Feeling The Bern at Manitoba's

People usually associate punk-rock music with right-wing politics, and with one notable exception, they're right!

This is why East Villagers were surprised to see signs advertising a fund raiser for Bernie Sanders held at the beloved Manitoba's, on Avenue B:

Fundraiser for Bernie Sanders at Manitoba's.

Manitoba's is owned by Handsome Dick Manitoba, who was in the punk-rock band The Dictators.

I wonder if anyone went? East Villagers are notoriously right-wing in their politics!

#eastvillage #avenueb #manitobas #berniesanders #signs

Wheelchair Accessibility

Last week, I reported that the beloved Vazac's was now wheelchair accessible.

In that story, I mentioned the beloved Manotiba's also being wheelchair accessible. Today, I have proof:

Proof of Manitoba's wheelchair accessibility.

Unlike Vazac's, that has no way for the wheelchair-bound patron to alert the staff inside of their desire to enter, Manitoba's has a bell that can be rung for assistance!

Staying one step ahead of the competition… that's the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #wheelchairs #manitobas #avenueb

Manitoba's Reopens

Great news for beer drinkers and hell raisers: Manitoba's, on Avenue B, has reopened!

With no fanfare, they just raised their gates and are back in business.

Back in business.

According to their Facebook page, they have ten days left to raise the money they need.

Oddly enough, anyone can access their Facebook page, but you need to be approved before receiving their notices from Twitter. I clicked the Follow button but they never responded. I guess they're pretty busy these days.

So what happens after lawsuits like this? They pay the money, but do they become ADA-compliant? Time will tell… in the East Village Today!

#eastvillage #manitobas #avenueb #twitter #facebook

More Activity at Manitoba's

I passed by Manitoba's on Avenue B yesterday, and noticed activity once again! Not only was the gate up at the main entrance, but it was up at the fire exit too, and the small, center window:

Gates up on both sides.

Here is a picture of the inside:

Inside Manitoba's on Super Bowl day.

You can see the television is on, but it seems to be a static screen.

I saw someone moving around inside, going down the steps by the front window, and then checking the lock on the front door.

I"m sure yesterday would not have been a big day for them, since punks don't like the Super Bowl, but they do like drinking on a Sunday… in the East Village!

#Eastvillage #manitobas #superbowl avenueb

Activity at Manitoba's

As you know from my previous post, Manitoba's on Avenue B is closed. Today, however, while out taking pictures of the blizzard, I noticed signs of activity there.

When I passed by at 2:05pm, I noticed that the gate was up in front of the door:

Gate is up.

 Twenty-five minutes later, it was back down:

Gate is down.

I don't know what was going on, but ingress and egress were definitely involved!

#eastvillage #avenueb #manitobas

For Want of a Nail

There is a bar on Avenue B just below East 7th Street called Manitoba's. Its name comes from the Province of Manitoba, in Canada. It's very popular with Canadians.

At least, it was. Sources tell me that it is now closed. Forever. The story is that someone sued them for not being in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The amount they won was very little, but Manitoba's had to pay the lawyer's fee also, which was considerable.

This was Manitoba's on Saturday:

Manitoba's on Saturday.

This was Manitoba's on Sunday:

Manitoba's on Sunday.

Here is the sign indicating that they should be open (it was already 1:30pm):

Happy Hour sign.

This was Manitoba's tonight:

Manitoba's Monday night.

For want of a ramp, the bar was lost…

#eastvillage #avenueb #manitobas #signs

Speaking of Messed-Up Places

Tonight, I passed by Oda House, on Avenue B and East 5th Street. This restaurant opened in May, 2014, and already it looks like this:

Oda House restaurant's messed-up column.

This is another popular place, but this isn't even deterioration. This is just unchecked vandalism.

Oda House got good reviews in the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, NY Magazine… And this is what it looks like, five months after opening.

Meanwhile, two blocks away is a bar deliberately scaled-down, but well-kept. I'm referring to Manitoba's:

Manitoba's.

As you can see, everything is well maintained. How hard is this?

I don't know, maybe it's hard — but it can be done! And … wait for it …

East Villagers love Manitoba's!