Another Brooklyn Bar Bans Babies (After 5)

Are baby bans seeping over the Park Slope line and into Windsor Terrace? According to Courier-Life, Double Windsor owner Jeff Switzer says their policy of no babies after 5 p.m. has been in effect for a few months now, and was instituted after some feedback from patrons. He says, “It’s more of an issue between people that live in the neighborhood than it is with us. Most people who come to the bar would prefer not to have babies in the bar.” And the debate rages on!

While he hasn't had to kick any strollers to the curb just yet, it seems some local breeders aren't too happy with the cut off time—one saying it should be more like 8 p.m. (but that's during happy hour!). Those without spawn maintain that they come to the bar to relax, and don't want to be chastised for smoking outside or cursing within earshot of a youngin'. And that group is not afraid to question your parenting!

It was just 2 years ago the Park Slope's Union Hall caused a stir after their stroller ban—so we asked Jack "Skippy" McFadden (booker of Union Hall and owner of the Bell House) what he thinks of bans like this now that he has a (10 month old) daughter. He also happens to be a regular at Double Windsor! He told us:

My stance hasn't changed since I had my daughter. We've taken her to a bar or two, and she's proving herself to be a very pleasant diner, too—but we take her at times where it's totally square and appropriate. I've never eaten dinner at 5:30 before, but now I do if I REALLY want to go and we don't have a plan. I know a ton of other bar and restaurant owners and I can see them cringe when people bring their kids in at inappropriate times. It ruins the vibe they've worked very hard to create. Bars aren't Romper Rooms, they are dangerous places with pottymouth drunks. Some seem more friendly than others, but they aren't. You can tell if a place is friendly to kids or not and you shouldn't take it personally if they are not. Just go somewhere else.

If people would just use some common sense and consideration, there wouldn't have to be rules. That pretty much goes across the board for everything, but sadly, there are always self-absorbed people who think the planet revolves around them. You should hear some of the quotes that come out of parents' mouths when they are asked to keep an eye on their kids at bars "Oh, it's Park Slope, someone will watch them" (as their kid is hauling ass down an employees only entrance en route to a flight of stairs into an oven).

I hate that Double Windsor had to make rules, especially now that they are serving such awesome food, but they know their bar better than anyone. They aren't a bunch of single kid hating cranky dudes. They are parents. Take it from them, they know better, and parents who live in Park Slope should know better too. Get a babysitter, you can afford it.

Wise words... not that they will end the debate.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on February 17, 2010 1:50 PM

Comments [rss]

PhillyJoeJones

Cafe Regular du Nord has now joined the list of Park Slope establishments where moms can let their babies scream to their hearts' desire with impunity.

bitchincamaro

The only time a baby should be in a bar is when it is fetching another bucket of beer for its owner.

Mookie Wilson

This is in the best interests of all young New Yorkers. Nobody should be forced to go to a bar named "Double Windsor" before they are old enough to run away.

P.S.-You're all a bunch of pussies. I grew up getting dragged to bars with my parents. A nice little coke on the rocks and a stool and you were a rock star with all the barflys. It's called a neighborhood bar.

kleinpeter

I hate parents.

Manitoba

As a newly-minted parent, I can't imagine have the energy, or frankly the desire, to go out to dinner or a bar with my baby. I actually enjoy sitting at home, eating dinner on the couch and watching a DVD.

Plus, I can load up on beer and have friends come over to my place; you'd be surprised at how friends are willing to come over, hang out, watch Clash of the Titans, and drink free beer. Unless friends want to go out and try to pick up some chick at a bar, they typically just interested in drinking and hanging out - something easily done at home. Also, you can set a time limit of 9pm, so they still have time to hit the bars themselves.

wobbleSmith

we could always try this...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_modest_proposal

wobbleSmith

sigh. reply fail.

sorry, manitoba. i don't want to eat your baby...

...just ALL babies.

Manitoba

No worries - they are pretty delectable.

bobj

This is typical of the entitlement generation who are now parents. Seriously, why would you bring a baby into a bar in the first place? Enough already with these entitled parents- I'm sick of not being able to walk down the sidewalk without making a detour into the street to avoid another McLaren being pushed by self righteous parents.

Also, this is a Brooklyn phenomenon- I've never seen a baby in a bar in Manhattan. I love living in Brooklyn, but these self-righteous parents are ruining the

neighbourhood.

wingedearth

I thought bars generally ban anyone under 21. Doesn't that already include babies?

grifforama

seriously, enough with the "breeders" and "spawn"

When you get lucky enough to have kids Jen, maybe you'll realise....

jaycjay

My new band is named "Spawn Of Breeders."

NycChick

I was gagging and disgusted when I first saw babies at applebee's in Westchester.

wingedearth

Applebees? Isn't Applebees a restaurant? Like Denny's? What's wrong with bringing a baby there? (I mean, aside from it being a chain restaurant with processed, unhealthy food.)

the3rdbridge

Do journalists use Alliteration to defuse their bordom or are they all just out to upset me?

jaycjay

Journalists generally don't use it at all.

the3rdbridge

Your comment gets lolz but I wouldn't knock the Gothamist writers. A -so many posters give them shit but clearly continue to read. B -I see it much more often on that damn Captivate screen in my elevator, which means that the people writing the headlines for Reuters are not by any means any higher caliber.

nycraf

Alliteration or consonance? I always get those two mixed up.

flynn110

Eat more babies!!

