Friday, December 9, 2016

These East Village bars are participating in SantaCon tomorrow



Last night, the organizers of SantaCon released the names of the bars participating in the annual _______________, which takes place tomorrow (Saturday).

Here are the participating Santa Bars in the East Village (joining the main venues in this neighborhood — Solas and Webster Hall):

• Royale, 157 Avenue C near 10th Street
• The Central Bar, 109 E. Ninth St. near Third Avenue
• Village Pourhouse, 64 Third Ave. at 11th Street
• Finnerty's, 221 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street
• Amsterdam Billiards, 110 E 11th St. at Fourth Ave.
• The Continental, 23 Third Ave. at St. Mark's Place
• Bull McCABE'S, 29 St Mark's Place between Second Avenue and Third Avenue
• Professor Thom's, 219 Second Ave. between 13th Street and 14th Street
• Coyote Ugly, 153 First Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street
• Crocodile Lounge, 325 E 14th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
• Phoenix Bar, 447 E 13th St. near Avenue A
• PINKS, 242 E 10th St. between First Avenue and Second Avenue
• Doc Holliday's, 141 Avenue A at Ninth Street
• 7B, 108 Avenue B at Seventh Street
• Thirsty Scholar, 155 Second Ave. between Ninth Street and 10th Street
• Double Down Saloon, 14 Avenue A between East Houston and Second Street

In all, there are 45 (plus) different bars in Midtown, the Flatiron District and the East Village officially participating in this ________. You can find the full list at the SantaCon website. The official SantaConning begins at 10 a.m.

(And there will likely be bars who won't be letting anyone dressed as Santa or other assorted costumes inside. So far we've only officially heard about one.)

Meanwhile yesterday, there was suspicious Santa activity on St. Mark's Place and Astor Place...





Photos by Derek Berg

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Trump wants to round up a few million unproductive people to deport here's the chance.

Anonymous said...

It should be called the "Blow your meager paycheck in one day and wake up alcohol poisoned" crawl.

Anonymous said...

The Ghost of Santacon Future http://nypost.com/2016/12/08/drunk-cop-stripped-of-his-gun-and-badge/

Anonymous said...

Very sad that the Phoenix Bar has decided to participate in this Jim Glaser sponsored shit show (Solas and Webster Hall now on board) that seems to get bigger every year.

To repeat a theme that has been illustrated at this blog, let’s say that this event was one of those African American Greek Fests, you know that in addition to a massive presence and enforcement by the NYPD, the State Police would be bought on board as well.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Thanks Royale for bring this crap to C

Anonymous said...

Again, they're not even attempting the charity angle. It's just a mass gathering of drinking from which Jim Glaser probably gets a cut from the bars.

Anonymous said...

Some bars on this list I recall people commenting during the year about how cool the people are that run it such as Royale. Guess what these bars don't care about the neighborhood but just profits made from a shit show despised by their neighbors and probably their regular customers. I am happy that the hell hole Double Wide did not join this list but it doesn't mean some drunk sports fan won't show up to make a mess of our block. I miss the good old days when each block was very territorial and if you didn't belong you know not be an asshole or else...

Anonymous said...

SantaCHUMPS

Anonymous said...

Note to IRS: If you can't get any money out of Donald Trump after your audit, you might want to check under Costume Jim Glaser's mattress.

Anonymous said...

SantaCon has become a self-fulfilling prophecy due to all the free media coverage it gets every year. All week long on the local news they have been showing video of past SantaCon events and drunk Santas sleeping in the baggage racks on Metro North and hordes of Santas Long Island Railroad cars, just to announce that the MTA is cutting off alcohol consumption on the trains this weekend. This amounts to millions of dollars in free advertising for an event that East Village residents have been complaining about for years. How about next year the MTA announces that no Santa costumes will be allowed on trains? Or that cops will be arresting anyone seen drinking in public? How about showing the all the negative consequences of binge drinking? Too late, the news crews are already on their way to make sure there's more free advertising for PukeFest 2016.

Gojira said...

