brother and his fiancee are a little dopey when it comes to places to go to in the city. She is a Jersey broad and just likes the idea of dancing on the bar. They all went into that hell hole and I went up the road to someplace else...I came back later and was like "Man was it packed in there," meanwhile I had never gone inside the whole time...

[lleeder]

if all the dive bars close, where will lleeder sleep?

In front of my computer on sundays.

[Don Stugots]

In front of my computer on sundays.


Nothing beats a Sunday afternoon nap.

[Jennitalia]

i have several of bay ridge's finest to choose from and none of them require me losing my parking spot.


tell me about. bay ridge is a great place for alcoholics like me.

looking forward to bar hopping during the 3rd ave street fair.

[Jennitalia]

Now most recently closed is my all time fav place Red Rock West. WTF??!!??
Ive been going to this bar for the past 12yrs. I feel like Im without a home now.



now where's hospie going to get his ass whooped???

[Don Stugots]

tell me about. bay ridge is a great place for alcoholics like me.

looking forward to bar hopping during the 3rd ave street fair.

ohhh, when is that? we are still new to these parts.

[TjM]

There are still a few around my area near where the Pats play

[Gmann]

tell me about. bay ridge is a great place for alcoholics like me.

looking forward to bar hopping during the 3rd ave street fair.


I know of only one bar thats around that area. The Wicked Monk. Friends band used to play there all the time. Had alot of fun there.


If youre ever in Park Slope and into metal go check out Lucky 13 Saloon over on 13st.

[The Jays]

Cmon, who needs dive bars when we have Applebee's?

[Hosp]

now where's hospie going to get his ass whooped???

Mistress Tatiana went out of business too? What's the world coming to?

Noelle is working the day shift at some upstate irish pub just to pay the bills.

[Jennitalia]

ohhh, when is that? we are still new to these parts.

it's usually the first sunday in october along 3rd ave. we spend the day barhopping and checking out the street fair. they also have a st patty's day parade end of march...another great excuse to go drinking.

[Jennitalia]

Noelle is working the day shift at some upstate irish pub just to pay the bills.

oh how the mighty have fallen!

[drusilla]

There are still a few good bars here and there in the Lower East Side. Double Down Saloon and Doc Hollidays for example.
.

i remember going to doc holidays once with you many years ago & we only lasted about one drink cause the smell of pee pee was too overwhelming.

[Tall_James]

it's usually the first sunday in october along 3rd ave. we spend the day barhopping and checking out the street fair. they also have a st patty's day parade end of march...another great excuse to go drinking.

So is the Norwegian Day Parade.

[Gmann]

Oh jeez....

another one!!!!


http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/09/honky_tonk_saloons_in_danger_r.html


Red Rock is a Hogs knockoff??

[Jennitalia]

red rocks was good times

[Gmann]

2by4 was juuuuuuuuuuuuust starting to look like it was gonna be our cool bar to go to and now this shit?? AMBIANCE ?? WTF ??

[KatPw]

Blame all the asshats that want to live in close proximity to bars and restaurants, but then get pissed off because they want their peace and quiet. You can't have it both ways. People suck.

[FunkyDrummer]

http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/200802magnetic.jpg

RIP

[Contra]

I CAN NOT BELIEVE red rock west closed!!! Great times in that place. WOW I'm sad now :(

[Furtherman]

I still know a few good dive bars.


And I ain't tellin!!!

[Bellyfullasnot]

Two dive bars that I remember from the early '90s that are closed now are Zoo bar and Bamboo Bernies. Culture Club was a big deal with my clients until late last year and that closed.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

After a night of drinking, where would I go afterwards? KIEV. It had been there FOREVER. Now it's closed.

[Servo]

http://gothamist.com/attachments/arts_jen/200802magnetic.jpg

RIP

Really, Magnetic Field is closed? Had to be very recently.

[Gmann]

Two dive bars that I remember from the early '90s that are closed now are Zoo bar and Bamboo Bernies. Culture Club was a big deal with my clients until late last year and that closed.

Culture Club is closed too ???
When the hell did this happen ??

[FunkyDrummer]

Really, Magnetic Field is closed? Had to be very recently.
:glurps:

Mourning Magnetic Field: Too Uncool to Be Forgotten
Toasting the final hours of the sweet club you were too busy to appreciate
By Annie Fischer
published: April 01, 2008

http://media.villagevoice.com/2039908.47.jpg
You missed it.

