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May 6, 2008
Streetlevel: Franklin Park Already Packed
Franklin Park, by the creators of Park Slope's Southpaw, is already packed after only being open a week. We stopped by the Crown Heights bar and beer garden on its opening night April 25 (totally packed) and last Friday, when even the patio was full despite the chilly weather. There're not many places like it in close proximity — featuring a large patio that welcomes (apparently) dogs and carryout, a unique beer list mostly for $5 or $6, good music (primarily hip hop), and a trendy yet comfortable atmosphere. We're going to go out on a limb here, but we think this is going to be The Summer Place for a lot of people living in Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, and for people visiting the Brooklyn Museum two blocks away. Its success reminds us of when Enduro, a mid-priced bar and Mexican restaurant, opened 12 blocks away in Prospect Lefferts-Gardens. Almost instantly it grew into the neighborhood gathering place for a diverse cross-section of residents and is busy EVERY night of the week, probably beating out a lot of similar restaurants in Park Slope. While the photograph doesn't show the most diverse clientele, as the word gets out, we think the mix will be more representative of the overall neighborhood. The bar is located at 618 St. Johns Place at Franklin Avenue.
Streetlevel: Crown Heights Bar Goes to Bed Early
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Comments
that guy w. the sideburns and the 1970s leather coat—if there's any justice in the world, you will be the first wasted douchehat hipster who gets mugged coming out of there.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 2:49 PM
So what makes you think a white owned establishment in a gentryfying black neighborhood will draw a "diverse" crowd? Would that be because they play Hip Hop? I'm not race baiting but saying " we think the mix will be more representative of the overall neighborhood." sure sounds desperate.
NOT a diss to the place, I bet its fun. But c'mon...let a place be itself before laying out the socio-economic handholding.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 2:51 PM
what are they drinking in those orange cans??????
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at May 6, 2008 2:53 PM
ha ha - "not the most diverse clientele" - that's the understatement of the year. Almost every person in the picture is a bespectacled, shaggy haired, unshaven, slightly overweight white boy-man of a type endemic to certain brooklyn neighbs - including Crown Heights apparently.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:01 PM
2:51, thank you! I was also wondering why there appears to be the need to immediately defend or apologize or whatever for the demographics displayed in the picture of a bar. I'm pretty certain no specific groups are banned from entering based on race, sex, religious beliefs, etc. Perhaps Mr. B is in a prevent defense mode after a few idiots pointed out a while back that there were predominantly white people at the first Brooklyn Flea.
Posted by: Biff Champion at May 6, 2008 3:02 PM
inbred
Posted by: daveinbedstuy at May 6, 2008 3:03 PM
God forbid white people go to a bar in a predominantly "diverse" (read: black) neighborhood. Must defend post with mealy-mouthed assurances that the crowd will "diversify" soon--we promise!
This is the kind of focus on race that keeps racism alive and well FYI.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:07 PM
Just like how northeast kingdom's crowd has become diverse like bushwick.....oh wait...
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:09 PM
2:49 - funniest comment ever! I nearly split my sides laughing.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:11 PM
crown heights is less diverse than park slope.
lets not kid ourselves.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:12 PM
Dave, while the photograph doesn't show the most diverse cans (only orange), as the word gets out, we think the mix will be more representative of the overall assortment of cans that populate the neighborhood.
Posted by: Biff Champion at May 6, 2008 3:14 PM
"Already packed"? Anything new in NYC gets instantly packed. The attrition starts later. But if this place has a colonial compound vibe, the owners will have nothing to fear.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:15 PM
I bet they don't recycle.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:16 PM
I cant wait to here people whinning " WHY ARE THE GENTRIFIERS HERE"...
HAHA before you know it yuppies will be all over brooklyn and the artists will be pushed to Long Island... Keep going EAST...
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:20 PM
3:12, you are correct, but you must remember that on this board there are two rules:
(1) 100% black = diverse
(2) 100% white = homogeneous
Hence, an area that is 50% white and 50% black is less diverse than an area that is 100% black. Whites reduce diversity, whereas blacks constitute it. Learn and obey, my friend.
I hereby christen this the "Summer of the Bloody Hipster" as dozens of indie-rocker types lose their iPods, iPhones, cell phones, and cash to the "entreprenuers" who are "just out here surviving" on the safe, safe streets of Crown Heights.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:21 PM
This seems like a poor man's "Pete's Candy Store"
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:27 PM
The hipsters will riot in Crown Heights when they get tired of being discrimminated against and abused by the majority.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:30 PM
Agree with 3:21. Dave Chappelle noted the exact same thing in his movie "Block Party", filmed in Bed Stuy. He said that whenever a neighborhood is mainly black or hispanic, whites call it "diverse."
