TOWN’S ABUZZ: Tipplers on the Coney Island boardwalk (above) and at t.b.d. Brooklyn yesterday won’t let any impending hurricane ruin their fun. (Anthony J. Causi)
Irene be damned!
Across the city yesterday, residents battened down the hatches and poured it down the hatch — hitting bars, dining at the few stalwart eateries still open and scrambling for party supplies.
“The only things we need are cheep beer, vodka, a flashlight, chips, dip and a TV to watch football,” said Andy Laurence, 26, who decided to spend the storm by hosting the “Hurricane Irene Invitational Beer Pong Tournament” at a pal’s Midtown apartment.
COMPLETE HURRICANE IRENE COVERAGE
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One group of roving boozers embarked on an afternoon bar crawl yesterday across the East Village, with stops at Lillie’s, Side Bar, Pourhouse and McSorley’s.
“Hurricane comes Sunday, but we want to drink on Saturday,” the group posted on the Web site Guestofaguest.com. “Let’s make some bad decisions.”
At the Blarney Castle in Breezy Point, an area that should have been evacuated, about two dozen revelers gathered to drink and laugh at the worry-warts.
“Oh, look, there’s water on the beach,” one patron joked while watching the news. When asked for his name, the man declined.
“I don’t want my wife to know where I was,” he said.
When the bar closed around 7 p.m., around 10 customers went across the street to the Catholic Club where they kept on partying, hopefully under God’s protection.
And the aptly named, Hurricane Club, on East 26th Street and Park Avenue, saw a few brave souls ignoring the pleas to stay indoors.
“I am an arrogant New Yorker, as long as the clubs are open, I am out,” boasted 27-year-old Brian Conroy.
Another reveler there, Amir Bardi, 28, said, “It’s not that bad. Why should I be worried when there are newscasters down south right on the beach?”
At Ruby’s on the Coney Island boardwalk, Joe Grabiec and Tommy Tarnalicki decided to pound beers yesterday after a friend’s flight into the Big Apple was canceled and their trip to the airport was scrapped.
In Greenpoint, the bar t.b.d. Brooklyn on Franklin Street hosted a free hurricane-themed barbecue, where they tried to unload 1,000 pounds of meat.
“You’ve got a little bit of bonding, relaxing and eating before you have to hunker down for 24 hours,” said David Garcia, 47, a doctor who came for the free grub.
“No one’s going to stop me from free food,” said Greggy Ferreria, 33, who surveyed the enormous spread of burgers, hot dogs, and tubs of potato salad with his girlfriend.
One devoted couple even carried on with their Meatpacking District wedding as the hurricane pushed north yesterday afternoon.
Other New Yorkers refused to be deterred from their normal weekend routine — Balthazar in SoHo had a 45-minute wait for brunch.
“It’s an oasis,” sighed Martin Gormley, 40, who enjoyed a late lunch with his wife, Alia, yesterday.
Additional reporting by Kevin Sheehan, Candace Amos and Erin Calabrese