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October 5, 2007
StreetLevel: Heaven or Hell at New Atlantic Ave. Bar?
A tipster writes in to inform us that the Atlantic Avenue building that was originally a synagogue (and, more recently, Time Trader Antiques) has not lost its religion. On the contrary, the subterranean space between Hoyt and Bond appears to have undergone an extensive renovation in order to transform it into a high-end lounge named Deity. Judging by the soon-to-open bar’s website, Deity’s décor combines stained-glass windows, leather seating, exposed brick, a logo design based on the Star of David, and a new age sensibility. To wit: Deity’s site claims the lounge is “adorned by goddesses of light…a meeting place for the artisans, friends and family of Deity—for the people of Brooklyn.” No clue how expensive drinks are going to be or when it’ll officially open, but it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how much thirst there is for this sort of place in Boerum Hill. GMAP
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Comments
godesses of light?? Please, save the rube-fest for Manhattan. Brooklyn is what is is b/c we don't have these types of places for Lohan set and wannabee intellectuals. If they think they are inviting "the artisans" then maybe they should not have picked such a contrived name and lame logo. I imagine that "the artisans" prefer dives and places with real character. They better not have a velvet robe out front . If they do, I am taking it.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:01 AM
check out the website. the amount of work they did.
wow.
maybe if they had opened it earlier, heath wouldn't be leaving.
Posted by: chuck at October 5, 2007 10:14 AM
I bet there will be $16 coctails served there.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:15 AM
Absolutely spectacular metal work. That front security door is amazing. Does anyone know who made it?
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:16 AM
Yah, this place makes me a little queasy. I came to Brooklyn to get away from stuff like this in Manhattan...
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:18 AM
That said (queasy 10:18 here again), the renovation does look spectacular. It's an incredible building, and I *am* glad it's been preserved.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:24 AM
Surprised by the level of distain here- would have figured 'stoners would like adaptive re-use. Granted they lay it on a bit thick with the artsy farty lingo, but it does seem like it was a real labor of love for the people involved. I walked by it a few weeks ago, checked the website, etc- was just glad to see the building got some TLC. And frankly, with its minimal fenestration, there was no chance of it becoming a retail spot or restaurant, so I think it becoming a bar/club/event space was the only way it was going to avoid the wrecking ball. So even though I am very suspicious and wouldnt be betting on it surviving over a year- I am glad this group made the effort. I hope to check it out. Dont be a hater! haha
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:25 AM
I met one of the managers, a great guy. and have been inside, it is really a site, even the living quarters upstairs are amazing (some friends of mine did some work up there). It will be interesting to see how it is received by the neighborhood and what type of crowd it will attract (i'll certainly check it out). I heard Downtown Atlantic was continually pissed by the dumpsters and construction, but since they wont be open at the same time, they will probably live free of bugging each other.
Posted by: lifer at October 5, 2007 10:25 AM
"Brooklyn is what is is b/c we don't have these types of places for Lohan set and wannabee intellectuals."
Really?? - I dont think that has anything to do with why Brooklyn is the way it is- I would say no where in its economic, political, architectural and social history does the impact of high end lounges appear.
"Yah, this place makes me a little queasy. I came to Brooklyn to get away from stuff like this in Manhattan..."
Really? thats why you left Manhattan? How did high end lounges make Manhattan a bad place to live?
Personally I have doubts that such a club can make it here but if it does - god bless - clearly that would prove an untapped need/market. But comments like the above strike me as bitter rantings of people who resent not being part of some 'cool' crowd. Who the F cares if people (not yourself) pat $16 for a martini, or wait on line to get into a pretentious former Temple to hookup?
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:29 AM
what happen to the antique store?!
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:30 AM
we dont need shit like this pretentious club. look at the artists websites, that photographer is a joke.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:34 AM
it must be a vanity project for the owners, I don't imagine it can get much of a return. People go drinking in the area because it is cheaper than going into town and more laid back as well. You need outdoor seating, long happy hours, no style control, and economical beer. Do they even sell food in that cave?
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:35 AM
Looks like a "classy" swingers club.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:39 AM
Looks interesting but all those pics of the "twin" women in orange are hilariously cheesy.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:44 AM
criminally vulgar.
