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\n Get a bottle of natural red and head down to the water.
\n Animation: New York Magazine\n <\/p>\n
When the Carroll Street Bridge reopened<\/a> earlier this summer \u2014 now fully pedestrianized after a five-year rehabilitation effort \u2014 I saw something I hadn\u2019t recalled ever noticing before: a group of people sipping a bottle of wine at sunset, perched on the bridge\u2019s metal beams as if they were in an idyllic European capital. The real-estate developers who have turned the area into an expanse of half-completed skyscrapers are desperate to compare the neighborhood to Copenhagen, but over the past few months, snacking on steak-frites at Liar Liar<\/a> with a glass of chilled VdF red, I had to admit it mostly reminded me of Paris.<\/p>\n Gabi Gimson, who opened the wine bar last year with three industry friends and spends summers in the Tenth, is flattered by the comparison and sees how someone might be tempted to think of the Canal Saint-Martin when looking at the Gowanus. \u201cEvery summer in Paris there are these, like, \u2018brave people\u2019 who swim the canal,\u201d she says. Some Parisians react with typical horror: \u201cDo you want to grow six toes?\u201d (When the canal was last dredged in 2016, Parisian authorities found e-bikes, strollers, and a gun among the submerged detritus.) Even if you absolutely should not, under any circumstances, swim in the Gowanus, Gimson sees a connection: \u201cIt\u2019s this nasty, infamous body of water, but in a city, it\u2019s like the most desirable place ever.\u201d<\/p>\n Against all odds, Gowanus has become desirable. At Liar Liar, customers spill out onto the corner of Nevins and Sackett whenever the weather is nice enough to be outdoors. \u201cIt\u2019s fun in a postapocalyptic way \u2014 you\u2019re outside, but it\u2019s the opposite of being outside in Dimes Square, where you\u2019re being seen,\u201d Gimson says. In Gowanus, you\u2019re surrounded by a fortress made of the nearby buildings\u2019 glass and concrete exteriors. Gimson says there\u2019s something appealing about this sense of seclusion. \u201cPeople feel like they can get away with murder out there, for better or worse.\u201d<\/p>\n Spurred on by the success of Liar Liar and other fresh arrivals such as Caf\u00e9 Mars<\/a>, other operators are moving in ahead of the thousands of new neighbors who will soon fill the new developments. Patrick Watson; his wife, Michele Pravda; and their business partner Dhruv Mohindra named their new bar Hidden Rivers<\/a> after the streams that once ran through this part of Brooklyn before they were dammed, buried, or built over. They opened, serendipitously, on the same night as game four of this year\u2019s NBA Finals. Mohindra had bought the building when the ground-floor retail space still housed a bike shop. \u201cWe went and had a drink in the backyard because he was so proud,\u201d says Watson, who still operates Smith & Vine<\/a> in Carroll Gardens after previously running the cheese shop Stinky and the bar JakeWalk with Pravda. \u201cWe joked that we should open a bar here one day and figured that was crazy \u2014 there\u2019s nobody in Gowanus.\u201d Rezoning changed that: \u201cFast-forward to the redevelopment, and about a year ago he said we really should do it.\u201d<\/p>\n Unlike some nearby spots \u2014 Royal Palms<\/a>, Insa<\/a>, Public Records<\/a> \u2014 Hidden Rivers\u2019 partners say they\u2019re catering to locals and not necessarily to groups of people who Uber in from Manhattan. \u201cWe have people that come before they go to dinner and have a drink with us,\u201d Watson says. \u201cAnd we love getting groups of 20, 30, 40, even 50 people taking over the backyard.\u201d But even those earlier destinations have given way to new spots. Three former employees of Royal Palms opened Shania\u2019s Max Bet<\/a> on Third Avenue in late July. Its design is inspired by Atlantic City with mirrored ceilings, dramatic red curtains, a dice-resin bar, plush booths, and a space in the back that begs to become a low-key dance floor. It\u2019s not exactly a discotheque, but it is nevertheless open until 4 a.m. Shockingly, neighborhood officials were thrilled by Shania\u2019s late-night plans. \u201cThe community board said, word for word, \u2018We\u2019re going to be the community board that brings nightlife back to Brooklyn,\u2019\u201d says Mike Brown, a co-owner.<\/p>\n The extended hours mean Shania\u2019s can be the last stop after an extended night out; Jericho Davidson, the GM of Shania\u2019s, even has a suggested itinerary: \u201cHappy hour at Canal Bar<\/a>, some shuffleboard at Royal Palms, dinner at Liar Liar, then come dance the night away with us.\u201d Brown says even he\u2019s been surprised by how quickly the area has transformed, and how many people are now here. Davidson isn\u2019t nostalgic for the old Gowanus: \u201cCab drivers wouldn\u2019t stop on Union Street because they were scared of getting attacked,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was 2012 \u2014 that wasn\u2019t even that long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n