Monthly Archives: May 2014

Tucked away on a quiet block not too far from the main NYU campus, Formerly Crow’s celebrates over a year since reopening, rebranding and withstanding the pressure to conform to the many dive bars of the area which the NYU crowd seems to adore.

“It feels good not to have to break up a fight every weekend,” says the new owner of the local West Village staple bar, Marshall Mintz.

After reopening in early September of 2012, Formerly Crow’s has been fighting to shed its former reputation as the “anything goes” bar.

“It was the freakin’ Wild West. Coyote Ugly had nothing on this place,” Mintz says of the old bar’s lax rules. “Fake ID’s, fights, people [getting sick], girls dancing on the bar. I mean I kind of liked the girls on the bar part, but dealing with the nonsense every weekend takes a toll on a business.”

Mintz, 43, was a bartender at the original The Stoned Crow Bar, located at the same spot at 85 Washington Place. He took over the bar in early 2012 from former bar owner “Kitty” who he said was “drowning in old age, stress and underage assholes.”

“It’s sort of a Catch-22,” says bouncer Joel Rodriguez. “People who used to come to this spot back in the old days knew they could get away with [anything]. That’s why they came. It was always a packed house, but when a cop was on the block half the bar was in nervous mode. Now that people know we’re stricter than before, we empty out quicker. They’d rather go down the block.”

The “down the block” that Rodriguez is referencing are the many dive bars that are found on Sullivan Street, about a four-minute walk from Formerly Crow’s. These bars, increasingly more popular with the NYU crowd, have more lax rules of conduct, cheaper drinks and the invitingly grungy ambiance that seems to attract college students.

The old Crow was known for its grungy environment. The walls and ceiling were covered in old magazine pages used to hide the many stains that had accumulated over the years. The bathrooms were nicknamed “the hole” by staff and regulars alike for the literal hole that was in one of the closed-off stalls in the unisex bathrooms.

The senior staff reminisces on the “good old days” when they got away with everything from drinking on the job to disappearing for hours on end to deal with hangovers. This blasé environment trickled down to patrons, who racked up huge to-be-paid-whenever tabs, bribed the bouncer to look the other way for underage drinkers, and smoked inside the bar after three a.m.

Jillian Wowak, a senior bartender at Crow’s, is not a fan of Sullivan Street or its patrons.
“Those bars are so stupid. You get watered-down beer and crappy alcohol. But the kids don’t care as long as their obviously fake ID works and they can get as wasted as possible for cheap,” says Wowak. “If they don’t come here, that’s perfectly fine with me! We get to leave earlier, we deal with less [stuff] and our new people tip way better.”

Since reopening, Mintz has totally redone the decor of the bar, creating more of a relaxed upscale feel rather than the grungy look it donned in its old days.

“Happy hour is big here. We get the suit-and-tie crowd now. And that was exactly the goal,” says Mintz. “We get a lot of groups all coming from work looking to relax and kick back. It’s funny. I think how we decorated the place might scare college kids off; like they think they won’t be able to get their underage friends in. Either that or they think we are a boring bar. After years of cleaning up NYU puke, I’m pretty content with being boring.”

Ron Connelly, 28, who now works in the securities department of Goldman Sachs, was a regular at the old Crow’s while attending NYU.

“I used to smoke in here after like three [AM],” says Connelly. “Beers used to be like four bucks, two dollar shots some nights. Plus, the last night of the old place, bartenders were literally giving drinks away. But I’m glad the bar changed up. Now I feel like I can come here and just relax, watch the game, and shoot some pool. I’ve even brought a few dates here. They think it’s charming. It’s like the bar grew up with me.”

Although Mintz does say that he is happy with the changes that he and his staff has made, he does realize how losing the college crowd to other bars affects his bottom line. “Well, sure. Sometimes it is 1:30 on a Friday night and we’re half full and I know that bars like Off the Wagon are wall-to-wall packed. It definitely makes me think about trying to get some of the older college kids back in here. But at the same time, more kids mean more security, not as many top-shelf servings. It is always a toss-up,” says Mintz.

Jordan Epstein, a waiter, admits he wishes that he would have worked at the old Crow’s. “I always hear stories about the crazy days. I mean, honestly, it seems fun. I would rather work at a place that has energy to it than a place where everything is all stuffy, all the patrons are stuck up and I’m fighting to stay awake,” says Epstein.

Like it or not, according to Mintz, Formerly Crow’s new identity is here to stay.

“It’s been a crazy ride, finding ourselves and all,” he says. “But this is us now. This is where we are at.”

Check out Formerly Crow’s here: http://www.formerlycrows.com/

Hair is the final accessory to a person’s look. How that hair is styled however is up to the person. The idea of not putting chemicals in a one’s hair to change the texture, the look, or to manipulate the hair in anyway is something that has been happening over the past few years. The related term for not putting chemicals in one’s hair is called “going natural.”
To “go natural” is a way of embracing one’s hair in its natural state whether it’s curly, wavy, kinky, fizzy or straight. It’s all about loving your hair in its original form. Along with embracing the hair in its natural form, a sense of self awareness is developed during the process. How does hair define a person? How does one feel about their hair? These are some of the questions that rises during the “going natural” process.
Chris Rock’s documentary “Good Hair” goes into details about what is defined or considered to be the “right” type of hair. Many people have this notion that “good hair” is a particular texture or style but is that really accurate? There is no such thing as “good hair,” everyone’s hair is different and can all be good. There is no type of hair that is good and another that is bad, it all comes down to perspective. This mindset is something that a person faces as they transition and begin to embrace their own hair texture.
The process of “going natural” is not easy, but there are a few ways to go about it. One can transition and allow their natural hair to grow out for a certain length before cutting off the chemically manipulate strands. Some may decide to do a “big chop” which usually occurs when a person feels that they cannot go through the transition process and decides to cut all their hair off and start afresh. Patience is key to this process as a person’s hair does not grow to a desired length over night. Having that patience also comes in handy when styling,washing, and detangling the hair.
There are many tips available to help a person as they go through this journey. There are a few youtubers such as Mynaturalsisas, Shameless Maya, SunKissAlba, Naptural85, just to name a few, who have great advice and style ideas to help anyone as they go through the natural hair journey. (more…)