Greenpoint
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Culture on the Cheap
It’s BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK: The Franklin Street Tower Of Fun Returns
Like many of the people reading this I went out the evening of St. Patrick’s Day. I wanted to catch up over drinks with a good friend of mine. To this end we wanted a place that was nice and quiet to chat. Initially we went to t.b.d.— and although we had a good time— the din of merry making was not conducive to having a quality “one on one”. To this end we decided to see what was shaking at The River Barrel.
As we had hoped it had plenty of seating available and nice, quiet surroundings. Save of course the sonic hum of the giant NYPD issue spotlight gracing the front of their property. I struck up a conversation with the bartender (who is a very nice and very funny woman) to get her thoughts. She explained to me that the reason her establishment was almost empty had a lot to do with this rather noticeable fixture.
It scares away the customers.
She said. She then proceeded to tell me about a most amusing incident she witnessed the last time the “Tower of Fun” graced the frontage of her place of employment. It was in the wee hours of the morning when she noticed one of the local winos (of whom my fair burgh has quite a number of) pass by. Upon noticing this light fixture he paused for a moment. After assessing the situation he proceeded to kick it repeatedly. Not satisfied with this act of defiance he decided to cap things off by urinating on it.
Granted, the previous slice of Greenpoint is humorous— but the underlying issue with the “Tower of Fun” not. How can the Production Lounge be policed and public safety concerns be addressed without impacting adjacent eating and drinking establishments? There is no easy answer to this question— but I hope we find one soon. It doesn’t strike me as being very fair that a business which is not a nuisance to community* should bear the brunt of its neighbor’s lack of regard for its neighbors and the community as a whole.
That’s my two cents. Take ’em or leave ’em as you see fit.
Miss Heather
*As far as I know. If anyone disagrees with my assessment please speak up via comments.
Comments
6 Comments on It’s BAAAAAAAAAAAAACK: The Franklin Street Tower Of Fun Returns
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neighborhood threat on
Thu, 19th Mar 2009 1:58 pm
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addrobinson on
Thu, 19th Mar 2009 4:58 pm
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missheather on
Thu, 19th Mar 2009 5:00 pm
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rowan on
Thu, 19th Mar 2009 6:32 pm
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canyouwink on
Thu, 19th Mar 2009 11:26 pm
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kathysue on
Fri, 20th Mar 2009 11:42 am
i hate to disagree with river barrel, but i think people aren’t coming out because
1) people are scared and not spending $$ and
2) RB has gotten a lot of bad reviews.
i don’t think it has anything to do with the lights. people would be sitting in casa mon amour if it was still open, lights or no lights.
I agree with neighborhood threat, RB will not get many repeat customers if others had experiences similiar to the one I had. It was bad in more ways than one that I will not go into at this moment.
Understood, addrobinson.
while most of my river barrel experiences were positive, if they are getting mixed reviews in this economy, having the Tower of Fun outside is adding fuel to the fire.
I was there on St. Patrick’s day and heard the same story from the bartender. I don’t understand why the light is on the opposite corner from the Production Lounge – it could be a lot closer, and there must be more effective ways of patrolling the area or dealing with potential problems. And I’m sure the people that live upstairs from River Barrel or in the surrounding buildings love that their apartments are now super bright all the time.
I agree with everyone on the River Barrel (food/service)…but, they’re still new and need to get their feet wet. Give ’em a chance.
What I don’t understand is why the lights were in front of the River Barrel instead of where they’d previously been- on the same side of the street as the Production Lounge. Seems like a better place to have ’em…
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