I guess those people don't know how boring and pathetic they really are. Wonder if they will ever get a clue?

Giovanni said...

Kudos to the EV bars that are telling SantaCon to stay away, including Phebe's, The Grafton, and the Lions Beer Store. The Penny Farthing usually turns them away in droves, but places like the 13th Step always attract the worst crowds, even though they are not even on the official bar list. Here's some advice from local bartenders via the NY Times:

New York Today: How to Be Good at SantaCon

While the event’s organizers do offer rules of conduct for participants — “Santa spreads joy. Not terror. Not vomit. Not trash.” — your neighborhood bartenders have some requests, too.

“Don’t do it,” said Scott Ackerman of the Grafton, suggesting you give the event a miss.

But if you do attend, he said: “Don’t get arrested. Pace yourself. Stick to beer. No shots.”

The Lions Beer Store, a bar, restaurant and beer vendor, is putting up a sign telling Santas to stay away. “Behave like the other days when you’re normally dressed and you come to a bar for a drink,” said Sakis Pitsionas, a bartender there, “and don’t use the Santa Claus uniform to do crazy things.”

Santas will also be turned away at Phebe’s.

“People get sick or do things they shouldn’t be doing indoors,” said Eleni Angeles, a bartender there.

“Hold onto your stuff, because so much gets stolen,” said Melissa Gratto, who has worked SantaCon at Feile and Stout.

Anonymous said...

Scourge-a-CON.

Another wasted day in NYC!

Unknown said...

Youth sensationalism at it's BEST!

Anonymous said...

I have an urge to go undercover, infiltrate this event and pick some pockets. The time for whining has passed, the time for retribution has come.

Anonymous said...

Let's all go to Barcade on St Marks tomorrow, let's support it and other anti-Santacon bars.

Anonymous said...

All locals should let the bars know that if they sponsor this shit show, they will not get any more business the rest of the year from us...


(local lush)

Anonymous said...

" It's assholish white privilege as performance art."

Irony is dead.

Anonymous said...

@8:33am: Agree with you completely. If this were anything else, or predominantly minority-attended, it would get shut down ASAP.

I also think MTA/LIRR/MetroNorth/NJTransit should ban Santa outfit-wearers. You KNOW that if all those people wore burkas, you can be Homeland Security would be on it like a duck on a bug. Why do the SantaShits get a free pass?

One of these days, you'll get a terrorist who dresses up in a Santa outfit, blends with the crowd, and blows up a car or a bar; the NYPD might take notice then.

And finally, it may be time to bring back the great tradition of dropping water balloons on those who deserve it.

PS to Jim Glaser: may the universe leave a turd as big as you are in your path every day of the year. You're the Donald Trump of drunken idiots.

Giovanni said...

It's not SantaCon, it's ConTheEastVillageDay. Let's come up with a new and more appropriate name:

ShitshowCon
National Alcoholic Celebration Day
East Village Puke-a-Thon
Scare The Children Pubcrawl
Midtown South Appreciation Day
Underage Drinker Initiation Festival
Grope-A-Dope
Drink And Dash Day
The Million Bro March
DouchebagPalooza
Tell The Children Santa's Not Real Day
WorstDayOfTheYear Day

Anonymous said...

Full agreement that local bars who participate officially in this thing can go fuck themselves. Also, do Santadrunks even realize that Phoenix is a gay bar? Because I find it hard to believe there's many LGBT people among the Santacon crowd.

Wait, IS Phoenix even a gay bar anymore? Did it go bro when I wasn't looking?

Anonymous said...

Giovanni.
I vote for "Worst day of the year"

Anonymous said...

SantaCon has never bothered me all that much. And I don't think the city will ever do anything to curb it until something awful happens (God forbid that it does). A fire at one of these venues. A participant wanders off and drowns in the Hudson or East River.

Anonymous said...

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE PROTEST AT 2ND AVENUE AND 9TH STREET? I STOPPED BY THERE AT 6:00, WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BEGIN, AND STOOD IN THE COLD WAITING. NO ONE SHOWED UP. I GUESS THAT SHOWS HOW MUCH PEOPLE REALLY OPPOSE SANTACON.

