Neir’s has been serving since 1829, making it the oldest continuously serving bar in New York City and one of the oldest in the entire U.S. The clapboard corner location in Woodhaven is weathered but well-loved, having survived the turbulence of the horse-track years, Prohibition, ownership churn, and cruel indifference from a Manhattan-centric City Hall. Whatever else it may be, Neir’s history makes it a treasure to be cherished lest you’re eager for yet another op-ed lamenting the old New York’s disappearance.
The bar itself is, at base, a little neighborhood joint with a low ceiling, a little dining room, and an L-shaped bar. It’s not precious but it’s cared for and dearly loved, which you can feel in every corner. The long bar stretches like a bowling lane (this location was a bowling alley at one time), and the walls are a scrapbook of Queens history: racing ephemera from the Union Course days, snapshots of neighborhood lifers, stills from Goodfellas for the pilgrimage crowd. It’s got a couple TVs to watch the game and a cabinet of books and boardgames for passing the time.
The original draught system still pours a cold beer, so you can’t really go wrong there. If you tend more toward liquor, there’s classics on the menu and they’re accomplished nicely but don’t go too far afield–this isn’t a mixology bar. Many if not most of the people here (both patrons and staff) are from the neighborhood i.e. they were raised in Woodhaven and will likely rear their kids here if they aren’t already doing so. It’s New York, so don’t expect anyone to lavish attention on you but it’s also not a pretentious LES scene, so interactions with the staff still leave you feeling human.
The food here is better than you’d expect, which is part of why so many locals pop in for casual dinner with the family. It’s tavern/pub food, so think baskets of fried this-and-that, sandwiches, nachos. It’s not exactly blowing minds, but everything is tasty and comes out fast. Notably, the burgers are thick and well-made and temped nicely and the wings stay crisp despite generous saucing.
Beside a notably a long life, Neir’s takes pride in being a black/immigrant-owned bar. The current proprietor Loycent Gordon is a former New York City firefighter by way of Jamaica who bought the place in 2009 to keep it from becoming a convenience store. There’s scarcely a more New York story; more worthy of civic pride and recognition. It may be just a simple little neighborhood tavern, but owning a story spanning nearly two centuries makes it astounding. If you agree, navigate to the city’s landmarks department website and write them: Neir’s is already a landmark in Queens’ heart, so the powers that be ought to make it official.