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:30 PM
bushwick is way shittier than crown heights and theres plenty of hipster shit there
this is no difference.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:37 PM
Not all whites, 3:30. Just the secret racists who are so terrified of being called racist that they make sure to bring up race in every discussion about a black neighborhood or black person. Or you have the race baiters who can't stand the idea that most people don't give a damn what color you are as long as you behave like a civilized human being.
It's getting tiresome to say the least. I would have thought New Yorkers were less...provincial...than that.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:37 PM
Oh no, that's me! Thanks for telling me I'm overweight, dick.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:50 PM
sausage party.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:52 PM
umm, anyway. i went to the bar last weekend, it's pretty nice. as for all the insinuated mugging of hipsters, i've never gotten mugged in crown heights, but it's happened to me a few times in the "nicer" parts of prospect heights. bigoted notions of crime and race aren't going to keep me away from this joint. it's a great addition to the neighborhood, and i hope there's more like this to come. i noticed a wine bar is moving in at classon and st. john's...
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 3:55 PM
I am not sure why so many of you are upset with Brownstoner for intimating that this bar's contribution to Crown Heights will be even greater in the future if it serves a diverse clientele.
Generally, the more that an establishment is a part of its home neighborhood, the better it is for that establishment and the community. If you have a white bar located in a black hood that generally serves a white clientele, the bar's may find that its relationship with the community is strained. For example, if it needs to get the community board's backing for a licence or some type of permit, it is more likely to do so with ease if it is known as an establishment that serves a broad swath of the neighborhood and that has the support of a diverse group of people than one that serves mainly a small homogenous group.
Sputnik and Rustik in Clinton Hill, Moes and Bamboo in Ft. Greene and Beembe in Williamsburg, to name a few, do an excellent job creating meriment and diversity simultaneosly. In the case of Sputnik, for example, the Pratt community, Clinton Hill buppies, and Lafayette Garden dwellers all party together as one. The success of its diversity makes it so that it is difficult for the neighborhood's residents - blacks and whites, poor and affluent, artsy and buppy -- to imagine that part of Clinton Hill without Sputnik.
While diversity of clientele should not be the main goal of a bar, there is certainly nothing wrong with expressing the hope that such a bar becomes a "community bar" that services the immediate neighborhood for which it resides.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:05 PM
Fat whiteboys with glasses and facial hair. Yummy!
Posted by: Flatbushwhacker at May 6, 2008 4:07 PM
I only wonder how neighbors feel about the nightly gathering outside their windows.
With 'good music' no less.
I'd be calling every city agency/elected offical complaining.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:08 PM
"crown heights is less diverse than park slope."
Crown Heights is quite diverse, certainly more so than Park Slope. First of all it's a predominantly black neighborhood (see posts 3:21 and 3:30). Secondly, there is a substantial Hasidic population, and there are also Asian, Indian, Mexican and other residents.
Amazingly there are OTHER bars in Crown Heights! Perhaps "diverse" elements of the neighborhood are well-served by hose establishments and are demonstrating their loyalty.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:11 PM
For all the "anti-political-correct" nascent Limbaughites out there, there are some places that are really diverse in Prospect Heights. Bar Sepia and Ripple come to mind. So does Barette.
The uninterrupted sea of white faces is dispiriting. Hopefully this won't stay this way.
However, you'll see a similarly non-diverse sea of black faces around the corner at 95 South (which had, the time I was there, a good catfish dinner along with good drinks and entertainment).
Both places are great additions to the neighborhood. Hopefully, over time, their will be a bit more cross-pollination when people get over their fear of strangers.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:17 PM
I live a coupla blocks crappier than Frankiln Park + I gotta say the bar is a great addition the the neighborhood. I didn't have any money to buy in ft. greene when I rented there and was stuck buying in the Crown. I say fuck all you haters that rent in fancier nabes. why don't you ask your mom to buy you an apt. in Brooklyn Heights...
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:23 PM
"Crown Heights is quite diverse, certainly more so than Park Slope. First of all it's a predominantly black neighborhood"
well, if it's predominantly anything, it aint too diverse, now is it, 4:11??