Stephenson Billings

What kind of parent would take her child into a bar at all? What kind of mother puts her desperation for drunkenliness ahead of the welfare of her child? I can't imagine any kind of father allowing this. I have to think that children's services isn't doing their job here.

Gwinny

It's not about drunkenness -- it's about trying to keep some semblance of a LIFE after spawning (i.e. socializing with friends, etc.).

That being said: no, I am not a parent. And yes, I do agree that babies don't belong in a bar after a certain hour. I think Jack McFadden summed it up nicely above.

Cannibal

when you have children, those are the sacrifices you make.

Heather D

Why is 21+ such a hard concept for people to grasp? When I was a kid I didn't get to hang out in bars. When a sign says "no dogs" I don't take my dog in. When a bar/restaurant says "no outside food or drink" I don't take any in. I don't go wandering into a Veterans hall as a non-veteran expecting them to serve me. It's really a VERY simple concept. Bars have always been 21+, since when did the rules supposedly change?

GREGORYABUTLER

You took the words right out of my mouth who the hell takes a baby to a BAR, for Christ's sake!

It's a BAR - a place for grown folks to drink, curse and attempt to fornicate!

jaycjay

"Bars have always been 21+, since when did the rules supposedly change?"

If by "always" you mean "since 1985," which was when the drinking age in New York was set at 21.

Though actually the minimum age at which someone can be allowed in a bar legally in NYS without a parent or guardian is 16.

Heather D

Semantics. It was still 19 before that and 18 before that, which last I checked are still a far cry from infancy. So let me rephrase for you "Bars have always been places for serving adults of legal drinking age and not places to hang out with babies".

ProfessorVonNostren

THIS. When did it become ok to take babies into a bar? At what age is it no longer ok? Or, as this generation of babies grows up, are we going to see toddlers and tweens in the pubs as well?

Cannibal

Wow. You need a sign on a bar to tell stupid/bad parents not to bring their BABIES in there? Fucking gene pool.

bitchincamaro

If when Bloomberg was preparing to ban smoking in bars, he made it clear that this act would usher in the dreaded babies-in-bars phenomenon, things might be a whole lot smokier in Boozeville. Amirite?

Rocknrope

On a different note, I took my 13 month old for a late lunch at Rhythm n' Booze. Not a problem at all, and the drunk at the bar loved seeing a baby in a bar so much he came over and started slobbering all over my boy.

Clarice City

Yep. I'm really pregnant and I went out with some of my friends after her show opened and even though I couldn't enjoy a beer for myself, I did get to enjoy a really drunk guy coming over just to compliment me on my engorged mamary glands and the shirt that apparently no longer fits me in an appropriate way (like I even give a shit at this point). Thanks drunk guy!

I don't even want to think about baby in a bar- no thanks. Never.

Queens

You should really be careful who you credit for these stories. This may have appeared on the NY Post's website, but it was written by a reporter at a local Brooklyn weekly paper, the Courier-Life. Here is the link to the original story: Babies bounced after 5 at Windsor Terrace bar. The Post doesn't care about local outer borough news.

Falulah Baker

The policy is "no one under 21" after 5pm, which happens to be the legal drinking age. Quite reasonable if you think about it.

I like this bar much more now, and the new policy doesn't seem to have hurt business one bit.

Rocknrope

5pm does sound abit early, especially when the summer rolls around and it doesn't get dark until 8:30pm. McFadden himself says he eats out with his daughter at 5:30, which he couldn't do at DW with their cutoff time.

KiljoyWasHere

Not a big deal. After 5.00 the parents can stroll on across the street to Farrells.

nicemarmot

Whatever DID happen to babysitters? I'm not that old and my parents almost never took us out with them when we were small. We weren't wealthy by a long shot, but my parents still never took us to inappropriate places. Do babysitters not exist anymore, or has everyone gone retarded? Why would you want to take your kid with you to the bar/fancy restaurant? Do you think your kid WANTS to go to bar? If you think that, then why is he rolling on the floor screaming that he wants to leave?

babyfishmouth

I have a 6 month old and I'm realizing how difficult it is to find a sitter, much less a good, reliable one who speaks English. I've only found one sitter for my rotation. It totally sucks, because I would like to go out more. I think part of the problem is that NYC neighborhoods have become insular and everyone's afraid of everyone else - everyone's worried that their kid is going to be the victim of a child molester. Back in the day, people knew who their neighbors were. Not so much anymore.

My kid's been all over the city but I know when it's appropriate to go into a certain establishment, and when it's not. If he even tries to get up from the table to run around the restaurant, he will regret it for a loooong time. That shit is the fault of the parents - too many parents these days don't know how to set boundaries.

Manitoba

Don't you have any friends? When I was childless, I used to babysit for friends and their kids every now and then. Typically, my friends would buy me a pizza and rent me a movie while I basically sat there with their kids.

Next time a friend asks you what you want for your birthday, tell them you want them to babysit once or twice that year for you. Friends without kids would likely be willing to do so (unless they're jerks), but are often clueless as to the fact that you'd want it.

You can also trade-off with friends who have kids: you watch their kids on Friday a month, and they watch yours a different Friday.

Trilby16

You raise an excellent point. In the old (and not so very old) days, parents did not schlepp their kids everywhere. They would leave them at home with a sitter, yes. The advantages were two-fold. One, the parents didn't have to annoy everyone in public places who were not as enamored of their kids as they were, and two, it gave children an incentive to GROW UP! As in, "when I grow I will get to go out to cool places at night."

Now, of course, few people ever grow up or see the necessity. SIGH!!!!!!