Friday night, two days before the Brooklyn Heights spot Magnetic Field was set to close for good, someone posted a sign outside that read: "Tonight's show is sold out. Where have you been the past five years?" The good-natured dig was amusing for the club's stalwarts, who'd long purchased tickets for that night's double bill of the Condo Fucks and the A-Bones. For the latecomers, however—who'd discovered a few hours earlier that the Condo Fucks were actually Yo La Tengo—it was a sly reminder that they were late to the party. A half-decade party that was winding down over the weekend, and is now officially over. "Besides being open for my lifetime, I think we achieved all that we expected," says co-owner Lee Greenfeld. "The last week has been very emotional."

Those fair-weather fans would've felt left out anyway. Or at least I did. I'd hung out at the Atlantic Avenue bar a few times and always liked it, but I was not immediately recognized and embraced as one of Magnetic Field's close-knit devotees upon entry. (In fact, I was recognized as the girl on the press list whose name sounds an awful lot like "Amy Fisher," which the bouncer found terribly amusing.) Pretty much everyone else seemed to know one another. It was charming to watch. Greenfeld and his partner, William Crane, spent their years at the bar cultivating a loyal base, and I watched as the bartenders filled drink orders that hadn't been placed yet, sliding over a customer's preferred cocktail around the same time he was opening his mouth to ask for it. There were half-ironic and wholly misguided fist-pumps among boys who clearly do not fist-pump, and I watched as a girl blushed when her attempt to buy a drink for someone even more awkward than she was rebuffed. ("It's easier if you just take the money," he said, handing her a ten-spot for the beer she'd bought him. "I'll get confused later about who owes what.") Someone's parents navigated their way toward the stage, the smells from whatever restaurant they just left clinging to their clothes. Isn't that the worst? I politely request a seat change if someone near me ever orders fajitas. They're foul.

My interloper status didn't matter once Yo La Tengo meandered up to the stage from their spots out among the crowd (yeah, it was like that), and the crush moved forward to soak up the trio's feedback. They played a slew of covers I didn't recognize but enjoyed nonetheless—energy was high, high, high—and eventually the A-Bones' Billy Miller and Bruce Bennett joined Ira, James, and Georgia onstage to further amp up the loud-and-fast factor, while the happy buzz of the crowd multiplied. A Brooklyn five-piece that plays the wild rock 'n' roll of years gone by, the A-Bones often took the Magnetic Field stage—as did the Black Lips, the Ponys, Lenny Kaye, and Voxtrot—amid the club's busy weekly lineup of shows, DJs, and live karaoke. The A-Bones also have another claim to fame: Drummer Miriam Linna and frontman Miller are the brains behind the Norton record label.

Speaking of Norton Records—oh my God, Mary Weiss was there, in black leather and with perfect blond hair. The former leader of the Shangri-Las is signed to said label, after meeting Miller at a Rhino Records party for the girl-group boxed set One Kiss Can Lead to Another, and she's set to sing live at the 2008 Joey Ramone Birthday Bash at Irving Plaza on May 19. I'm so pleased by this. "You're Never Gonna See Me Cry," from last year's Dangerous Games, is totes on my Muxtape.

Sadly for Magnetic Field enthusiasts, there's no glamorous story behind its demise (the loss of your favorite bar is always more palatable if evil developers are the culprit). The owners are just both ready to move on to other projects: Greenfeld will devote more time to Dead Flowers, his production company, which manages, books, and promotes the same type of spirited garage rock (Black Hollies, Nouvellas) that Norton reps, while Crane will continue to host the Sudden Death Game Show as his alter ego, Dick Swizzle—it'll be moving to Union Hall. "Neither of us are at the age where 18-plus-hour days are very appealing at this point," explains Greenfeld. "And as such, it was time for a change for both of us." (As for what will become of the space, the owners are still in negotiations.)

