NW corner of Franklin & Union: Crow Bar

There seems to be a growing population of people with the means and preferences for such things, so maybe they don't need to change in response to a new business.

Stopped by yesterday, and also met one of the owners. He seemed very nice and told me they also own Hollow Nickel in Boerum Hill. Interior was nice: a few TVs, ~10 draft lines, good amount of space.

They open today at 4p.

2 TVs with football on its opening night.

Full house.

Gothamist: Crown Heights Residents Say New Bar's Name Is Racist

@mugofmead111 beat me to it! i don't know have a ton of knowledge about the history of crown heights, but i don't buy this line:

"Honestly Crown Heights doesn't have a lot of real rich history to it that I could find recorded"

I found that line ridiculous too.  He clearly didn't look very hard... 

I can think of other entities in the area that have used the term Crow in their name locally, but did not seem to create the response:

Crow Hill Bistro used to be on Nostrand.

The Crow Hill Community Association still meets on Franklin.

The Crow Hill Development Corp still builds in the area.

I suspect some of the outrage stems from who is using the term (white business owner) and who is customers are likely to be (white recent graduates).

In that way, the term Crow is much like the N word ...some can use it, and others should not.

Hmm, I think it may have more to do with making a play on it.  It doesn't refer directly to the neighborhood and also is a for-profit business (vs the Community Association and Development Corp).  

That is possible.

However, I wonder if any politicians are offended by the bar's name.

They would be slightly harder than the CHTU to dismiss, because they are often pro-development/new business.

Whereas as CHTU is usually against new businesses that serve a wealthier class, because it results in a snowball effect of gentrification which pushes lower income people out of the area.

mildredpearce  - I love Gothamist and I practically stalk it during the day. LOL

There is a lively discussion in the comments section.

I wonder if the area is now so transient that the bar will remain full despite the views of some re: its name.

Colina Cuervo also translates to Crow Hill.

I think people are just grasping at straws here, no? Is anyone really offended or is this article just trolling an already tense neighborhood?

It does seem to be a desperate move by the CHTU.

...this neighborhood is changing whether they want it to or not.

It seems as if they are going try and picket and chant this evening: https://www.facebook.com/events/1055528367899457/?ti=icl

And the new weightlifting spot next to Berg'n is called Murder of Crows. 

Stumbled upon this afternoon:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1055528367899457/?active_tab=highlights

Definitely seems as if this bar is getting singled out, despite various similarly named places in the neighborhood.

Murder would mean a large group of Crows.

From what I have seen, both the new weightlifting place and the new bar are patronized by people of a variety of races/hues. They use them at their own volition. Hence, it is tough for me to think the customer base is insulted by the name.

This in sharp contrast to the now out of business NuBar on Nostrand. Because that bar had a primarily black customer base, I would periodically hear people of a variety of backgrounds wonder if the name meant Nubian Bar. (It did not)

Likewise, I have heard people claim Brownsville is so named because brown people live there. In actuality, it is named after a developer (Charles S Brown) in the 1860s. I believe Mr Brown was white.

Regardless, the first residents of modern Brownsville were Jewish and it remained predominantly Jewish from something like 1880 to the 1950s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsville,_Brooklyn
.

whynot_31 said:

Which would mean a large group of Crows. From what I have seen, both the new weightlifting place and the new bar are patronized by people of a variety of races/hues. They use them at their own volition. Hence, it is tough for me to think the customer base is insulted by the name. This in sharp contrast to the now out of business NuBar on Nostrand. Because that bar had a primarily black customer base, I would periodically hear people of a variety of backgrounds wonder if the name meant Nubian Bar. (It did not) Likewise, I have heard people claim Brownsville is so named because brown people live there. In actuality, it is named after a developer (Charles S Brown) in the 1860s. I believe Mr Brown was white. Regardless, the first residents of modern Brownsville were Jewish and it remained predominantly Jewish from something like 1880 to the 1950s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownsville,_Brooklyn .

Meanwhile a parallel demographic shift was occuring in Crown Heights...

whynot_31 said:

That is possible. However, I wonder if any politicians are offended by the bar's name.  

That would be a good question to ask!  

I can think of several local politicians who would be out front with bullhorns.

...i don't think of them as shy.

I received the CHTU email notification about the picket and thought it was ridiculous. They need to use that energy to deal with real race issues. Ironically, I stopped in an hour ago and one of the two bartenders is black and the 3 girls sitting and enjoying a drink at the bar (the only customers at 5 pm) were black as well.

despite the controversy of its name....has anyone had dinner or drinks there yet?

Many of my neighbors and I have been in.  My neighbors span ages and races and are soooo glad that they don't have to travel into the city or williamsburg to feel like they can "go out."  I most vividly recalling a conversation I had with an older Caribbean woman on my block who was excited that she and the girls could get some cocktails close by.  She also mentioned people who worked there varied in ethnicity - hello jobs for our community - and she felt very comfortable and proud to be in the community as it proceeds through these positive changes.  She was like all those people moving to PA, no one I'm never leaving.

Yes, this bar continues to be patronized by people of a variety of hues when I walk by. However, some tenants of the building continue to believe their say should hold weight.

"our"? 

justice for tenants who demand naming rights to commercial spaces their landlord also owns?  thats a new one lol

yesbrooklyn said:

"our"? 

justice for tenants who demand naming rights to commercial spaces their landlord also owns?  thats a new one lol

Wonder if a posted trigger warning will satisfy those tenants....

There are only 5 left.

"Last month, the tenants' union gathered outside Crow Bar to discuss the plight of the tenants who live above it. "This is a 35-unit building," said a 25-year tenant who gave her name as Marcia M. "There are about five units with long-standing tenants, and these new tenants are paying up to $4,000 for an apartment."

"It isn't about my bar. It's about the tenant association," Wilby, who resides in Murray Hill, surmised this week. The tenants' union, he believes, is one small cell of opposition."They want to keep their rent stabilized apartments."

http://gothamist.com/2016/09/22/crow_bar_crown_heights.php

Colina Cuervo means Crow Hill, Bar Corvo also means Crow Bar. Still waiting for the righteous warriors to picket those businesses.

It's all so ridiculous, especially when the overwhelming majority of patrons and people who work there are people of color and those protesting are white transplants. Maybe they should take their misdirected activist energy to picket in front of shady landlords/building management companies, at the courthouse during unfair hearings, use that time to volunteer at a soup kitchen, etc.

I consider myself a leftist myself and have several hardcore activist friends. I find that while there are some truly, selfless and noble activists, others are doing it for the wrong (often selfish) reasons. It's really turned me off from this type of activism.

Same.  It's insane how much press this is getting though - I'm kinda impressed lol.  Could he be stealing a page from Trump's playbook and taking this all this [negative] press right to the bank?  Because in that case why change the name?

Originally I was thinking it'd be in his best interest to quickly just change it to Row Bar or something.