A huge celebration breaks out at Neir’s Tavern in Woodhaven. Photo by Dean Moses
‘FROM A FUNERAL TO A MIRACLE’
Beloved Woodhaven tavern saved, but small biz still struggles across city
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JAN. 17-JAN. 23, 2020 3
BY MAX PARROTT
Business was booming at
the historic Neir’s Tavern
in Woodhaven the day after
Mayor de Blasio personally
showed up to announce that
it would not be closing on
Jan. 10.
De Blasio’s office helped
get the bar’s landlord to the
table to negotiate a lease
with owner Loycent Gordon
that would ensure it will stay
open for another five years,
with the option to renew for
five more.
But for small business
advocates, the saga raised
systemic concerns.
The news of the tavern’s
salvation came a day after
owner Loycent Gordon had
sent out an email to his customers,
telling them that he
would have to hastily close as
a result of a $3,400 rent hike.
But over the course of
Jan. 10, the Queens Chamber
of Commerce and local lawmakers
intervened on behalf
of the 190-year bar, which is
said to be the oldest continuously
running bar in the city,
to work out a lease that would
last until it’s 200th anniversary,
along with some grants to
cover repairs to the building.
“It was a madhouse, everyone
was crying — we’re
just overjoyed. It went from a
funeral to a miracle,” Gordon
said, describing the packed
celebration on Friday night.
Among the throng of Neir’s
guests on Saturday — which
included neighbors who came
to celebrate their local pub
and first-timers who arrived
because of the media coverage
— were a group of advocates
who showed up to spread
awareness about two bills that
are aimed at protecting businesses
from ballooning rent.
“It’s great that the mayor
saved this place, but you can
bet that he’s not going to be
able to save each and every
space in the city,” said Olympia
Kazi, a member of the
NYC Artist Coalition, a group
dedicated lowering rents for
small businesses as a way
to keep grassroots cultural
institutions alive.
The members of the groups
explained that they are in favor
of two bills that propose to
lower commercial rents.
One of them named the
commercial rent stabilization
bill, introduced by Councilman
Stephen Levin, would
function much like the recent
residential rent stabilization.
It would set up a rent guideline
board under mayoral control
that would set a percentage
increase cap for all commercial
leases under 10,000 feet.
The other bill floating
around the council is the
Small Business Jobs Survival
Act, which would entitle each
commercial lease holder go
to mediation and binding arbitration
if they thought that
a new lease was proposing a
rent hike that was too steep.
“You cannot have a place
that has invested in a community
— it’s been there for
decades — and out of the blue,
without any reason, the rent
is doubled or tripled,” said
Kazi.
The group came to advocate
for affordable community
spaces, like Neir’s, which they
see as vital to culture, but not
hugely profitable.
In fact, even the devoted
neighbors of Neir’s said that
they could see why it was
struggling.
“It’s an awkward spot for a
bar because it’s so old. Parking
here is a nightmare because
it’s all residential. Unless you
grew up around here, or live
around here you don’t really
know about this place, unless
it’s because of the history,”
said Chris Kirwan, a regular
at the bar’s trivia night.
But for people like Bobby
Flash — a neighbor who still
holds on to a snow packet he
picked up while watching
Martin Scorsese film a scene
from “Goodfellas” at the bar
in 1989 — it contains an ineffable
piece of the city’s history.
“To me, it’s not just another
bar; it’s a community
place. For the mayor to come
down here, you know this
place has great significance,”
Flash said.
Reach reporter Max Parrott
by e-mail at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260-2507.
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