Park Slope is Dead, Says The New Yorker... But Is It?
The closing of iconic music venue Southpaw is definitely a blow to the neighborhood, but there's still plenty to do, right?
The New Yorker stopped by The Rub’s final dance party at Southpaw last week, and found plenty of people who thought that cutting edge nightlife and creativity were “dead” in Park Slope, and that maybe Southpaw’s closure would be the nail in the coffin for the once gritty nabe.
“I don’t like to use the word ‘gentrification,’” Matt Roff, a co-owner of Southpaw, told the New Yorker. “I prefer—I don’t want to say ‘progress,’ either. I see it more as the nature of the beast. This is just how it goes.”
But Roff’s partner Mikey Palms had previously told the Brooklyn Paper that they were closing the place because: “I’m kind of over Park Slope—it’s not a destination for nightlife anymore.”
When it was announced last month that Southpaw, Fifth Avenue’s iconic music venue, would close its doors in late February, live music fans lamented the death of a club that once hosted eclectic acts like TV On The Radio, Sufjan Stevens, KRS-One and Slick Rick.
“I wouldn’t say nightlife is dead here, but it is certainly not the same neighborhood it was in the 1990s,” Rick Gallo, of children’s band Rolie Polie Guacamole, told Patch last month.
And indeed, most people go out in Park Slope not so much to be seen (the Lower East Side and Williamsburg take care of that nicely), but because they just like their local watering holes.
“It shouldn’t be so much about what’s cool, but more about what’s comfortable,” said Park Sloper Yael Glina, 25. “I prefer the more classic experience of a bartender knowing your name and wanting you to be there.”
Still, when the New Yorker approached a young man outside of Southpaw last weekend and asked whether the closing of the club signaled the end of an era in the neighborhood, he replied: “Park Slope is dead,” and lamented that he only just turned 21.
What do you think? Is the closing of Southpaw the “end” of Park Slope’s cool? Or is there plenty else to do in the neighborhood?
Peter Loffredo
11:53 pm on Friday, February 10, 2012
Are you kidding?! Park Slope has been dead as a place for adults of any age to enjoy grown-up entertainment for quite a while now. The once hip Slope has been turned into the Stepford village for unactualized parents, living out the narcissistic nightmare of Alice Miller's "Drama of the Gifted Child." Is there anything else to do here? Well, you can go to Two Boots and have your bourbon and chicken wings at the bar while the sad demon kids, gutted of a true sense of self, rampage through the isles acting out their parents' sexless frustration, if you think of that as a fun evening.
Gary
8:18 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
No place to see live music anymore other than Barbes, The Tea Lounge, Union Hall, The Bell House, Littlefield, Roulette... O yeah, Park Slope used have so many places when it used to have only Southpaw.
Gertie
11:20 am on Saturday, February 11, 2012
Every generation thinks Park Slope is dead. The people who moved here in the 70s and 80s displaced more than their fair share of "original" residents, who probably bemoaned the changing, more expensive neighborhood, too.
Yeah, change seems to be happening faster than before and finding a place to live in the neighborhood is pretty much off limits to anyone who doesn't make millions, but Park Slope has "died" many times over, I'm sure.
Kid Baco
11:32 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012
I've been in Park Slope for 12 years now and I don't think it's ever been cooler. I wish there were all these options back when I first moved here. Back when I was younger and much more likely to take full advantage of them. That said, The Gories show at The Bell House a couple weeks back was a blast.
D
3:16 pm on Sunday, February 12, 2012
Park slope is definitely getting older, which works great for me, because I am too. I bought here 22 years ago, the quality of life is far superior now and it was great to be a part of the rebirth of this fabulous place. I will take a nice restaurant over a noisy club any day as a neighbor. Selfish me
Brooklyn Radio
3:04 am on Friday, March 2, 2012
For everyone who couldn't make it to the last "The Rub" at Southpaw - we recorded it: http://brooklynradio.com/the-rub-live-southpaw-february-2012/ Enjoy!