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COURIER L 14 IFE, DEC. 6-12, 2019
Filmmakers Jay Cusato and Rob Martin are raising funds for the post-production phase of
their documentary on Farrell’s. Photo by Ben Verde
Ferrell-ized!
Documentary looks at history of
legendary Windsor Terrace tavern
BY BEN VERDE
A team of Park Slope fi lmmakers are
crafting a documentary that seeks to examine
the history of legendary Windsor
Terrace watering hole Farrell’s – with
a focus on the bar’s ability to stay the
same while the neighborhood around it
has changed dramatically.
“The bar always stood out to us,” said
Jay Cusato, the fi lm’s director. “Even
when you were a kid, you knew it was
a little bit more special than just any
other bar.”
Farrell’s, which opened in 1933, is
the second oldest bar in Kings County.
It dates from Park Slope’s tough Irish
days, when there was an Irish bar on every
corner – most of which were identical
to each other, according to Cusato.
Now, Farrell’s – known for its clean,
crisp taps and take-away beer containers
– is the only one remaining. Many
of the bars were demolished after master–
builder Robert Moses routed the
Prospect Expressway through the center
of the neighborhood, which was the
subject of a local play last year, while
the rest shuttered as the neighborhood
changed. Except for Farrell’s – which the
fi lmmaker’s credit solely to the bars former
owner, Eddie Farrell, who passed
away in 1995.
“The reason why the place is so special
is because of him,” Cusato said. “He
was one of those guys who just truly
cared about the neighborhood his business
was in.”
Cusato says Farrell passed those
virtues on to the generation of barkeepers
who took over for him, who in turn
passed it on to those who keep the bar
today.
Farrell was known for his charitable
attitude towards locals. Cusato says he’s
uncovered countless stories of the bar
owner raising funds for down and out
regulars, such as passing a hat around
the bar for contributions when one regular
was laid off, or paying out of pocket
for a regular patron to travel to Ireland
for his brothers funeral – without ever
expecting repayment.
Most famously, when Holy Name
Church on Prospect Park West held a
fundraiser to replace their aging bells,
Farrell donated the vast majority of the
funds himself.
“If you needed help, that’s where you
went,” Cusato said.
The bar is also a haven for conservative
Brooklynites in an otherwise liberal
part of town, and stands in stark
contrast to the progressive crowd that
the Double Windsor bar attracts across
the street, in a phenomena that’s been
described as the Windsor Terrace divide.
Cusato and his producer Rob Martin,
are holding a fundraiser to help bring
the documentary to full length in the
production phase, and help track down
some of the famous New Yorkers who
have downed a pint at the bar, such as
Shirley MacLaine, Harvey Keitel, and
Peter Weller, Patch reported. The duo
has slightly over a month to raise the
$24,200 they need.
The team already managed to nab an
interview with revered New York City
columnist Pete Hamill, a Park Slope native
whose father was a regular at the
Prospect Park West tavern.
But aside from the famous former
patrons, the fi lmmakers are dedicating
most of their efforts to talking to the
regulars who spent years perched at the
bar when Farrell was pouring pints, as
well as co-owner Jimmy Houlihan, who
worked his last bartending shift earlier
this month after working at the bar
since 1969.
While the neighborhood is no longer
an Irish enclave, the bar has fostered a
lively community space for those who
remain, so much so that it was profi led
in Irish Central this year.
“It really is a town hall,” Cusato
said.
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