Saturday, January 11, 2020

Neir's: It ain't over yet


Well folks, it takes a lot for me to come out of semi-retirement to weigh in on current events, but this whole Neir’s Tavern situation became such an unnecessary debacle that I can’t sit idly by and not call attention to some things.

Yesterday, Mayor de Blasio - himself a millionaire landlord and facilitator of citywide hotel-shelter slumlordship - decided to tell the owner of Neir’s that greedy building owners are awful. Where the hell was he when the LPC denied the landmarking bid for it back in 2016? A lot of the worry over the bar's fate could have been avoided if the LPC stopped doing what it always does to Queens history. And he can request that the “new” LPC (minus Meenakshi Srinivasan) take a second look at it.

Now, Loycent Gordon is not only an immigrant but also the black owner of a small business. This is EXACTLY the type of entrepreneur that fauxgressives want to be seen helping. But perhaps because Loy is also a lover of Queens history, and therefore a threat to development, he was totally disregarded for years. Except, that is, after he became so desperate that he felt forced to plead with the mayor on his radio program. How utterly sickening.

How the hell did we as a society get to this point?

And another question for those of you out there in Crapland… did you hear those January crickets yesterday? That sound was coming from every borough president candidate out there as an establishment dating back to 1829 almost went dark.

And why did the owner really have a change of heart? The NY Times explains:
Mr. Holden, a Democrat who represents the area, said the negotiations were tense until it became clear that a major problem for Mr. Shi was that he could not get a mortgage because the building lacked a proper certificate of occupancy and did not meet current zoning rules.

Mr. Holden said an agreement was reached under which his office would work to ensure that the building met all requirements; the city would make a small business grant available to improve the property; and Mr. Shi would raise the rent much less than he had proposed.

So while we can all celebrate that a piece of Queens history has been temporarily spared, keep in mind that the lease is only for 5 years and in 2026 this might happen all over again. And in the meantime, it's very likely that the next piece of Queens history that gets threatened won't have the stars align for it the way this one did. Because we keep electing the same lame tweeders over and over and over again and the rare ones who actually give a damn like Holden will be gone. (Why the hell did Michael Gianaris show up to the victory party when he did absolutely nothing?)

A big thank you and shout out to the media who realized the significance of this story and what it would have meant to lose Neir's and used the power of the press to call attention to it. All of the stories were pretty good (and I read or watched them all), but 2 really stood out to me: Corey Kilgannon's original NY Times piece and PIX11's story. Check out the reaction of the news anchor at the end. He totally gets it.



It's 2020, people. Wake up already, heh?

- QC

I like to add (again) that de Blasio's Landmark Preservation Committee refused to give Loycent and Neir's landmark status because they felt that a bar that has existed 190 years was not historically significant enough.

Congratulations to Mr. Gordon and the staff at Neir's and a great job done by Councilmember Holden and Assemblyman Miller (leave it to de Blasio to try to bigfoot credit for it). Here's to five more years, hopefully there will be better and moral officials running this city in the future.  

JQ LLC

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Telling it like it is!
Welcome back QC

Anonymous said...

You know how to tell it, Crappie! Love this. All that cr** with DeB saying he's responsible for this outcome is disgusting. Glad we have Bob Holden and thank Mike Miller for his part in this, too.

Why did the Chamber of Commerce need the Councilmembers to draw their attention to this?

Thank you, Loycent! Now let's get the building landmarked ...NOW!!

Anonymous said...

The government should not be in the business of giving special handouts to failing businesses just because they have been around a long time. People in that area don’t want to go to that bar and drink. The building doesn’t have a proper C of O then it should be closed till it receives one.

georgetheatheist said...

The Crapman Lives!!! Long live the Crapper . . . and take a bow also JQ for your yeoman efforts!!!

Everyone reads Queens Crap.

Anonymous said...

According to that Pix11 clip, the new landlord raised the rent from $1,100 to $5,000. There's a word for that...

Anonymous said...

NOW customers show up.
What the area needs is GENTRIFICATION like Brooklyn. Then more hipsters will move in and be more than happy to pay $15 for a Bud Light. So start begging for Mid West kids parents to move themm in .

