Outings

30 banging ways to ring in the New Year in Brooklyn

les sans culottes
Les Sans Culottes wil welcome you to your pantsless 2014 at Rubulad. via Facebook

New Year’s Eve is coming, and that means it’s time to party. For those of you without a friend willing to trash his apartment on one of the most party-heavy nights of the year, well, you don’t need to worry at all. That’s because between restaurants offering menus, warehouses hosting dance parties and bars just giving away champagne, there’s something for everyone to celebrate New Year’s Eve around here. Unless you hate fun, but then it can be the same as every year: staring at the wall eating one single string cheese stick and turning in at 10pm. Anyway, for the rest of you, here are your best New Year’s options:

PROSPECT HEIGHTS/CROWN HEIGHTS

New Year’s at Franklin Park
Franklin Park, 618 St. John’s Pl. (Crown Heights)
FREE

Crown Heights’ best (and only) beer garden and bar will be hosting an epic New Year’s bash. The bar is promising that their DJ, DJ Skizz, “is gonna rock your world.” That, and complimentary champagne toasts, will help you welcome 2014.

New Year’s at Branded Saloon with Nafsi Groove and DJ Sarah Mucho
Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Avenue (Prospect Heights)
Free

If you want to put some funk in your new year, than Branded is your best bet, with Nafsi Groove playing jazz and funk until midnight, before DJ Sarah Mucho takes over after the ball drops.

LaunchPad New Year’s Eve: Eat, Drink, Dance, Craft, Sing, Play, Etc.
Brooklyn Launchpad, 721 Franklin Avenue (Crown Heights)
$10

Launchpad has eight parties in one, ranging from karaoke to live music to crafting to gorging yourself on food and home brewed beer, so if you can’t find something fun to do here, maybe you didn’t even want to have fun for New Year’s.

New Wave Eve
The Way Station, 683 Washington Avenue (Prospect Heights)
FREE

Go back in time, but just a little bit back in time, at the Way Station’s annual salute to the ridiculous hair, ridiculous ties but fun and danceable music of New Wave. Side ponytail optional, but preferred.

Rubulad’s Cheap and Dirty New Year’s Eve
893 Bergen Street (Crown Heights)
$10 before 10pm or very late/$20 all other times

Brooklyn’s biggest bargain bash, is back! Batala, New York City’s only 40-woman Afro-Brazilian Samba Reggae drumming band, heralds the new year with a barrage of percussion, 60s French pop ensemble Les Sans Culottes helps you get your year-end groove on and Morricone Youth will provide the fin de annee score for the evening’s soiree, performing their signature film and television soundtrack selections. At midnight, enjoy a champagne bunny toast along with many other special surprises

grand army plaza fireworks
Ring in the New Year with a bang (and also with fireworks) .via Flickr user Matt Karp

Fireworks at Grand Army Plaza
Grand Army Plaza
FREE

The brokest way to celebrate the New Year is with the 30+ year tradition of watching Prospect Park’s fireworks at Grand Army Plaza. Bring a thermos of (spiked, for extra warmth) homemade hot chocolate, tons of blankets, and warm up by dancing to live music that starts at 11pm. And if you didn’t get a ticket to the de Blasio inauguration, you can still see local BK political concerns, as Marty Markowitz will be there to officially hand things over to incoming borough president Eric Adams.

GREENWOOD HEIGHTS

New Year’s Eve 2014: Three Cheers
Greenwood Park, 555 7th Avenue (Greenwood Heights)
FREE

Things you need for a good New Year’s: drink specials, a special menu, and three DJs. And those will all be present at Greenwood Park’s New Years party.

BUSHWICK

New Year’s Eve Reggae Prom
The Tea Factory, 175 Stockholm Street (Bushwick)
Free before 10pm, $5 after

For its third annual NYE celebration, Tea Factory Sounds presents Bushwick’s Reggae Prom, a night of real true love.  Champagne, lover’s rock and a make out party are all on the agenda at the prom, which is free before 10pm and $5 after. Do bring a date, unless you’re confident you can find yourself a make out partner amidst the laid back grooves.

