[EVG photo from 2010]
Ninth Ward, the New Orleans-themed bar at 180 Second Ave., is closing its doors for good after service on Feb. 14.
Here is their official message via Facebook:
Five years ago on Mardi Gras the Ninth Ward bar was born. After five wonderful years we are closing our doors. Please come by in the next two weeks and raise a glass to both Mardi Gras and Ninth ward!!
We will be closing on Sunday, February 14th - Valentine's Day. "It's not you, it's me"
According to a tipster, management informed staff on Tuesday night ... the rumor is the new (as of 2014) owners of the building between East 11th Street and East 12th Street have designs on a gut renovation that will eventually yield condos.
The ownership here is also behind two other Second Avenue bars — Kingston Hall and Shoolbred's. In November, Nic Ratner and Robert Morgan got the OK from CB3 for a beer-wine license to open a cajun-style restaurant in the former 10 Degrees Bistro space on Avenue A.
The Ninth Ward, which serves Abita beer, Sazeracs, absinthe and other cocktails. opened in June 2010. The opening announcement reportedly elicited a strong reaction from Louisiana native Cajun Boy, who tweeted:
A New Orleans-themed bar in NYC called Ninth Ward has opened. Maybe I'll open a NYC-themed bar in New Orleans and call it World Trade Center
The opening was also discussed in New Orleans. Per an item in the newspaper Gambit: "As you might imagine, naming a NYC bar 'Ninth Ward' is fraught with complications, starting with the fact the Ninth Ward has never exactly been known as a hotspot for creative cocktails."
The address was, until 2010, Thai on Two.
Well, looks like I won. (They kicked me out one afternoon for having my kid with me in the bar. I wrote a nasty review on Google & Yelp.)
ReplyDeleteThis is a shame. One of the best happy hours in the city and one of the last backyard gardens.
ReplyDeleteI always thought Cajun Boy made a good point there.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sewer! Thank God... prayers are answered. Loud... Noisy. Low-life bar! Now if we can all pray for the closing of Bar Veloce 2nd Ave night life might be bearable.
ReplyDeleteHey Rocky Thompson:
ReplyDeleteHope you get a Yelper's special next time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDlR_ccnZww
This is devastating. the jerks above are just bitter and sad they weren't cool enough to enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteWow cmarrtyy!
ReplyDelete"Now if we can all pray for the closing of Bar Veloce 2nd Ave night life might be bearable."
I've been praying for the closing of the 13th Step since they opened! Have you not noticed the drunken packs there? Or any other of the SantaCon-approved bars along 2nd Avenue?
that strip of 2nd Avenue has been a frat bar scene since before most of you whiners were born.
ReplyDeleteUgh. I love this bar.
ReplyDeleteAs much as people bemoan the 2nd ave bar stretch, Ninth Ward was a bright spot comparably, it wasn't a drunk pickup scene, always nice people catching up over a beer and bite. Between this, poppys, and northern spy feeling a bit down ... as construction rages on and there is no peace 8+ hours a day : /
ReplyDeleteI've never been there at night. I do like their PO' boys and the authentic New Orleans feel. I only started going there last year after passing it by since it opened. I see the reviews here are mixed but I think I'll miss it
ReplyDeleteI did some sleuthing in the public records (that is to say my wife did some sleuthing) and realized that a luxury condo developer (http://largavista.com) recently acquired the four adjoining properties from 176-182 2nd Ave. Thats Numero 28 to Cacio e Peppe. I bet they plan on demoing the whole half block and put up a condo. What else would they be doing?
ReplyDelete@Dave - as a tenant at one of the addresses I would be interested to see where this information comes from. My landlord hasn't changed to my knowledge.
ReplyDelete@2:19pm: "that strip of 2nd Avenue has been a frat bar scene since before most of you whiners were born."
ReplyDeleteWRONG! That "strip" used to have a lot of interesting small businesses that had nothing to do with "frat bars" - esp. since back then nobody in their right mind would ever have belonged to a frat!
And yes, I've lived here that long! Evidently you have not.
I don't see the analogy to opening a bar caled The World Trade Center. The Ninth Ward is an area of NOLA. People still live there. They are building new homes there. The argument is moot now.
ReplyDeleteI love how people that have lived in the hood for 7 years make statements like "the EV has always been wild" or "2nd has always been frat bar haven".
ReplyDelete@ Anoynymous 11:20 p.m.
ReplyDeleteIt's a bit complicated, but it goes like this:
I (my wife) did a search on ACRIS - the NYC property records database. I checked her worked. The relevant properties are identifed as Manhattan Block 00453, Lots 0002-0005. A search for these lots reveals that a "UCC Continuation Statement" was filed on all fouir lots on December 16, 2015. The debtors identified on the UCC statement are several, but the primary debtor on all four lots is identified as "Gaseterio Oil Company." If you do a Google search for "Gaseterio Oil Company" the first thing that comes up is a link for "Largavista Companies" - a premier real estate firm based in NYC. If you search around the internet for "Largavista" you will see that there are behind a lot of developments in the area, including the 300 Lafayette Street development.
ACRIS also allows you to look at the actual UCC filing document and doing so idenfies several other debtors including Malu Properties, Inc., NAPA Realty Corp., Noxxen Realty Corp., and Palmana Realty Corp. All of these entities share the same addrress with Gasterio Oil Company.