Posted by: BrooklynCouch at October 5, 2007 10:45 AM
If I ever decide to open a place, I dread to think it will ever appear on brownstoner. So many haters...
I wish them well.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:49 AM
if they get some good press on this place, it could really become a hip spot.
looks like a club i went to in buenos aires.
glad to see it.
some people just like to hate everything. it's a projection of the feelings they have towards themselves.
ignore then.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 10:50 AM
Simple equation -
Get tons of hot women - men follow - drink tons = $$$$$
Get few or no hot women - men are intimidated by decor - stay away - no one drinks = closed within 3 mo.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:00 AM
10:34, A HUGE number of the artists in Dumbo, Williamsburg, and Park Slope are pretentious and unskilled, your point is lost.
Posted by: lifer at October 5, 2007 11:01 AM
You guys are drinking some serious hater-ade. Anyone who has walked by this place can attest to the amazing job they did renovating this space.
This looks like a real labor of love by people trying to do something interesting. It takes tremendous balls to try and do something like this and my hats off to these people for giving it a go.
For the record, I am not affiliated with the bar and have no idea who is doing it.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:08 AM
a very good example of one of those people who like to say nasty comments because of their low self esteem = 11:01
oh sorry...i mean annie liebovitz
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:10 AM
I'm really excited about this place. It looks really well done. It'll be nice to have a great lounge space and be able to walk home after. I will be spreading the word...
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:15 AM
10:01 here responding to 10:29/owner or friend of
yes, really, I used to live in the west village and meat packing when it was charming and 'real' and I witnessed it dissolve into a commercial mess/miami beach. I watched the Big Sky/Dorians upper east side people flock south and transform a neighborhood that once had edge and grit. The opening of places like Absolutely 4th (can we say rotation dating?!!) and Chow bar on my 10th street block finally did it for me. Maybe you think those places are cool though. I bet you also like Buddakan and shiny Condos. My point is simply to say that I don't want to see this happen to Brooktown. Maybe it already is. All I am advocating is a preservation of character....places like Gowanus Yacht club, the brooklyn inn, Sunny's in red hook, antique stores with a healthy mix of new tasteful restaurants and winebars. Please keep the applebees and velvet rope blow hards away.
And no, real cool people do not go to places like that. Even when they are offered waved cover charges and permission to skip lines. We know better and prefer not to be seen.
10:34 - yes, the photography is hilarious. Is that a hooker?
10:25 - I am glad this did not get the ball too, I guess that is a pro among cons.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:21 AM
The club may be a labor of love, but that website is cheesy. The girls in orange? The guy in the white suit? Cheesy.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:23 AM
Hey 11:21
Thanks for telling us all what's cool and what's not cool.
What would we have done without you?!!
You really hate yourself, don't you...
Sad.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:36 AM
11:10, or shall i say "guest", I was defending the hard work the people who built the place put into it, I myself am an artist, and am very comfortable with my self esteem. Maybe you were offended because you are an artist living in one of those areas and I hit a nerve? I apologize if thats the case..I think making a nasty comment about someone in particular(what 10:34 did) is alot more "nasty" than making a blanket statement on contemporary Brooklyn artsists in general. And wether you are that person or not, you made a"nasty"statement about someone in particular as well.I forgive you
Posted by: lifer at October 5, 2007 11:36 AM
Yeech... tacky and creepy.
Posted by: bren at October 5, 2007 11:36 AM
11:21 - Gowanus Yacht Club = "real Brooklyn" to you?
Don't you see how RIDICULOUS you sound? You are advocating preserving the Brooklyn YOU WANT - b/c it is the Brooklyn you found when YOU got here in 2002.
Why is your Brooklyn more "real" then the one that was here in 1991 or 1971 or the one that will be here in 2011?
Don't you realize you sound like a pretentious fool? Who made you the arbiter of "cool" and "real".
And whats wrong with condo's? Would you be happier if newer buildings were Coops - or are you just against anything new?
FYI Applebees was here before the Gowanus Yacht Club
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:38 AM
I think he likes the Gowanus Yacht club, cause then he has a REASON for telling his gf he has Gohnorrhea.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:40 AM
Lifer...
