Saturday, November 08, 2008

THE NIGHTLIFE IN WILBUR


The nightlife in Wilbur is hoppin.
I went on one of my evening drives through town to check on some Ward issues and decided to check on the Feeney boat yard to see if there was any Friday night action. There was nothing, not a peep.

However, the Juke Box at Stan’s Brook Room was cranked and I discovered about 20 people crammed in the place singing along to Billy Joel’s Piano Man. What a sight!

Here it is 8:30 on a Friday, with all the fancy bars and restaurants uptown and down, and I stumble on the party in Wilbur. About half of the crowd was from the immediate area while the rest were from the Rondout and Eddyville.

As I walked in, a few people recognized me and asked questions about the council workings, but mostly focused on the New York State economy. Which lead to the expansion of the Feeney boat yard and the new structure across the street.

Stan jumped right in and praised the Feeney Brothers for finally getting the crew out of the winter weather, while others pointed out that not all industry is slowing down, with Feeney’s serving as an example.
Most of the locals got a letter from Planning asking if they had reservations regarding the new structure. They offered none.

The crew was working on the roof structure when I saw them this Saturday morning and the other yard employees were all over the big tug boat.
Operating through 114 years of good and bad times, the Feeney’s have adapted to the needs of the times, and although their work load has picked up a bit lately, they still provide a good indication that not all of our local industry is heading to China.

Stan’s Brook Room is the only Bar in Ward Nine and its located right next to Riverside Pizza[pictured right] the only pizzeria in the ward as well a next to Fire House Studio, the only Gallery in the ward.
If you can find parking, have a visit.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hard to put the words WILBUR and Nightlife in the same sentance.
The Brook Room is an icon of the Wilbur neighborhood and has been there since the 1930s. It has always been a favorite watering hole for the working class that made their living in the Wilbur industrial valley.
Almost all of the residents who used to work and live in the same area have passed on or moved to Florida by now. The Brook Room should have a Landmark Designation placed on it for the decades of social service that pub offered. Stan should get a medal for keeping it open as long as he has.

Anonymous said...

Riverside Pizza is one of the better deliveries in the City of Kingston. How fast can you get two mushroom pies to my house?

Anonymous said...

There was a time when the waterway was lined up with barges and tugs, waiting to be repaired and lined up as far as the old Port Ewen bridge.
That whole strip of industrial property was a buzz with hundreds of men handling steel all day. That was when jobs were plentiuful and you were proud to have one.
Now jobs are scarce and noone wants to sweat a little.
Were raising a generation of weaklings playing video games.

Anonymous said...

It is amazing that there is growth of some kind in this City. No protests or petitions? What gives?

Anonymous said...

Well once again you have me baffled. Not one person that I've talked to in Wilbur received ANY notice that Feeney's had plans to erect a new building - NOT ONE! It just went up. As for overnight and weekend noise, Mike we got tired of waiting to hear something - ANYTHING - from you. We have made our own progress in that regard by reaching out to other agencies and we've got IMMEDIATE help and relief. We will continue to push for improvements in Wilbur as long as conditions call for it. As always I appreciate you looking out for the people of ward nine and the good people of Wilbur. 353 days and counting till next years election...

Mike Madsen said...

That long conversation I had with the Fenney brothers several weeks ago did nothing. Well, who am I?

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't know - you've never made any attempt to let the people of Wilbur know you had plans to talk to Feeney's or what the result was. We ask you for help and from our point of view you do nothing. A simple phone call, email or post on the ward 9 website letting us know that you had talked with them would have gone a long way to rebuilding our trust in your ability to respond to the residents. Would you now like to tell us what the discussion entailed and the result of the discussion? I don't care who gets the credit for a major reduction in overnight and weekend noise - I only care that we've made progress on it.

If you know anything about what it going on along the brook on Wilbur Ave, I'm sure many would be interested to find out. DPW crews have also been working along Abeel in front of Feeney's - what are they up too? They have also done soil boring samples along Fitch St as they are finally going to fix a dangerous partial collapse of the roadbed and retaining wall this coming spring.

Instead of fighting us Mike, I just don't see why you can't work with us. We all want the same thing - safe, quiet neighborhoods and a hope that we can survive these tough times and prosper once again.