apberran via Gothamist



This is equal parts terrifying and totally appropriate: a full Brooklyn marina bar washed ashore in Gerritsen beach last week week, having drifted from its foundations on Flatbush Ave and down the Belt Parkway during the storm.

Naturally, “Sandy’s Bar” was still stocked with booze when it landed at Madoc Ave and Keen Court, and one local said, “We had a big party. We had nothing else to do while we were waiting for everything else to dry, and this was a great opportunity to get our minds off everything.”

Which, you know, pretty hard to argue with. After supplies dried up neighbors started stocking the place themselves (they also scrawled “B.Y.O.B.” on the building), and one said, “We had Jameson, Skyy Vodka and a bunch of beer. We had 40 people packed in there. That’s a lot of body heat to stay warm.”

Unfortunately, the structure, originally a part of the Gateway Marina, was torn down for safety reasons by authorities over the weekend, who didn’t bother to contact the bar’s actual owners beforehand. Gothamist caught up with its former proprietor Louis Kallif, who said, “I don’t mind people partying on it — we’ve had plenty of parties there through the years. I haven’t called the police or anyone, first because I don’t have service down by the marina still but also because I have no idea who to call.”

Now doesn’t really feel like the time to come down too hard on NYPD and sanitation workers trying to clean up areas hit hardest by a natural disaster, but in the event of any future floating bars, can we at least request that they show some amnesty?



Follow Virginia K. Smith on Twitter @vksmith.