Walter said...

Can't believe The Thirsty Scholar would lend its name to this idiocy. Very disappointed.

Anonymous said...

Charity? I worked at an east village bar that did santa con and they didn't give any proceeds to anyone.

You're right, I Should stop reading comments said...

If I compared this event to how Paddy's Day is celebrated in NYC am I actually inviting scorn upon myself?
People are annoyed by the crowds but the bile isn't necessary. Like most posts on grieve, the comments make me not want to read my community's blog.

Unknown said...

Looking at the map, I must say that this is the first time I've ever heard of the western half of the East Village being called "Ukrainian Village." With that approach, it cold have been called "Jewish Village" years ago, and "German Village" just before that.

Peachy McPeach said...

Just indicates what ignorant, non-native lushes these organizers are.

IzF said...

I'm torn between The Million Bro March and Scare The Children Pubcrawl.
They're all just so ugly and uninspiring. So not cute. Am I being superficial?

Anonymous said...

Whatever. It's one day. Some people enjoy it. I don't hear all this whining over St. Patrick's Day or New Year's Eve. Stay home and read a book or something. I have lived in the East Village for 29 years and I'm more disgusted with how thin-skinned everyone has become than a stupid day drinking event.

Anonymous said...

10:36,
I think that it is not just the one day of santacon... It is what it represents... If you also lived here a while you see the slow bro-ification of the east village with the addition of 13th step and all of the other douche bars.
This event seems like a celebration of everything that I hate... Mindless conformity, disrespect for the community and uncontrolled drinking.

Anyone have a list of good anti-santacon bars? Feel like I need some drinking myself

Izf said...

SANTACON is WAY WORSE than St. Paddy's Day or NY's Eve.

Unknown said...

Lets ban everything! Lets end all parade's Cons,bars,brunch restaurants,shopping,holidays, tuesdays,yesterdays and tomorrows posting anons the right the left the young and the old! and the beat goes on and the beat goes on....have a marijuana and a smile carpe diem or dont hahahahha xoxox

Anonymous said...

I bartended at one of these venues during Santacon, and I have to say, it was extremely MIXED crowd of multiple races, genders, sexual orientations, and all those other subclasses we choose to categorize these days. I had ZERO problems with the patrons today. Nothing different than a usual weekend night. Actually, a little better quality. A bit busier, and a little messier due to volume, but I found the patrons to be fine and even considerate. I understand those who don't like the aftermath, being more trash or puke than usual, but to blame the proprietors that don't turn them away is pure bullshit. The bar business is a BUSINESS. We donate 10% of our sales to charity, a contract is signed, and the organizers of Santacon get no cut of our sales. The check goes directly to the charity. If you don't like it, then if you can afford to live in NYC, then you can afford to go out of town on that day, or run your errands early in the morning. I'm sorry, but get a life. Stop your whining, and generalizations, if you haven't even participated in the event, or been in one of the responsible venues, then shush up.

Anonymous said...

The "SantaCon as charity" angle is a big smokescreen for the fact that this is a moneymaking promotion for over 50 bars. The charity they formed just lst year is called Participatory Safety. It raised $95,000, used over $40,000 of that for "expenses" and donated about $21,000, split among six charities, or about $3,500 apiece. This is peanuts compared to what the bars make on the event. And there are no records of prior years charitable giving by SantaCon because they hadn't even bothered to register as a non-profit with the IRS until 2015. Now that there is more media and governmental scrutiny on them they are finally starting to act like a legitimate organization. But donating 20% of revenue is not great, and the low revenue number means they arent doing as good a job at being a charity as they are at generating massive foot traffic for bars.

Anonymous said...

It's not like New Years or St Patricks. Those are traditional holidays and even though they get annoying and gross, they were always there and those are the days we accept. This is just an overused douchebag pub crawl that does whatever it wants and represents the worst of the worst and is not an actual holiday.