Why Neir’s Needed a Miracle
Like so many in the city, Loycent Gordon was in need of a miracle. It was three days before Neir’s Tavern, the long-standing Woodhaven bar and restaurant he owned, was set to shut down, and, amidst unmanageable rent and declining sales, he couldn’t find anyone to take over. The City Landmarks Preservation Commission had already declined Neir’s application for landmark status, despite claiming to be one of the oldest bars in the country and having served as a set for Goodfellas, among other blockbusters that make tourists take the train straight to this spot from the airport, and Loy Gordon was at a loss.
On the same day his lease expired in December 2018, the 87-48 78th Street building sold to new owners for $1.35 million. This left him with the option of month-to-month—and whatever money Gordon had left to pay his staff was set to run out on January 12. He knew what he wanted: to be a responsible husband, father and boss. And he knew what he couldn’t imagine allowing to happen: the closing of a community space nearly 190 years old. Uncertain—and, to make matters worse, Gordon had already lived this scene once before, nearly a decade ago.
In 2009, Neir’s was also just three days from closing. As an immigrant from Jamaica, Gordon felt compelled to preserve a piece of the borough that built him when he moved to Jamaica, Queens, when he was 10 years old––and as a firefighter who joined the FDNY after the September 11 terrorist attacks, he had a track record for showing up in times of need. He didn’t know much about owning a bar, but along with some partners he bought the business anyway. Besides, Gordon was younger then, and times are different now.
People say Woodhaven was built around Neir’s. A bar surrounded by a racetrack. This was when if you built it they would come, because in 1829, there wasn’t much else. Now, almost 200 years later, the area has transformed from farmland to “a bar on every block” to an unsustainable avenue where “the most famous bar you’ve never heard of” struggled to make a buck.
At first glance, it might feel not genuine to describe the dive as something serving a higher purpose than a corner spot for a beer and a burger (when you don’t feel like getting the wings). But trace the cigarette burns on the bar with your fingertips and you can transport yourself to a time before Mae West got her start at the tavern, before Robert De Niro needed expensive anti-aging effects, and even so recently as before we lost Anthony Bourdain, who filmed at Neir’s in 2017.
Take away the celeb factor, and this time capsule would still be something special.
That’s because it’s the kind of spot where Henry Hamann of Middle Village––who calls Neir’s his “Cheers”––will save the seat next to him for a stranger he sees struggling to cut through the crowd. And both he and John McCan, the owner of the former Paddywack’s pub at Jamaica Ave and 89th Street, could go on for hours with stories of ’80s bachelor parties and elementary school reunions at a place that predates anyone alive at this moment––an unusual equalizer for lifelong New Yorkers who like to out-New-Yorker everyone else.
It’s also the place where Ed Wendell, executive director of the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society, has attended political events, birthday parties and wakes, and the neighborhood haunt where you’d hope New York State Assembly Member Michael Miller would hold his meetings as a representative of District 38. (To be fair, it’s also exactly the spot where an anonymous aging man asked me if I would mind him cutting off a lock of my hair, but that’s another story.)
When news about Neir’s first started circulating on Facebook––the digital watering hole where many regulars keep in touch––hearts were broken and an outpouring of gratitude for “Loy” was shared. Groups and individuals began to organize around the small business like they had before––such as the time they came together for the “friendraiser” after Neir’s was robbed on 9/11 in 2017, and when they formed a preservation committee to ensure the bar stayed open until its 190th birthday party in 2019. Within hours, people who fell in love at and with and because of Neir’s helped plan a rally, and even the Empire Skate Club called on its members for a final roll-out.
Despite his intent to close within 72 hours, it became clear Gordon couldn’t give up on this community because this community wasn’t giving up on him. So, he prayed. Then Gordon did what so many in the city would love to do: He called the mayor.
“It’s Loy,” Mayor Bill de Blasio corrected the WNYC host filling in for Brian Lehrer on the weekly “Ask the Mayor” segment. Earlier that morning de Blasio had read the New York Times story without any idea Gordon would call in to the show. The mayor said the whole rent situation drives him crazy (“the original sin so often is a greedy landlord”) and was quick to offer “a variety of tools” to try before the designated last day. After Gordon issued a last call for potential patrons, the producers took his information off-air and local leaders along with Gordon and the landlords, Ken and Henry Shi, all gathered at the Queens Chamber of Commerce to come to a better agreement.
Meanwhile, at Neir’s, many––if not most––missed the mayor’s 5 o’clock announcement that he would visit the tavern to deliver “some good news.” It was happy hour, after all.
Considering the bar should be used to being on camera, a lot of Neir’s patrons looked confused on the Friday night before the expected close. The old-timey interior was filled nearly wall-to-wall with major news outlets, six microphones now covered the cigarette burns on the bar and regulars weren’t happy when the bartenders announced service would be temporarily suspended for a speech of some sort.
Most people, like, Danielle Redmond and Matt Kehoe, were only there to pour one out for their beloved bar. (The couple sensed the close in sight after receiving what resembled an “IOU” voucher instead of an official Neir’s gift card over the holiday.) Of those aware of the anticipated announcement, many were in denial that they mayor would show up. “The mayor can find Queens?” asked one Twitter user.
But less than 12 hours after Gordon got through to WNYC, de Blasio was behind the bar at Neir’s, holding a disposable cup of Finback brew in honor of the “handshake agreement” aimed to keep the tavern open for at least another five years between the rent negotiations and a $90,000 grant through the “Love Your Local” initiative designed to help small businesses adapt to rising real estate costs.
Gordon was momentarily speechless after the mayor’s toast, which was followed by the crowd chanting “Landmark, landmark!” in support of reconsidering the building’s status and “Too much foam!” when de Blasio poured his draft. (In his defense, the keg had been changed shortly prior.) Even those cynical of City Hall were seen snapping photos of the mayor as he cheers-ed the crowd.
That night, the landlords released a statement saying they are “indebted” to Mayor de Blasio, Council Member Robert Holden and NYS Assemblyman Miller for making the “project work,” though it is unclear if negotiations included a reduction in rent for the residential tenants above the bar, an issue that was brought to de Blasio’s attention during his visit, along with a call to aid Ozone Park fire victims.
Both de Blasio and Gordon emphasized the whirlwind of events was a collaborative effort among the community, business owners and elected officials, and encouraged everyone to keep showing up for local businesses in a real way––for meals and meetings, to celebrate and console, now and forever––like many have for the last 190 years.
The next day, the “save Neir’s” rally pivoted to party mode, and after an unusual day of springtime sunshine in early January, Gordon could be found singing “My Girl” into a microphone with one arm around his wife, Aisha. Between verses Gordon took pause to say, “We did it guys. We did it. De Blasio came here and we did it,” Gordon sang before ending on a round of “ooh’s” as the crowd joined in.
Solely based on the smile on Gordon’s face, maybe the true miracle was not missing a night of karaoke at Neir’s––the tried-and-true trick for bringing people together.