I just don't understand who exactly made you the judge of who and what are quality, "skilled" artists in Brooklyn.
You obviously don't know a whole lot about art in general, otherwise you would realize that's it's quality is not judged by the opinions of one person.
I believe YOU are the pretentious artist in this particular situation.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:44 AM
sorry...its not it's.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 11:45 AM
touche
Posted by: lifer at October 5, 2007 11:46 AM
I am in awe of the work they did on the site but totally put off by the website with its Brooklyn centric wierdness on the home page. Ignore the people in the pictures and all the pretentious writing and it looks amazing. I can't tell what the hell this place is going to be or if my broken down, middle-aged ass would even be welcome. Can I bring the kids?
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 12:19 PM
"I can't tell what the hell this place is going to be or if my broken down, middle-aged ass would even be welcome. Can I bring the kids?"
AHAHAHA!!!! That about sums it up for a few of us! :)
Posted by: bren at October 5, 2007 12:25 PM
That website is totally cheesy.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 12:27 PM
The website is cheesy, a lot of it is over the top and kinda smarmy in an upscale, hip way, but all in all, I admire them for doing something and taking a risk. Too many people bitch and moan about there not being the things they want in Bklyn, but these people had the money, and a space to create their dream club.
Will I ever go there? Nope. Doubt my middle aged butt would get past the velvet rope, but who cares? I admire the adaptive reuse, the use of stained glass and imagery, and some creative thought. Good luck to them.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 12:47 PM
I dunno, kinds looks cheesy in the way some of the city wannabe lounges in Bay Ridge that have come on and gone look. My friend used to call that vibe "guido on the cutting edge".
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 12:52 PM
12:52 - yeah I know what you mean - we used to call Fashion Cafe on Flatbush - Niggaz in the bush.
Oh is that offensive?
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 1:24 PM
Suggestion to owners: first of all, quality renovation, but please put some $2 PBR (the people's beer) on the menu to add some rough edges to this place. You can phase it out over time if you wish, but relying on the crowd you have in your pics will be a recipe for disaster in this neighb. It would also add a nice sense of irony that Brooklynites would need to feel comfortable and hang in a classy rustic temple/bar/club like this. Also, the floor to ceiling black leather cushion room freaks me out a little. But I'll have to check it out, it could work.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 1:47 PM
Okay that's pretty freaking cool.
Posted by: tag482 at October 5, 2007 2:24 PM
I am so against any establishment that opens as a club,lounge or bar after it was a house of worship . Unfortunately another sign that these are the last days before the second coming of Christ as nothing is held sacred anymore.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 2:30 PM
Simply blasphemous.....
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 2:33 PM
Limelight did okay for quite a while. Anyway for churches as long as the altar is removed and the structure is de-consecrated, it's just a building afterwards. This I think is the same for a synagogue or temple.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 2:37 PM
2:30PM - why Jews dont have any rules against drinking - nothing blasphemous at all
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 2:38 PM
Um...you think it's less sacred for the building to sit and rot or be torn down?
You're a loon.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 2:49 PM
no problems with a business opening up on Atlantic that's usually good for the neighborhood, but a bar/lounge can contribute to loitering drunken smokers outside the bar which is no fun for the people that have to live in the upstairs apts on the block. I have friends that had problems with another bar down the street, with the noise and the smoke. I can't imagine this place has much of a chance, not the sort of place most people living in the area frequent.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 2:53 PM
You aren't really familiar with the people in the area then, 2:53.
I know a ton of young singles in this area that will be lining up when this place opens.
If you don't like loitering, people who drink, smoke, bars...perhaps you should consider building a bubble to live in.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 3:14 PM
Sounds like a haven for choads (or artists who make over $200K a year ... an interchangeable concept, really).
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 3:19 PM
Bravo to all involved for bringing some diversity to the local bar scene. I am a habitual visitor to Brooklyn Inn as that suits me but that's not everyone's cup of beer. The emphasis on art and custom made work also gets my big thumbs up.
I'll cheerfully stop in and plunk down $16 for a chocolatini just to cheer them on. Good luck!
