wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Comments

• [1] Leigh February 08, 2008 - 12:22PM

  Old Town

  
  
• [2] Nancy from New York February 08, 2008 - 12:22PM

  Oldest operating bar:

  Is it the Ear Inn? ?

  
  
• [3] Brendan from Manhattan February 08, 2008 - 12:24PM

  Isn't the oldest operating bar in NYC the "Ear Inn" on Spring St.?

  
  
• [4] suzanne from NYC February 08, 2008 - 12:26PM

  Pete's Tavern on Irving Place is the oldest operating bar in NYC

  
  
• [5] Illyse from Chinatown February 08, 2008 - 12:27PM

  Bridge Cafe is the answer

  
  
• [6] leah from NYC February 08, 2008 - 12:28PM

  Bridge Cafe

  
  
• [7] John from rego park February 08, 2008 - 12:28PM

  Old town bar - best burgers in city!

  
  
• [8] Tea from Brooklyn February 08, 2008 - 12:34PM

  Is anyone else really bothered by the tone of snobbery that the NFT folks are exhibiting? Commenting on the light treatment of Queens with, "Well, it IS Queens." Snidely snickering "Never!" when asked about covering the Bronx or Staten Island. "Never leave the city..." They may consider themselves the purveyors of "cool" or "worthy" but I find this pretension highly suspect and unsavory. And I own 2 NFT guides!

  
  
• [9] Nelson from NYC February 08, 2008 - 12:34PM

  I thought it was the White House Tavern.

  
  
• [10] Mark from Brooklyn February 08, 2008 - 12:35PM

  Totally the Ear

  
  
• [11] Rosemary from Baldwin, NY February 08, 2008 - 12:35PM

  Isn't it Pete's Tavern on Irving Place?? can someone tell me if that's it, because I had to get out of the car to go to work and I never heard if my answer was correct.

  
  
• [12] ab February 08, 2008 - 12:36PM

  well...I would agree with the "never leave the city" comment in regards to moving to the suburbs....sorry...snobby I know...but i agree!

  
  
• [13] gary from NYC February 08, 2008 - 12:41PM

  RE: oldest bar, Pete's Tavern is claiming that honor,

  not the Bridge Cafe.

  "Pete's Tavern first opened its doors in 1864. From that date to today, it has remained open. This achievement makes Pete's both an official historical landmark and the longest continuously operating bar and restaurant in New York City."

  
  
• [14] gabbneb February 08, 2008 - 12:49PM

  There are three Michelin-starred restaurants in Brooklyn, not two. You forgot Dressler.

  
  
• [15] liberty Howell from park slope February 08, 2008 - 12:53PM

  i think the landmarked tree is the camperdown elm in prospect park

  and the boardgame was scrabble?

  
  
• [16] ken from bronx February 08, 2008 - 01:05PM

  what snobbery! The first question ("oldest bar in new york") is invalid; there is no historical consensus on the answer, so the only way to answer "correctly" would be to read their book! What utter non-sense...

  
  
• [17] Ben from Jamaica, Queens February 08, 2008 - 01:27PM

  Hey:

  This is 'Jamaica Ben'. RE: my bonus question.

  While answering 'Monopoly', I was thinking it might actually be some goofball game like 'Chutes and Ladders'.

  I could'nt get the correct answer, as I was talking to an NYC rep.

  What was the answer to the location, plaque (?)

  in Jackson Heights (35th Ave and WHAT ST)?

  
  
• [18] Ben from Jamaica, Queens February 08, 2008 - 02:05PM

  Anyone? No one?

  
  
• [19] Roxanne from Staten Island February 08, 2008 - 02:51PM

  I too was bothered by the snobbery regarding the "other" boroughs. Let's face it, given a choice, lots of us would choose to live in Manhattan for convenience and ammenities but not all of us can. That's why Brooklyn is what it is today. And why one day the authors may have to write a Staten Island or Bronx edition.

  
  
• [20] anonymous from washington heights February 08, 2008 - 07:50PM

  from the NYTimes, November 19, 1995:

  "McSORLEY'S OLD ALE HOUSE has long claimed the title of the oldest surviving saloon in New York, giving its date as 1854. But now new research by Richard McDermott, an amateur researcher, gives the title to the Bridge Cafe, in the sagging wooden building at 279 Water Street, which he has dated to 1847 -- and he's still working backward.

  Mr. McDermott, a retired John Adams High School science teacher, has always been interested in the history of New York and went on walking tours with his late wife, Joan. In 1987 he began a quarterly, The New York Chronicle, filling it with book reviews, preservation editorials and reprinted articles from period sources. But his publication has not concentrated on original research, and Mr. McDermott genially describes himself as an absolute novice."

  Personally I consider the Bridge Cafe's status as oldest continuous bar as highly disputed and not as "for sure" as these guests, Tallia and Pirone assert. Mr. McDermott has been involved in a row with McSorley's bar for years now, and his status as an objective historian has been questioned.

  After several years of working for a tourist/visitors guide publisher, I would like to inform listeners that you must read/believe all statements with a degree of questioning and your own additional research.

  
  
• [21] sarah from Brooklyn February 09, 2008 - 12:21PM

  I agree with some of the other comments here...was listening to the podcast of this show and was appalled by how snide and snobby these NFT people are. Makes me not want to read their books.

  
  
• [22] Stanley Sluszka from Park Slope February 10, 2008 - 08:40AM

  Where are the answers ? Don't leave us hanging.