BangOn!NYC presents New Year’s Eve 2014: TIME & SPACE
699 Scholes Street (Bushwick)
$60

BangOn! NYC is ringing in the New Year by shutting down a full block in Brooklyn’s warehouse district. “Time And Space” will take place in a 60,000 sq ft multi-room warehouse with 2 main stages of electronic music and custom LED panel art design, featuring illuminated art installations, choreographed circus performances flying above the crowd, Burning Man art cars, lounge areas designed by local artists, extraterrestrial kinetic rides, food tucks, funky clothing vendors and much more. Expect a special rocket launch and aerial performance at midnight.

Midnight Disco Society NYE Masquerade Ball
Radio Bushwick, 22 Wyckoff Avenue (Bushwick)
$10

Normally you’d think a fancy party with masks like a masquerade ball would be expensive and exclusive, and normally it probably would be. But this is Bushwick, so your chance to wear a mask and dance comes much, much cheaper. May as well take it.

Dance and Drag Secret NYE
Secret Project Robot, 389 Melrose Street (Bushwick)
$10

Even if you don’t consider yourself a New Year’s person, 5 DJs, plenty of drag performers, sexy bartenders and dancing until the sun comes up should take the pain out of the holiday.

The Big Dance
Tutu’s, 25 Bogart Street (Bushwick)
FREE

You can’t go wrong with a free dance event! DJ’s Lucas Walters, Dirty Boogie, Mama Dom, Big Vic and more will be spinning all night, and if you want an idea of the vibe Tutu’s is going for, check out the ridiculous prom photos from the event’s Facebook page.

A Very Bizarre New Year’s Eve
Bizarre, 12 Jefferson Street (Bushwick)
FREE

If you want to make absolutely sure your New Year’s will be weird, no better way to do it than to go to a place named Bizarre. Two floors of music from six DJs will welcome you to 2014 at a Very Bizarre NYE at Bizarre, as will absinthe and dancing until 4am. If you’re still not petered out by then, maybe you didn’t dance hard enough.

The Last Supper of 2013
Body Actualized Center, 143 Troutman Street (Bushwick)
$45 for dinner and dancing/$20 for just dancing

Make your last meal of 2013 a good one. The four course dinner will include options like onion miso flax crackers with truffled beef liver pate, wakame kelp pumpkin leek miso, and seared rainbow trout in a coconut reduction, with all ingredients sourced from Beyond Organic Farmers at Union Square Farmer’s Market. Following the eating, there’ll be an all night dance party brought to you by DJ collective Deep Trouble, so don’t eat too much.

WILLIAMSBURG/GREENPOINT

the water table greenpoint
This could be your New Year’s view, if you shell out for the boat. via Facebook

New Year’s Eve Midnight Cruise
The Water Table, India Street Pier (Greenpoint)
$65

New Greenpoint floating restaurant The Water Table will have a a midnight cruise shipping off at 10:45pm from their berth in Greenpoint with champagne and bar snacks, and will stay out cruising until 1am. It’s the priciest option on our list, but come on, you get to ring in the New Year on a boat!

Mable’s New Year’s Eve Party
44 Berry Street (Williamsburg)
FREE

Ring in 2014 “with a twang” at Mable’s Smokehouse which will host country band The Setting Suns, alongside BBQ and drink specials. Most importantly, there’s no cover.

NYE Bembe 2014
Bembe, 81 S. 6th Street (Williamsburg)
$25

DJ Beto will be spinning Cumbia, Brazilian/African, Soca, Merengue, Tropical Bass, Dancehall and Reggae all night, along with live percussion by Chauncey Yearwood of the High and Mighty Brass Band. You’ll be fueled by an open bar from 8pm – 10:30pm and a champagne toast at midnight.