Posted by: kuroko at October 5, 2007 3:59 PM
Bravo to all involved for bringing some diversity to the local bar scene. I am a habitual visitor to Brooklyn Inn as that suits me but that's not everyone's cup of beer. The emphasis on art and custom made work also gets my big thumbs up.
I'll cheerfully stop in and plunk down $16 for a chocolatini just to cheer them on. Good luck!
Posted by: kuroko at October 5, 2007 4:15 PM
I think that chandelier in the ladies' room is the gewgaw I pulled out of the hallway in my Clinton Hill SRO twenty years ago and swapped to an antique dealer in Hudson for a gorgeous 19th century gas/electric bronze original that now graces my back parlor. But it found its way home! Amazing.
Posted by: guest at October 5, 2007 4:15 PM
Clearly they are not targeting brownstoner readers.
Posted by: guest at October 6, 2007 4:34 AM
I wonder how the coke will be?
Posted by: guest at October 8, 2007 12:05 AM
and orgies
Posted by: guest at October 8, 2007 11:49 PM
hahaha i think its really funny how many people hate the idea of this place....1st of all, most of u "brooklynites" prolly havent even stepped out of downtown into the other parts of brooklyn...2nd if you call the bars in that area fun and a good time, you're probably a yuppie, birkenstock wearing, hippy freak....
i think it's a good addition, it's fun to dress up and go out to a NICE place, not just a dusty, smelly coffee house with bad musicians....
Posted by: guest at December 31, 2007 3:29 PM
Did anyone stop by their opening last night?
Posted by: guest at January 1, 2008 2:05 PM
i stopped in last friday.
the space is fantastic.
the owners and the staff are perhaps the nicest and friendliest people i have ever met. i really hope they stick around for a while.
Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 10:49 AM
Stopped in the other night before it opened (at 9pm) met the bartender who was welcoming, and told us to stop by. Granted its not a place I can see myself hanging out at, but for a nice change of pace, or a fancy strong drink, sure I will try it out. As long as Atlantic Avenue doesn't turn into the new bowery I am fine with it. :) (and by this I mean velvet ropes and limos)
Posted by: guest at January 7, 2008 11:51 AM
Went to Deity. Had a decent night chatting with some friends there but the place was a bit of a dissapointment. I guess the guy who was tending bar was the owner? He was awkward and that sort of set the tone. Not a good vibe. Felt sort of like a sterile hotel bar. Bad music -- my friend called it "spa" music. Some tacky touches: tables filled with ice cubes? The goddess theme is a bit overwrought -- the poor waitresses have to wear these toga-like minidress uniforms. The owner/bartender was alternately too chatty and impervious -- pacing around the place like a security guard with his hands behind his back. The space is interesting and has potential, but way too pretentious for the nabe and my taste.
Posted by: guest at January 26, 2008 10:57 AM
the space is great.
the owners are ridiculously nice and friendly.
the flaming snobby bartender definitely keeps myself and my friends to going back there.
Posted by: guest at March 27, 2008 9:51 AM
I have hopes for this place - not high hopes, just hopes. I believe there is a need for diversity of entertainment options in the neighborhood - provided the tone is handled correctly and it feels genuine. Unfortunately there is a long line of failed sexy/lounge bars in the hood to point to.
I dug the vibe of the lounge under Faan Asian Fusion that closed years ago it was the perfect last stop with a date before heading home. It devolved into a mess, ultimately sticking a "no hats no wife beaters" sign above the door before completely closing.
I also had high hopes for the lounge space under SUR (though it never opened to the public). I really hope the new owners keep the space and open it as a bar, it was beautiful.
Halcyon had the music down but the space was lacking and couldn't get past noise complaints. Even Quench, which never got it right in my opinion, gave up and became a lame version of its intended vibe ... and it closed.
That Leaves the neighborhood with just Camp and Zombie Hut for any kind of "sexy" atmosphere on Smith street (thats a joke).
I hate the idea of a club in the neighborhood, but I'll take a good lounge for the occasional drink with a date. I'd just like to have the option. We don't need many, just one good one for diversity's sake.
Divinity's space looks fine, if they could get the music down (Why not partner with Halcyon music store?) this place could actually fair well.
Posted by: guest at April 8, 2008 5:48 PM
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