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:24 PM
I agree the use of the word "diverse" is hilariously yuppie, but it really is true that Enduro in PLG attracts a diverse crowd. Am not just talking race but types of people. Like a 20-something hipster artist sitting next to a black West Indies blue collar guy sitting next to a white academic-type young couple sitting next to a table of black women professionals heading home after work. And whenever I see it I realize it's the economic diversity I notice the most. I feel like we don't see that so much these days. Whether in Manhattan or gentrifying Brooklyn. Or elsewhere in the country.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:32 PM
4:23 you make me laugh...
If anyone lives in a nice area that means ther parents paid??? You dumb fu*k...
Actually people work hard and actually have jobs that pay well... Instead someone like you who is probably spins a record once a month and is bitter...
Zip it douche...
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:34 PM
4:23 you make me laugh...
If anyone lives in a nice area that means ther parents paid??? You dumb fu*k...
Actually people work hard and actually have jobs that pay well... Instead someone like you who is probably spins a record once a month and is bitter...
Zip it douche...
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:34 PM
"Diverse" people are finding it increasingly difficult to live in New York. They're being priced out and then the whiny gentrifiers wonder what happened to all of the local "color".
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:34 PM
"well, if it's predominantly anything, it aint too diverse, now is it, 4:11??"
That was a JOKE, jackass, in reference to earlier comments asserting anything black is "diverse" (and as pointed out in the post). Your comments just prove that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:39 PM
Statements like "there are no bars, restaurants, etc. in this neighborhood" in most cases seem to suggest that there are no bars or restaurants where white people come to consume the stuff white people like to consume (lattes, Belgian beer etc.)
Establishments that don't hold up to the standards of the "bespectacled, shaggy haired, unshaven, slightly overweight white boy-man" simply do not exist. The same probably goes for the diverse people that live in these neighborhoods.
Did you know that no one lived in Fort Greene prior to 1998??
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 4:55 PM
dorks
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 5:16 PM
swordfight
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 5:17 PM
Is the one in the immediate foreground a dude or a chick?
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 5:43 PM
as stated earlier, white owned businesses opened in neighborhoods that are primarily black, hispanic etc do not get patronage from the "majority"
Look at Northeast Kingdom, Life Cafe or the Wreck Room in Bushwick. If you were blindfolded and put in those places, not knowing where you were, you would think you were in northside williamsburg of the east village.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 5:44 PM
I just bought a brownstone in Crown Heights (on the eastern end near Utica Ave.)
I love it. I love Crown Heights. I was excited about this bar and went to check it out with a few friends. It sucks, we stayed 10 minutes and left. It’s just not a very good bar. It’s not about race, it’s about beer and ambience and it fails on that level. It’s just a boring cement slab with too many people milling around and it was hard to get a drink. Stop worrying about getting mugged and start worrying about building better bars.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 5:55 PM
4:23-fucking jealous dick. your just bitter because you bought in a shitty neighborhood and the value of your home is worth jack shit. Yes, I live in a nicer neighborhood thank CH and NO my parents don't give me shit. I work for everything i have. Fucking douchbag.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 6:18 PM
Renters should not be allowed to post on this blog
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 6:37 PM
home owners should not be allowed to post on this blog.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 7:35 PM
I live in this neighborhood, and the reports of it being dangerous are greatly exaggerated. Yes the reports of tension in the neighborhood are true, but for the most part this neighborhood consists of people just living their lives, which is one of the things that makes it so fun. You see working people, homeless people, hipsters who don't see the sun before 3PM, thugs & drug dealers, Hasidics, Latins, Asians, Whites, Blacks, and Arabs. Some days I hear the call the prayer a bit north of me and other days I hear the cathedral bells from the west. The point is that it is very difficult to codify the area. Also, it's all block from the Brooklyn Museum and the park. If you want to feel safe all the time stay in Williamsburg where you can talk about how ironic it is that you moved to New York only to end up in a shack with siding surrounded by other White people from Ohio living next to a nuclear disposal site and an oil refinery.
Posted by: nate3241 at May 6, 2008 7:37 PM
7:37 = best post ever.
seriously man. i like your style.
last sentence is genius. and completely true.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 8:15 PM
Boy, 8:15, you have pretty low standards. 7:37's post was about as cookie-cutter as it gets, especially the inevitable swipe at a midwestern state. Boring and unoriginal.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 8:34 PM
"No one lived in Ft. Greene prior to 1998"
So the people that lived and still live. there are no one? Get a grip - you all did not invent Brooklyn - you are all just trying the ride the coat tails of Cool. Get the fuck over your selves. Not smart or talented enough to do something tangible so have to identify as some pioneer that discovered a land.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 8:40 PM
perfect place. total floovenation.
