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Gowanus Residents: Please Stop Messing With The Shuffleboard Club
By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 4, 2012
Modified Sep 4, 2012
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Sep 4, 2012
Modified Sep 4, 2012
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Shuffleboard in the Bronx, 1942. (via LIFE)
Gowanus used to be so cool. But in the present day, residents of the neighborhood are raging against the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club that plans to open in the area next year. The shuffleboard club is a legit shuffleboard club—in other words, it's not just called a shuffleboard club for kitschy cache or as a cover for an S&M club or something. It's actually a shuffleboard club, like the one near your grandparents' condo in Boca Raton. Have you ever heard your grammy complain about all that racket coming from the shuffleboard courts? You haven't! Because no one has ever complained about noise from shuffleboard, until now.
As you know, some residents recently expressed concern about the club—which plans to serve booze—worried drunks wielding biscuits and tangs would overtake the streets, high on their latest shuffleboard win. Now the Brooklyn Paper reports that "owners Ashley Albert and Jonathan Schnapp say they’ll scale back... after angry residents — some of whom are circulating a petition to stop the club from opening — blasted the planned venue at Union Street and Third Avenue at a Community Board 6 meeting on its liquor license bid." One resident said, “We feel the presence of a huge club throws off the balance of the neighborhood." It's also what to expect when you move into a burgeoning neighborhood that's filled with giant, unused warehouses and buildings. We got in touch with Schnapp today, and he tells us:
"The compromises we're making are to make our neighbors comfortable with the fact that we're going to be an asset to the community and not a burden. Easy things like limiting our capacity to around 250 people and closing a little earlier on weeknights seem like they can go a long way to quell fears and make people feel better about our project. We really feel as though we're going to be able to find some common ground and that our neighborhood will embrace our shuffleboard club in the end."
Neighborhood, don't ruin this... we've waited so long.
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Gowanus
royal palms
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shuffleboard club
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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