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Rent driving out B'klyn Irish pub

By Farnoosh Torabi | Special to amNew York

February 25, 2008

Mooney's Pub, owned by Kevin Mooney, is an Irish bar at 353 Flatbush Ave in Brooklyn, New York. (Willie Davis)

Park Slope locals looking to raise a glass on St. Patrick's Day at an old-fashioned Irish pub may have one less place to go this year.

On March 4, Kevin Mooney, the owner of Mooney's Pub on 353 Flatbush Ave., heads to court to battle a rent increase mandated by his landlord, Lena Fang. Mooney says Fang wants to double his rent to $8,000 a month, a price he simply can't afford.

"She might change her mind," says a hopeful Mooney, who emigrated to New York from Galway, Ireland in 1957. "Times are pretty bad now and I don't know who's going to come here and pay her rent." Fang did not return calls for comment.

Mooney has been renting the bar without a lease for the past 16 years. Instead, he pays month to month, which can be more risky. Mooney says Fang first gave him a 30-day notice in November 2007, but after a court appearance he received an extension. At the least, Mooney says he is hoping the judge will grant him another extension on March 4.

Mooney's Pub is evidence of how area businesses in Park Slope, as well as residents, face rising rents as the neighborhood and its surrounding areas welcome younger professionals with deeper pockets. NYPD crime statistics show that from 1993 to 2002 overall crime is down more than 65 percent in Brooklyn South, which includes Park Slope, Carroll Gardens and Sunset Park, among other neighborhoods.

The irony for Mooney, he says, is that while he's being priced out of Park Slope, he considers himself a key player in helping improve it. "The neighborhood has gotten better since I came here. There were a lot of drugs and muggings and the police and myself worked together to get everything straightened out," he says.

If Mooney is forced to close, devoted fans have one other option in Bay Ridge, where he owns a second bar by the same name. There, Mooney has about two years left on a three-year lease.

As for 73-year-old Mooney, who's semi-retired, one fewer bar means more time for him to visit with his five children and 10 grandchildren, which, he believes, is definitely something worth toasting.

They feel his pain

Area merchants have reacted to news that Mooney's may have only a few weeks left in business.

John Rauschenberg, co-owner of pub newcomer Pacific Standard on 82 Fourth Ave., says he is not totally surprised by the rent hike.

"Owners know they can get more for their space," he says. "It's sad. It is a lot of moneyI'm not sure we could support [our bar] with that kind of rent." Pacific Standard has been in business for six months. Rauschenberg says they're operating on a five-year lease.

"It's tragic," says Farid Ali, co-owner of 3-year-old Bogota Latin Bistro on 141 Fifth Ave. Having been in business for three years, though, Ali says Park Slope continues to upgrade and the landlords can now demand more money from business owners. "I don't know about $8,000, but if I were a landlord, I'd want to up the rent to meet market demand," he says.