Anonymous said...

What the fuck was Gianaris doing there?

JQ LLC said...

Anon 3: re: nobody?

That bar was packed when I went there and everyone was a regular, so you're theory is baseless. Neirs wouldn't need a "handout" if the owner wasn't so greedy.

Anon 5: yes, scumbaggery.

GTA: thanks again.

And it is great to see the Crapper back on here and nailing it down better than any corporate tabloid. Maybe Neirs will get a write up in Victorias Secrets.

Boycott Pepsi Cola

Anonymous said...

"Maybe Neirs will get a write up in Victorias Secrets."

only if they advertise in one (Or All) of her rags

Anonymous said...

A good deal of the problem here is the Preservation Community, smug, self satisfied, are doing squat for the rest of us while they enjoy our taxes supporting their elite lifestyle.

Where is Barbara Speilvogel with her precious Landmarks 50 soon Landmarks 60. Even worse is her entourage comprised of the 'Whos Who' of preservation in NYC that goes from one fete to the next totally oblivious on the hopeless real world that the rest of us live in.

The Catch 22 is that groups like the Greenwich Village crowd are always fighting, just squeaking by in preserving their communities but doing nothing to combat the real problems in preservation - blocs like the Queens delegation that make any efforts at community preservation in NYC - particularly in Queens - all but impossible.

These groups should be fighting for city wide coalitions - but fearful that our local electeds in Queens, with their constituents safe in the 'Hermit Kingdom' are oblivious to what is going on outside their borough, will get their funding gutted for involving themselves with the Queens voters that are considered 'property' to the local political set. What do they have to fear? Hell, their constituents should step up to the plate to cover any city funds cut as they are from the most wealthy communities and can easily afford to fund the effort to break their chains and bring true community preservation to our city - realizing the forgotten dream when the laws were first past in the 1960s.

Enough of them living off our taxes for something that we will never enjoy! The Landmarks Law should be overturned until its assured that we all can equally enjoy its benefits.

Anonymous said...

if regulars were there ,why could'nt survive without city welfare.

Anonymous said...

Big freaking deal ! Save a bar ?
How about someting important like Serial slugger who attacks women multiple times and gets released under new bail reform !

Anonymous said...

It's called the free market !
This is more social welfare from my taxes to help a bunch of drunks drink $15 beers !

"$1,100 to $5,000. There's a word for that..."
"Anon 5: yes, scumbaggery."

Anonymous said...

It's called the free market !
------
My Friend, the Free Market does not exist in NYC. Anyone that has got anything is there because they can help the puppeteers of NYC.

Anonymous said...

$5000 is too much but $1100 its too low.

Anonymous said...

(Why the hell did Michael Gianaris show up to the victory party when he did absolutely nothing?)

guilt on what he did to his community with his (non) role in the Steinway Mansion fiasco?

Anonymous said...

Grant money to cover an FDNY members side gig. OK I guess. Landmark status? Sure why not but the bar doesn’t even look like it did 190 years ago. Yay Queens!!

Anonymous said...

The criteria for landmarking is that the building must be at least 30 years old. There is no criteria for alterations.

Anonymous said...

There is no criteria for "alterations". But its a "dog whistle" in preservation circles.

That will be a tough one as it is obvious that it has been altered a number of times - and that is the standard comment the LPC makes when they do not want to Landmark - sounds better than "your councilman doesn't want it and your community understands squat about Landmarking so don't expect help there - so don't waste any more time if you want any funding in your lifetime."

Of course just about any building that is Landmarked has been altered but expect no help from the Landmark community - just eye-rolling and smirks. They will not lose Council funding to help you out. The Landmark process is just a cute game with most of us permanently cut out.

Anonymous said...

"guilt on what he did to his community with his (non) role in the Steinway Mansion fiasco?"

The Steinway Mansion is not in Gianaris' senatorial district but in Jessica Ramos' district. The "fiasco" occurred under the late NYS Senator Jose Peralta who was Ramos' predecessor. Gianaris can claim a technical pass because of the geographical district lines.

Queens Crapper said...

Crowley supported the landmarking and I'm sure Holden does so there is hope.