Don't fight the floove, whatever you do.
Yeah!
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 8:51 PM
um...8:40....the "no one lived in ft. greene prior to 1998" i think was meant to be sarcastic.
uh....defensive, much?
jeez, louise.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 9:07 PM
very few people on this blog lived here pre-1998.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 10:36 PM
very few people on this blog can count to 1998
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 10:52 PM
LOL @ sausage party
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 10:57 PM
It is, I think, difficult to have a conversation about what a bar geared mostly toward a white clientele means to a neighborhood like Crown Heights without at least some nod toward the larger context, both historic and geographic, that has created the contested status of this site. "Nicer areas" of Brooklyn, in 90% of the cases, had a comparable status to Crown Heights (to varying degrees) in the not too distant past. That a current resident moved into that "nice" neighborhood after the process of neighborhood change--call it what you may: gentrification, reinvestment or colonization--had occurred does not make them less complicit in the processes that they criticize here and that have brought this bar to Crown Heights. This bar is in Crown Heights as much as a result of what people are and have done in Park Slope and Carroll Gardens as because of what is going on in Crown Heights. It is a larger process that is not about Yuppies, or hipsters or even just race, but about the extent to which our city serves as an expression of fundamental inequality. The narrowness of this conversation only takes the processes at work further down the wrong path and it misses the point...If we are dissatisfied with the city we see around us, we should question how it was made to be like that and work to change it rather than pointing fingers and deflecting blame--this just creates more of the same. We perhaps cannot fundamentally change our society with much ease but we certainly can change our city. For what it's worth, I hope this bar is a place people enjoy and I hope it does attract a diverse crowd--but keep in mind that this is diversity amongst those who buy $6 beers...there's more to the picture.
Also, the word douche is way overused here.
Posted by: guest at May 6, 2008 11:04 PM
just so all commenting and reading understand... the owner of Frankln Park is a born and raised Brooklynite and welcomes anyone to the bar. As far as I've been told by him, the majority of people in Crown Heights are actually Panamanian. Not "black" or anything else. The area is pretty "diverse" when we look at all people that live there. Yes, an overused word but it can be used.
And the reason they opened up in this area rather than some more "gentrified" spots is because no matter what race one may be, everyone gets priced out. The rent for a place like this is williamsburg or the slope would be 4 times the amount. Look at the big picture when commenting. And if anyone goes there on a regular basis now, you'll notice multiple walks of life. Everyone could use a good beer no matter who they are.
Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 6:27 AM
I think this has gotten very silly. I wish the bar success, I wish anyone of any persuasion success in bringing business to any part of Crown Heights, we need it.
The neigborhood right around the bar may be Panamanian, but the owner is mistaken to think the entire (extremely large) neighborhood of Crown Heights is. It is, however diverse, with a large Hasidic, African American, and Caribbean population, of which Panama is considered a part. We also have a growing white population, as well as East Asian and Arabic populations. I am never surprised to hear any number of languages spoken when I'm walking around. I think that's one of the better parts of living in NYC.
Posted by: Montrose Morris at May 7, 2008 9:32 AM
Orange cans = Porkslap Pale Ale, which I got for $4 at Franklin Park. My friend and I both liked it.
Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 11:50 AM
The majority of people in Crown Heights are Panamanian?
I was just in Panama a month ago, and I can tell you with 100% certainty the residents of Crown Heights are not in any way similar to the residents of Panama City.
Posted by: Polemicist at May 7, 2008 12:28 PM
Is this really what people do all day? Hipsters bitching about other hipsters in a new bar and the state of a neighborhood's 'diversity'? Stop obsessing over comments and get a life, and let the people drink their orange canned beer. Must be nice to have so much time on your hands. Best of luck to the bar.
Posted by: guest at May 7, 2008 12:54 PM
bo-ring.
Posted by: guest at May 8, 2008 5:20 PM
I'm a native New Yorker and I actually know the douchehat in the leather jacket and believe me, he is not a hipster, a douchehat maybe, hipster no.
As for “neighborhood gentrification”, we all know that New York has been forever changing, it changed when most you who have commented above moved here so either accept the changes or get out (the latter would be preferable). I remember when you would get mugged daily. Sometimes twice a day. Ahh the good old days, when all you douchehats were scared to live here.
Hope the bar gets the job done…pouring money into our economy (via beer) and out of the pockets of poor douchehat hipsters!
Posted by: guest at May 29, 2008 1:17 PM
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