I headed to Village Pourhouse after the show to catch the remainder of the KU game in an effort to appease my mother, who thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to meet a nice Midwestern boy with whom I could eventually return home, where I rightfully belong—sooner rather than later, thank you. (The boys were there, all right. And they were cute. But there were some 300 of them, and an equal number of girls wearing pocket-sized versions of Jayhawks jerseys. I both cannot and would not attempt to pull off such an ensemble. No love connections. Sorry, Carol.) But I was sorry to leave Magnetic Field's cheery, intimate confines—and surprised the next day to read the nasty comments on various blogs' follow-up posts about the show. "From the earlier thread a big fuck you goes out to Lee from Magnetic Field who posted on there ... We all knew it was YLT so why keep up the charade you idiot," wrote a humorless and grammatically challenged Brooklyn Vegan commenter—possibly one of the folks Greenfeld was hoping would stay away.

"The 'charade' was so that the wonderful, sweet folks in YLT could play to our loyal friends and patrons," Greenfeld responded. "Not a bunch of ungrateful schmucks who are too cool to have bothered with us for the past five years."

Still, Greenfeld doesn't want to dwell on the negative. "Besides being a music venue, I've come to realize after this week of closing nights that it became a sort of living room for a lot of wonderful people—a community," he says on Monday morning, the day after they shut down the bar for the last time. "I am going to miss all those folks in my living room more than I can even put into words."

[KC2OSO]

Not sure you'd classify it as a dive bar but Hogs & Heffers is alive and kicking ass. Spent the afternoon and evening there yesterday. Wild fucking time.

[Gmann]

Hogs is awful.
I will NEVER waste my money or time there again.

[Ritalin]

Not sure you'd classify it as a dive bar but Hogs & Heffers is alive and kicking ass. Spent the afternoon and evening there yesterday. Wild fucking time.

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/new-york/images/s/verrazano-bridge.jpg

http://www.stvinc.com/portfolio_images/LincolnTunnelTrafficManagementCenter1.jpg

[KC2OSO]

Hogs is awful.
I will NEVER waste my money or time there again.

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/new-york/images/s/verrazano-bridge.jpg

http://www.stvinc.com/portfolio_images/LincolnTunnelTrafficManagementCenter1.jpg

Huh, who knew it was a tourist/Jersey place. Guess we hit it on a good day. My buddy was up from Florida and we just wandered in there around noon and left around 7. Barmaid was hot and friendly with the shots, locals were surly and conversational. Good times.

I've actually just heard about it over the years - never been there before. It's like a McSorley's?

[led37zep]

Pats 2 still lives in Redondo Beach.



*Please note...there isn't a "Pat's 1", which makes the name of this bar play into the seedy nature of the beast.

[murfee]

my fav bar in bay ridge the kilcar house closed aftre many years now it reopened as a fukin lone star half assed red neck joint. i live in park slope but all these joints cater to the stroller moms

[sailor]

last night saw a 300 pound guy sitting at the bar reach his hand inside the neck of his shirt, vigorously scratch his armpit and proceed to not subtly smell his hand after extracting it. at no point did that interrupt his convo with the bartender and 2 other patrons. ah, the dive bar is alive and well in the bronx.

[Ritalin]

Huh, who knew it was a tourist/Jersey place. Guess we hit it on a good day. My buddy was up from Florida and we just wandered in there around noon and left around 7. Barmaid was hot and friendly with the shots, locals were surly and conversational. Good times.

I've actually just heard about it over the years - never been there before. It's like a McSorley's?

Kinda, but I'm just fucking with you. In my book, if you had a good time, then that's a good bar.

[Ritalin]

last night saw a 300 pound guy sitting at the bar reach his hand inside the neck of his shirt, vigorously scratch his armpit and proceed to not subtly smell his hand after extracting it. at no point did that interrupt his convo with the bartender and 2 other patrons. ah, the dive bar is alive and well in the bronx.

Fez?

[Gmann]

last night saw a 300 pound guy sitting at the bar reach his hand inside the neck of his shirt, vigorously scratch his armpit and proceed to not subtly smell his hand after extracting it. at no point did that interrupt his convo with the bartender and 2 other patrons. ah, the dive bar is alive and well in the bronx.


Sounds like the guy who owns The Patriot.
Everytime Im there he's either extremely drunk or passed out with fat plumber crack showing for all his patrons to see.

[Gmann]

October 4 Yogi's will be shutdown.

And another one bites the dust.