Anyways, something is going on with these properties but I'm not exactly sure what that something is. My guess would be that somebody is trying to develop the whole half of a block and those somebodies are buried in corporate shells. I'm not exactly sure what the UCC Continuation Statement means, but it has something to with transferring a financial statement (i.e. mortgage).
Hope that helps. It could be nothing, I suppose, but it appears highly suspicious. I also live on the block and would hate to see it go . . . .
@ 2 ave Dave - I really appreciate the detailed response.
ReplyDeleteI've followed your sleuthing and can see the same records. This is definitely concerning.
I'll follow up with the landlord at my address.
A lot of the tenants in my building have been there for 20+ years (I'm relatively new to this building) and i'd hate to see anyone displaced. If I hear anything from the landlord I'll share.
The East Village really is like Park Slope now. People writing negative Yelp reviews because they aren't allowed to take their kid into a BAR.
ReplyDeleteDave,
ReplyDeleteI also live in one of the buildings you mentioned. But I'm confused. 176 is tied into the corner building at 11th Street(299 E. 11th Street). So it would be questionable if the supposed new owners bought only part of the attached buildings and not the one on the corner. Also a developer named Levine just renovated several floors in 178 into lofts. I'm not doubting your research... but maybe what it might mean. I'll also check with my landlord to see what is going on.
I am a tenant on the block, will check back on this thread periodically.
DeleteTo Anonymous: the analogy with the Trade Center is that the Ninth Ward was devastated by Katrina, with many deaths and the displacement of most of the residents. When I was there a few years ago it was still mostly empty weedy lots. The destruction of a historic African-American neighborhood, hardly an appropriate name for a bar. I live down the block and never went in exactly because I thought the name was so creepy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I visited Ninth Ward, it was THE DARKEST BAR that I've ever been to. Darker than St. Vitus, the Heavy Metal Bar in Greenpoint. It felt like visiting a dungeon, or Solitary Confinement on Alcatraz Island. Ninth Ward didn't foster the good vibes that make the most average New Orleans bar the best bar you'd ever want to be in. Not sorry to see this one go.
ReplyDelete@ 12:11. I don't know what the owners intent was, but why can't it be viewed as a tribute to the Ninth Ward? Then again, maybe they were trying to appear rebellious by the simple expediency of using the image of the Ninth Ward. I never actually went to the bar.
ReplyDelete@2:19pm: "that strip of 2nd Avenue has been a frat bar scene since before most of you whiners were born."
ReplyDeleteWRONG! That "strip" used to have a lot of interesting small businesses that had nothing to do with "frat bars" - esp. since back then nobody in their right mind would ever have belonged to a frat!
And yes, I've lived here that long! Evidently you have not.
Agreed. Until 9th Ward opened their doors (and their entire storefront) our "strip" of Second Avenue was livable. 9th Ward brought in screaming drunken crowds who hang around on the sidewalk once the weather turns warm, not to mention blaring music. Numero 28 Pizzeria is also a blight on the neighborhood for the same reasons. Glad to see them go.
The analogy is moot now?
ReplyDeleteWhat if a Cambodian themed-bar opened-up and named it Ayeyarwady Delta? Would it be moot now?
What a lot of silliness! The only building being renovated is 180 2nd Avenue, and Ninth Ward run by Nick & Rob was one of the good ones in the area. I live on the block and believe me my landlord is not part of any sale. This multi-building development "plan" is some kind of conspiracy theory run amok.
ReplyDeleteFor me, living across the avenue from a strip of bars and restaurants, all with sidewalk tables and storefronts that open to the street has become unsustainable. I don't know why the community board let this happen. Liquor licenses abound while quality of life diminishes for those of us who live here. From Thurday night through Sunday, Second Avenue between 9th and 13th has become Santacon all year round.
ReplyDeleteThere's hope weary EVers. I believe the city council passed a bill this year making it illegal for a business to have their windows and doors open while the air conditioner is on. It was a pet peeve of the mayor. So bars like 13 steps, Bar Veloce and your favorite noise-maker will be forced to shut their bars up or turn off the AC. And I can't imagine they would turn off the AC. So if the law is enforced... It could help a lot!
ReplyDeleteYou are right!
DeleteStores Must Keep Doors Closed if Air-Conditioning Is On
A new law is intended to save energy in New York City by forbidding shops and restaurants to lure customers on sweltering days with blasts of cold air out on the sidewalk.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/08/nyregion/most-stores-in-city-will-have-to-close-doors-and-windows-if-air-conditioning-is-on.html?mwrsm=Email
But unfortunately the new law includes exceptions for restaurants with outdoor space for al fresco dining. Also excluded are sidewalk cafes and counter-type stores, such as the Lemon Ice King shop in Corona, Queens, according to Councilman Costa Constantinides, Democrat of Astoria, who sponsored the legislation.
ReplyDeleteTypical of politicians. They come up with so many exemptions to a bill you scratch your head and say why bother at all. But as of now... Bar Veloce has no outdoor tables and that's good for the EV..
ReplyDeleteFollow up on Ninth Ward closing from neighbor living across the avenue:
ReplyDeleteIt is a pleasure to not be awakened early Tuesday mornings by crashing beer keg deliveries to the bar. At night the noise level and population on the street is more manageable. Does anyone have new information on what is "developing" on the eastern shore of 2nd Avenue between 11th and 12th?