Union Hall-Blessing or Curse?

[quote=shishkab]sorry, Michael. Dontcha mean:

Yes to the sentiment; no to the dreadful haircut.

I'm gonna hafta give in and check this place out - if only so I can have an opinion to offer in the frequent threads about it.

Man! Totally know where you're coming from - I got sliders the other night and they forgot bout it until 40 minutes after I ordered. My housemate plays bocci but I don't know what team he's on- my theory is that he only goes to gaze at his object of desire who plays on sundays. I wonder if I should tell him to stick a post-it onto the bocci ball for her? =P

Ok, not even sure where to start. Went into Union Hall yesterday around 6pm. Expecting to relax and have a few drinks as adults like to do, I was astonished at the number of kids running around the bar. I am not just talking about one or two. The entire front area looked like a damn Gymboree! There was even a mother breast feeding in there. Come on people. I know you are young, hip parents but there are some things you just don't do in a bar.

I am sure a lot of people will be angry at me for complaining about this. Believe me, I am not a baby hater. In fact I caught my self staring at and even waving to the beautiful little creatures, decked out in their gorgeous Romp and Area Baby outifts. But I digress. That is NOT why I went to Union Hall. I went to drink, flirt, laugh loudly, curse...whatever it is adults do at a bar. The entire mood was ruined by the stoller brigade. Sorry Park Slope parents. It's just become too much.

Oh, and the service was LITERALLY some of the worst I have ever experienced. At the end the server apologized and said things were just "confusing". What the hell is confusing about taking orders and bringing them to the people who order them? In my opinion the whole place is a waste of a potentially amazing space.

Yeah, during a few of my tournamaments, there were kids b'day parties going on right on the balcony above the courts. I felt bad for the kids because it was supposed to be their "day" and they couldnt play because there were games going on.

Its not their fault that their parents didnt realize that there were games going on, or maybe they didnt even care. its just not a good idea to have kids parties at a place where they wont be able to play and the adults can.

Maybe they need to have a little kids court on the side! I think its really cute to see them getting excited about the balls actually. But then again, i play on sun afternoons

yes, Union Hall is an awful bar. so awful, in fact, that people keep coming back night after night to pack the place. so awful that there were regulars within the first unannounced week of being open (who still happen to love it, by the way. i'm one of them!)

i've spent my share of nights in this gorgeous space, so i feel like i have a pretty good handle on some of the issues y'all have thrown out here...

yes, it's loud on weekends. as is the case with any bar. the staff have made a concerted effort since day one to keep the patrons from making tons of noise and/or loitering around outside the club. they have competent bouncers, and whomever it was that tried to imply that bar fights are even an issue is severely misinformed. the staff has also gone to great lengths to try and soundproof as effectively as possible. it is a work in progress, but they take whatever feedback they receive and try to improve.

as for prices. you can still get plenty of beers for $3, $4, $5. they have almost 30 different kinds. many of the liquor drinks fall within the $4 - $6 range. sorry they don't come with an old greying hot dog or some crappy, stale pretzels, but those prices seem pretty comparable in my opinion.

someone mentioned something ridiculous about "shunned bands by the truckload are frustrated". not sure where those numbers are coming from, but i know for a fact that UH has booked plenty of tiny local bands, sometimes with a very small following, and often on the bill with much bigger names, for the sole purpose of keeping the community involved.

in addition, there is HUGE variety in that bar, both performance- and clientele-wise. a glance at their calendar should tip you off that there must be all kinds of people who come out for such a vast array of events. they have everything! spelling bees, sold-out rock shows, "secret science club", acoustic shows, comedy nights (with some big name stars, i might add), Develop, Don't Destroy benefits, independent film screenings. seriously, what else do you want? to sit at home and complain? go for it. i'm sure UH will NEVER have anything that appeals to you, and if they do, you're probably best off not going. who wants to have fun, anyway?

as for people complaining about it being too white, i have to vehemently disagree. people of all colors, races, ages, etc. come to that bar. i've seen them week after week.

and finally. kids in the bar. to an extent, i certainly agree. there should not be tons of little kids running around in a place designed for alcohol consumption. i believe they're trying their best to keep the little ones away after a certain hour of night. however, to turn families away completely in Park Slope just makes no sense. sorry but it's true. at 2pm on a sunday afternoon, you're just going to have to deal with it sometimes. or, again, feel free to stay home.

the truth is that Union Hall is a unique, beautiful space. there's plenty to love about it, from the fireplace to the bocce courts to the performance space.... those of you who want to complain, feel free, it's your loss. those of you who appreciate all that it has to offer... maybe i'll see ya there sometime! i'll buy you a drink.

[Struggling to ignore yet another "Kids don't belong here" post. Man, every thread seems to have something related to this topic.]

No, I totally agree. It's strange to complain about kids being in places when you're living in this neighborhood. I was more going back to mixergirl's post.

I don't really want to get into this topic again. My feelings are clear.

Subject: fools

This latest " bring your spawn to the pub" trend is the last straw.
Sorry, I moved away from the suburbs so I could enjoy an adult life in an adult world. What's next? Family Night at Scores?

i think people should feel free to bring their kids to bars,

but they have to realize I'm occasionally going to say "fuck" while complaining about my fucking job, while drinking my fucking beer, at the fucking bar.

seriously, profanity complaints in a fucking bar?!?

Subject: Union Hall

Finally a semi-upscale bar where someone who doesn't buy all their clothes at Beacon's Closet can relax and have a drink. Anyone who has a problem with any noise coming from any bar ever should move out of any part of NYC. As for kids in a bar? Not unless it's a pre-ordained kids night is it appropriate for children to be around drinking, swearing, smoking adults or for paying adults to have to temper their behavior b/c of fear of offending kids. Yes, it's Park Slope. But it's a bar, for crying out loud, get a babysitter ya wannabe hipster parents.

I live on Union between 5th and 6th, right across the street from UH, and have never had a problem with the noise or the patrons. Also think it's a great bar, although I avoid it before 9 because of all the kids running around. I love kids (teach preschool) but don't want to deal with them when I'm trying to relax. I also wish that their parents would try a little harder to control them -- no more jumping on the couches or running around so fast that they spill my wine. The music is also great.

You can bring your kids to the bar, but you better spare me your condescending glances when I accidentally spill my beer on your Bubagoo crowding my table, rub my titties up on my boyfriend's face, and liberally pepper my conversations with four-letter words.

See...that's what I was trying to say. You said it much better than I did. Thanks girl.

I think it's totally cool that you act as you would normally in a bar whether someone's kid is there or not. All of the above things you mention. Just as I don't think you should be surprised to see kids in bars or restaurants in this area, the parents shouldn't be surprised to have beer spilled on their strollers, hear cursing, etc. It's a two way street.

Rose wrote: Having been raised by parents who were generally drunk

I think this somewhat takes away your objectivity on the matter. Not all people were raised by alcoholics or see drinking in a negative light.

A lot of it is how we view drinking in this country and the way we go about drinking. In other cultures it's quite different and you wouldn't think you'd need to shelter your children from people consuming alcohol.