[CruelCircus]

Two dive bars that I remember from the early '90s that are closed now are Zoo bar and Bamboo Bernies. Culture Club was a big deal with my clients until late last year and that closed.

The Bamboo Bernie's in Smithtown, or was there one in Manhattan, too?

Also, anyone remember the name of the 70's clubs that spawned Culture Club?
Damned if I can remember, but I used to love to go there before I turned 21.

[Gmann]

Polyester ?
Wasn't that a block away from Down The Hatch and The Slaughtered Lamb ??

[JustJon]

I know it's not a dive bar, but the Korova Milk Bar moved from the city to White Plains late last year/early this year.

[Gmann]

This was posted on my friend Kevins bar website.


On October 4 Yogi’s will join the list of shuttered city bars and saloons. It will be quiet at the spot, 2156 Broadway, at 76th Street, for the first time in many years.

This has been a bad year for dive bars. We have lost Red Rock West, Scruffy Duffy’s, Collins Bar, Kevin St. James, and Time Out. Now comes word that the most beloved dive on the Upper West Side is closing up. The building was sold and will be torn down.

Yogi’s has been in the Tom McNeil empire for 10 years. Prior to that, the space was the Bear Bar. For decades before that, it was an Irish pub. As Yogi’s, it has been an oasis for country music lovers and fans of cheap bar and rowdy barmaids since Clinton was in office. It always delivered the goods: low-price drinks and raucous times. It has several hallmarks: disgusting restrooms, peanut shells on the floor, broken chairs, and sticky surfaces.

But Yogi’s always made the list of great NYCBP bars for it’s bartenders. Over the years there have been dozens, maybe hundreds, of women to work behind the bar. Some lasted just one night, other clocked in for years. Who was a regular customer of Jenn? Chaundra? Steph? Myriam? Patience? Theresa? Teresa? Lisa Marie? And so many more…

[BillySolHarg]

I know it's not a dive bar, but the Korova Milk Bar moved from the city to White Plains late last year/early this year.

Do you know how the new one is? I can't imagine it's as lively as it were when it was downtown in the city. I've had many good times there.

[PigShitIrish]

The last few times I was in New York, I always somehow ended up at this place...

http://www.urban75.org/photos/newyork/images/ny552.jpg

[Furtherman]

The last few times I was in New York, I always somehow ended up at this place...

http://www.urban75.org/photos/newyork/images/ny552.jpg

Mars Bar. One block over from the nexus of the universe.

[Gmann]

Yogi's closing in Vanity Fair


http://www.vanityfair.com/online/culture/2008/10/10/another-dive-bar-dies-in-bloombergs-manhattan.html

Another Dive Bar Dies in Bloomberg's Manhattan
by George GurleyOctober 10, 2008, 5:17 PM

Yogi’s, a dump of a bar on the Upper West Side, is more packed than it’s ever been in its ten years of existence. For some reason, more than 200 people have crammed into a space the size of a large one bedroom to say goodbye to one another. They’re taking pictures, signing T-shirts with sharpies, and scrawling messages on the walls.

The vibe is frenzied and desperate. There are huge piles of empty cans and broken bottles everywhere and it’s only 9:30 p.m. Inside the bathroom there’s a hole where the toilet used to be, and now it’s overflowing, creeping outside the bathroom. It’s coming closer, a terrible swirling sea of beer, urine, and solid matter. People are standing, wading around in it and laughing. Nobody seems to care. Nobody wants to admit what seems pretty obvious: it’s the end of the world!

A flyer on the wall offers an explanation: “Well folks, it’s official. The walls are coming down! Yogi’s will be closing Saturday night, 10/04. We held out as long as possible but big money wins again…”

I’ve been here 20 times or so, but don’t remember much. So here are all my memories condensed into one:

On a sunny Sunday afternoon in 1998, I walk in and “Satisfaction” is blasting. It never sounded so good and never will again. For three hours I interview an aspiring actress and begin to suspect she’s into me. She’s not, she leaves, and a guy starts a fight with me. I’m drunk enough not to be terrified, we’re quickly separated, then I learn that the guy’s out on probation for stabbing someone. I feed five dollars into the jukebox, play George Jones, Chuck Berry, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yoakam, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Jr. Then my pal Randy shows up. We chat up two nice African-American girls, one of them a beauty pageant winner, take them to a nightclub downtown. Randy makes out with the beauty, I make out with her friend, we leave without Randy, the beauty starts throwing up outside the friend’s apartment, and I end up back at Yogi’s. At 3:55 a.m., I’m passionately singing along to Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” in unison with a dozen other dudes, then stumble home alone, vomit creamed spinach onto the couch, and pass out there.

