Holland Bar Back From the Brink

The Holland Bar, a "classic old man" dive bar in Hell's Kitchen, was gutted late last year after the landlord refused to renew the lease, in the hopes of converting the building for residential use or selling it. But as you may have noticed, it's not exactly a sellers market, and now the landlord has agreed to let the Holland stay, with a little 20 percent rent increase. Following up on EV Grieve's scoop last week, the Times dropped by to observe the dive's comeback, which is proceeding like a sodden phoenix stumbling from the Pall Mall ashes: Owner Gary Kelly has to start from scratch to recreate place—even the plumbing was ripped out. One regular tells him, "I feel like a homeless person without a cardboard box," to which Kelly replies, "Don't worry, I’ll get you your cardboard box." Awww, enabling never sounded so sweet.