Disputing a New York Times Review: Sugarland Brooklyn

Williamsburg's gay bar Sugarland joined the party last year. Located at 221 North Ninth Street, in the hip Brooklyn neighborhood, it has apparently begun to receive positive press in the Sunday New York Times. A quote taken from the article notes, "HIDDEN among the vacant lots and bleak brick warehouses of industrial Williamsburg, a go-go boy shimmied." Over here, we aren't sure when the author may have visited the bar? Was it in the 1990s before the advent of chic condos? This is industrial Williamsburg no longer.

The inviting roof-top terrace looks onto a series of empty lots, cleared for incoming condo developments. All of the adjacent blocks are filled with expensive and expansive new homes. One wonders how long Sugarland will hold out, with pretentious neighbors facing this gay Eden below. Yes, the bar will literally be surrounded on all sides by new construction. With the face of Williamsburg so quickly changing, why would the bar's owners want to locate here?

This "happening" bar, that gay men are apparently are rushing to get into, has been empty the two times I have visited. Admittedly, the party must get started in the wee hours of the night, but one of the two times I visited was New Year's Eve, at about 11 pm. You would think with just an hour to go until 2008, the place would be packed with revelers. But it wasn't, which likely means it isn't for everyone, just those interested in seeing the sun rise.

There is nary a mention of the true gay hipster haven in this article. Metropolitan Bar, located a few blocks away at Metropolitan and Lorimer, is the true landmark of Gay Williamsburg. It too offers no cover, a laid back vibe, a jukebox, and crowds. Thankfully it will probably be a part of the neighborhood for the long haul.

My Life on the G: Shuttle to Nassau

If the normal wait times aren't bad enough, it seems like every weekend there is something wrong with the G Train. If it is not running in two sections (one between Queens and Bedford/Nostrand, and the other between Smith/9th and Bedford/Nostrand) there is no service at all, which was the case this past weekend. Well, there was service from Nassau to Continental/71st in Queens. (I know what you're thinking..."Wait, the G Train runs that far into Queens?" It does indeed, but apparently only when they feel like it).

So getting home Saturday night was yet another hassle, since there were no notices posted at the Metropolitan Ave. stop regarding Queens-bound service changes and the need to take a shuttle bus to Nassau Ave. I found this out after paying my fare, walking through the L station, and seeing the roped off G Train entrances. Fortunately there was an MTA employee handing out what appeared to be pre-Metro card paper transfers, to ensure you didn't have to pay again at Nassau - so I'll have to give them that.

After some confusion and two train rides later, I finally made it home.

You gotta love the G Train!

My Life on the G: Stuck Waiting for an Eternity

This is the introductory post to what will soon be an ongoing series of posts about riding the G Train. We all know that this line is one of, if not THE worst, lines in NYC. However, as someone who rides the G day in and day out...I have a right to complain. The Blue York team hopes that you can sympathize with us and share some of your own G Train horror stories.

The other night after hanging out with some friends, it was too late to catch the B24 bus home, so I was subjected to waiting for the infamous G train in Brooklyn. I had great hope that this would be a speedy trip, as the train quickly arrived. There was great joy in my heart--no waiting for tens of minutes at 3:45 am. However, my joy turned to sorrow, as the train just sat there...all of us crazies out late at night wondered what was happening, but the driver just kept repeating that there were track problems ahead at both stations, with no estimated departure time. We were kept waiting at Metropolitan for at least 20 minutes, and at the next station, Nassau for another ten to 15 minutes. I finally walked over to the driver to ask what was going on...I was extremely frustrated and was looking for an answer. When he opened the window, he was instantly confrontational, and did not seem to know what was going on. I did not know whether to catch a cab, or stay waiting below ground for an unknown (perhaps eternity?) period of time.

Finally, he got on his walkie talkie, and then, very quickly, he told me I better get on the train because we were to start moving. I find it peculiar that as soon as I complained, the train started to move normally again, switching to the Brooklyn-bound side of the tracks. My impression, the driver wouldn't have done anything to get going unless I complained. Note that this was at 3:45 in the morning, and we didn't arrive at the last stop until about 4:30 or so...a trip that should have lasted ten minutes took 45 minutes. We also saw no evidence that there was any work being done on the Queens-bound track when we passed by. All very mysterious: was there legitimately a problem? Or was there a lack of information or a lack of caring by the driver? Poor service all around. Will I rely on the G train late at night again? Not so sure.