BOARD GAMES
youngsters, whose parents
want them to harness
the educational benefits of
board games, as opposed to
strategists of all ages looking
for nothing more than a
good time.
“We wanted to be different
and go towards hobbyists
or families that are
just looking to have a fun
family night out,” he said.
The Fifth Avenue shop
offers board games for everyone
from the experienced
dungeon master to
the low-level wizard, including
the popular introductory
strategy game
Settlers of Catan, and the
railway-themed Ticket to
Ride, which Li says is popular
among families.
A large draw to board
game cafes is the affordable
alternative they offer
to other nightlife options
like movies and drinks.
“All those options, especially
in New York, are
quite expensive,” Li said.
Sip N’ Play charges $5
per person for three hours
of play, or $10 per person
for unlimited play time,
a good deal cheaper than
the average $15 asked for a
movie ticket, with a snack
menu that Li says he hopes
to expand on.
For Li, a long-time board
game enthusiast and recent
college graduate, opening
a board game cafe was the
logical step when he came
across the site of a former
laundromat in the heart of
Park Slope, and he decided
to bail on his planned restaurant
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in favor of what became
Sip ‘N’ Play.
Board games have been
steadily increasing in popularity
in the face of competition
from video games,
with sales estimated to
reach over $12 Billion globally
by 2023, according to
market researchers. Li attributes
the industry’s
popularity with its ability
to keep pumping out fresh
new games for people to
try, and said he hopes to
generate even greater enthusiasm
for analog entertainment
systems through
his cafe.
“I want to spread awareness
of board game cafes in
general,” he said.
Sip n Play 471 Fifth Ave.
at 10th Street, Park Slope,
(718) 971-1684} 9 am – 11 pm
daily, $5 per person for three
hours.
Continued from page 1
WOODLAND
plaints with Community
Board 6 and brass at the 78th
Precinct, accusing Woodland
revelers of urinating and defecating
in the streets, vomiting,
driving drunk, and
fi ghting, which led police to
routinely station patrolmen
outside the watering hole in
2016.
McClure claims the bar’s
liberal brunch policy, which
allowed free refi lls on mimosas
for an unlimited
amount of time for just $20,
was largely to blame for the
chaos. After countless complaints,
the brunch deal was
scaled back to two hours, but
the drunkenness continued.
When state liquor honchos
fi rst started debating
the future of the popular
spot’s license to sell hooch
over the summer, the bar’s
owner claimed his business
was being targeted because
it attracted a predominantly
black clientele to a mostly
white neighborhood, and a
lobbyist hired to represent
the bar at a State Liquor
Authority hearing accused
neighbors of racism.
Local leaders shot back,
saying the bar’s owner Akiva
Regulators shutdown Woodland, effective in early January.
Photo by Caleb Caldwell
Ofshtein, who is white, was
making life miserable for
neighbors and looking to
shift the blame away from
his failure to manage his clientele.
“The complaints here
have everything to do with
the persistent refusal of the
owner to be a good neighbor,”
Councilman Brad Lander
(D—Park Slope), said over
the summer. “Other establishments
nearby operate
bottomless brunches responsibly
and do not receive similar
complaints.”
Supporters of the bar say
neighbors’ complaints are
overblown, and that most
of the supposed incidents
they’ve complained about are
unreported and unproved.
“Unfortunately once you
make enough noise about an
issue it can take the place of
truth,” said Morgan Flores a
community organizer with
The Black Institute who had
supported the bar during
their licensing hearing.
Flores said the closing
has devastated those who
used to gather at Woodland
for brunch.
“Everyone has their spot
and Woodland was the spot
for a lot of people,” she said.
Flores added that a judg
ruled against the restaurant
without giving Ofshtein a
chance to make his case formally
before the state.
Ofshtein could not be immediately
reached for comment.
Continued from page 1
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