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Address | 559 Lorimer Street Brooklyn, New York USA |
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Location | Williamsburg, Brooklyn |
Coordinates | 40°42′49″N 73°56′58″W / 40.71361°N 73.94944°W |
Public transit | Metropolitan Avenue |
Type | Gay bar |
Opened | 2002 |
Website | |
www |
Metropolitan is a gay bar in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.
Metropolitan is near the intersection of Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. It is a dive bar featuring a multi-level lounge, pool table, dancefloor, and backyard patio. [1] Since its founding, Metropolitan has hosted weekly barbecues on its back patio on Sundays from Memorial Day weekend to the end of September. Other events hosted by the bar include " Queeraoke" on Tuesday nights, Wednesday night trivia, Gender Xperts, a monthly gender queer open mic night, as well as a monthly comedy show. [2]
Metropolitan sits on a lot previously occupied by a colonial-era cemetery that was likely owned by the First Reformed Dutch Church of Williamsburgh. [3] The land was declared forlorn sometime before the mid-1800s and was developed into real estate by the end of the century. From 1927 to 2000, the building now on the lot was occupied by Milo's Restaurant, a bar that initially operated as a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Following the closure of Milo's, the site was occupied by an Irish pub before Metropolitan opened in 2002. [3]
In February 2012, Brooklyn Community Board 1 rejected Metropolitan's request for a liquor license renewal, citing complaints that the bar failed to abide by state guidelines that obligate bars to close outdoor spaces by 11 p.m. on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends. The board's vote was merely a recommendation, and Metropolitan's liquor license was ultimately renewed by the State Liquor Authority. [4]
In September 2018, two gay men were assaulted after leaving Metropolitan by a man who uttered homophobic slurs. [5] The accused perpetrator was arrested on a variety of assault and hate crime charges and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. [6]
Metropolitan was ranked as the best gay bar in New York by New York magazine in 2005 and 2008. [7] In 2015, New York ranked Metropolitan as the best gay bar in Brooklyn, calling it "a Grand Central Station for Brooklyn’s gay scene, with a lively roster of DJs, drag queens, and events that are always mixed and never exclusionary". [8]