This was the kind of night out in New York that Yogi’s owner, Tommy McNeil, envisioned, back in the early 1980’s. A Brooklyn-born redneck, he saw that something was missing in the city, that too many places had a cold, impersonal, negative vibe. So he opened a bar on First Avenue and 10th Street, christened it The Village Idiot, and began providing cheap beer, hot bartenders, and a wildness that sometimes strayed into the realm of utter depravity. It was the template for the honky-tonk-bar-in-New York scene at the turn of the century, and after it closed in 1993 there was one Idiot spawn after another.

Yogi’s was smaller and more intimate than the second Village Idiot, where I was a regular from 1995 to 1999. There was something reliable about it. I always knew it was there on 76th and Broadway and, although circumstances would differ on any given night, the experience would have the same overall effect: I’d go for a “few” drinks, stay until closing, and suffer greatly the next day.

A line has formed at the front so I sneak under the barricade by the side entrance where a dozen souls are huddled, getting some air and smoking by a giant dumpster labeled with tape that reads “Danger: Asbestos.”

I meet Andy, who vaguely resembles the lead singer of Poison. He’s talking to a fidgety guy named Gator, who is double fisting Budweisers. Gator says he was at Yogi’s “on opening day” and can’t stick around much longer. Too emotional.

He blames greed for his bar’s demise and says it’ll get replaced by a Starbucks or Chase bank.

“And now all the banks are failing,” Gator slurs, then delivers a message to Mayor Bloomberg: “What the hell? We’re going to be in a depression or a least a regression and people want to drink more. And you fucked up all the bars by the smoking law and you just don't understand.”

I bum a light off Johann, a Ph.D. candidate, who estimates he’s been to Yogi’s a few hundred times. Typically he’d come in on Sundays to hang with the old timers: “It's almost like they keep some of the people that frequent this place in the basement. They sort of live here.”

Johann blames the Federal Reserve for Yogi’s demise and thinks a tanning salon or Bed Bath and Beyond will take its place. “Unfortunately that’s the reality of the world we live in,” he says. “It’s very, very sad.”

Eddie Goldman, a grizzly bespectacled journalist and radio show host (No Holds Barred) tells me he’s been coming there for more than thirty years, back when it was named McGowan’s and, later Bear bar. Mr. Goldman has been at Yogi’s five of the past six nights and is very sad, too, because he wanted to celebrate his 60th birthday there.

He mentions a legendary barmaid from the early days, Beth, with whom I too used to love to drink and flirt. I followed her from the Idiot to Yogi’s, then to Bellevue bar (gone) and Gold Rush (gone), but she seems to have disappeared herself. (Wherever you are, baby, I’m sorry I lied about having a cat that night you came over at 5 a.m. back in ’99. Thought you two would get along eventually, didn’t know your pet allergies were life threatening, and even though you screamed bloody murder on your way out, traumatizing Baba, and I never saw you again, it was still one of the best nights of my life. Call me?)

I reach for my Coors and take a big gulp. It tastes funny because it’s someone’s abandoned Bud Light. Paranoia strikes. Let’s wait 30 seconds for the cyanide to take effect. Nope, nothing. Next comes grandiosity: maybe the time-release arsenic will kick in at exactly 4 a.m. I’ll go down with Yogi’s and make the front page of the Post.

Back inside I meet a group of actors and musicians from the South who call themselves the Concrete Cowboys. A dude wearing a white Saturday Night Fever suit jokes that they all have giant cock rings on. The cowboys used to come to Yogi’s seven nights a week. One time they were drinking Bacardi 151, spraying fireballs as high as the ceiling and a girl from New Jersey with hair out to here came within inches of the flame. Someone mentions Beth the legendary barmaid again.

So I think about Mayor Bloomberg and how, in his next four years, more great bars like Yogi’s will close to make room for Starbucks, Banana Republics, Duane Reades, luxury condos, a bank on every block. And how great it would be if Mayor Mike were here tonight. The goddesses behind the bar would be pouring him pitchers of PBR and shots of Jack, flashing their boobies in exchange for hundred-dollar bills. Then he’d be dancing around like a buffoon like I’ve done so many times, by the jukebox, singing along to
“Take This Job and Shove it!” Then he’d hit the nasty bathroom with the vile slidey floor and maybe fall into the hole.

Kidding!

At 3:45 a.m. Yogi’s is still going. A barmaid fills up a beer glass with whiskey and charges me six dollars. I savor the quadruple whiskey soda which would have cost at least $70 plus tip at the Gramercy Park’s swanky Rose bar. Why do I even go there? I wonder. Because I get to breathe the same air as Sienna Miller, Dave Navarro, Dita Von Teese, and Brandon Davis?

I wonder if Tommy McNeil is going to make an appearance tonight. A bouncer tells me no, he was here last night and it got pretty ugly. Back in August I was hanging outside Ruby Fruit, a lesbian bar in the West Village whose owner was facing eviction thanks to escalating rent. McNeil happened to be walking by and I hollered, “Tom!”

He didn’t want to talk about Yogi’s, but I persisted. “I think the city does nothing, absolutely nothing positive but almost everything in its power to get you out of business,” he said.

He said he’d owned places in other cities where officials encourage success. “And here, if you want to call it ‘Bloomberg’ or whatever else, right now they’re just trying to bleed every dollar they constantly can out of the small business person and still give away to the big one. And he and the administration, what’s happening right now, they have no clue whatsover.”

Before I leave I read the rest of the flyer taped to the door. What’s that? Tommy’s opening up another bar in a few days! In Spanish Harlem! And it’s called The Duck!

There is hope.

[jonyrotn]

I suppose I could walk over to the Legal Seafoods bar a few blocks away.I can't drink in a place that stinks like fish, oh wait..Yes I can..:smile:

[Furtherman]

Yogi's closing in Vanity Fair

Yogi's, or The Bear Bar, was a great place. $2 PBR cans and the last time I was there, the shapely bartender was kind enough to WOW the bar multiple times. I thought there was going to be a riot. Now where to go before the Allman Brothers shows?! P&G Bar around the corner is closing soon as well. Sad. Sad. Sad.

[Gmann]

I heard a rumor tonight from a hugely reliable source about a certain bar that Ive frequented for many years....



ALL IS NOT LOST!!!


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[Zorro]

Still open:

Jimmy's Corner ...(west 44th Street) Old Homage to boxing bar

Dave's Tavern ... (9th Ave South of 42nd) hookers, losers and occasionally me

Subway Inn...East Side....Don't ask for Absolut Vanilla

[JAH1013]

We had a great dive bar in college called Gillette's. No windows, no sign. You never had any clue what time it was because it was always dark in there. It was just a door on the side of a building. Man I miss that place.

[LZMan1]

Lately more and more all my favorite watering holes in the city are being closed down. Some because of shitty ownership, rent hikes and others are just being bought out and replaced by Duane Reids and other mega-franchise type stores and whatnot.
Here's a list of just some of the places Ive frequented that have closed down in the past few years :
Bellevue Bar
McHale's
Racoon Lodge
Siberia
Ski Bar
Scruffy Duffy's
Time Out
Village Idiot
Who's on First
Chumley's
Kevin St. James
Koyote Kate's
The Gold Rush
Scrap Bar
Clifford's
Alligator Alley

Now most recently closed is my all time fav place Red Rock West. WTF??!!??
Ive been going to this bar for the past 12yrs. I feel like Im without a home now.

And to make things worse for the common alcoholic, here's a little article I read few months ago http://www.nypost.com/seven/04182008/news/regionalnews/2_a_m__closing_times_a_sobering_reality_106982.htm

WTF is happening to NYC ?? :wallbash:when the fuck did the ski bar close down? i fucking loved going to that shit hole. jager man jumping up on the bar and pouring shots into people's mouths. the oscillating surveilance cams....place was fucking crazy years ago!

[yojimbo7248]

I didn't notice anyone mention the Lake Side Lounge near Tompkins Square. I don't know if it counts as a dive bar but one of my favorites in Manhattan.