Super Fun Happy Cry New Years Eve Karaoke Dress Up Party
The Diamond, 43 Franklin Street (Greenpoint)
FREE

Even if you’re not into dressing fancy, you might want for this karaoke bash at Greenpoint’s The Diamond, because they’ll be giving you half off your first drink and free champagne at midnight if you are. Plus, if you look good, you feel good.

New Year’s Eve at Huckleberry
Huckleberry Bar, 588 Grand Street (Williamsburg)
FREE

Everyone’s favorite rustic-ish bar, Huckleberry, will be hosting a live viewing of the Times Square ball drop complete with champagne ceremoniously opened with a sword at midnight

glamdammit: new year’s eve 2014
The Grand Victory, 245 Grand Street (Williamsburg)
$10

Ring 2014 in the way you’ve always wanted to: with a PBR open bar from 9pm to 10pm and DJs spinning fist-pumping rock’n’roll, punk rock and glam anthems. Be sure to wear plenty of eyeliner, you wouldn’t want to be the only one without any.

The Second Annual Broken Comedy New Year
Bar Matchless, 557 Manhattan Avenue (Williamsburg)
FREE

If you can’t laugh on New Year’s, when can you laugh? Head to Bar Matchless to get a double dip of New Year’s fun, first with a special New Year’s edition of Broken Comedy, featuring The Lucas Brothers, Kerryn Feehan and many more comics. And then you don’t even need to go anywhere, because following the comedy, Matchless smoothly segues into the dance party segment of the evening.

Dancing into the Stars: A New Year’s Eve Party
Spike Hill, 186 Bedford Avenue (Williamsburg)
FREE

Why pay for a dance party when you can get some tunes from two DJs at Spike Hill and use your money on alcohol instead? And you should spend it, because if your group spends $60, you get a free bottle of champagne. We believe you have the drinking prowess to do that.

the dangles
Here are some nice, low key people to spend New Year’s with. via Facebook

The Dangles, DJ Bluntmaster and DJ Matt Cash
Union Pool, 484 Union Avenue (Williamsburg)
$10

Drag rock band The Dangles will play two sets of rock and roll for you to usher out 2013, with their performance in the back room followed up by spinning from DJ Bluntmaster. DJ Matt Cash will be in the front room all night, if you’re not into drag, rock music or blunts.

200 Cigarettes + NYE Party
Videology, 308 Bedford Avenue (Williamsburg)
FREE

Remember a more disappointing version of the 80s with a screening of the no-fun New Year’s movie 200 Cigarettes, followed by dancing all night at Videology. Probably the only New Year’s party that’s going heavy on crab dip and Mai Tais all night.

BED-STUY/CLINTON HILL

Lola BKLYN New Year’s Eve
Lola BKLYN, 387 Myrtle Avenue (Clinton Hill)
$40

Oh, the magic of an open bar. That magic is even more magical when the open bar lasts for three hours, from 11pm to 2am, like it does at Lola. You’re sure to get nice and faded with all that hooch, so think about kicking it up to $50 and get yourself an appetizer plate to provide a beachhead for all that booze.

New Year’s Eve Bootlegger’s Bash
Rustik Tavern, 471 Dekalb Avenue (Bed-Stuy)
$30

If New Wave isn’t far enough back in time for you, go way, way back at Rustik Tavern at their Roaring 20s New Year’s party. There’ll be an open bar and free appetizers from 10pm to 11pm, burlesque performances all night, DJs, a special whiskey room and gambling tables with fun money provided.

Mister New Year’s Eve
12-turn-13, 172 Classon Avenue (Bed-Stuy)
$20, after 2am

The sold-out Mister Saturday Night: Mister New Year’s Eve party promises to open their doors at 2am to anyone willing to keep the party raging, of which we’re sure they’ll be a few of you. Eamon Harkin and Justin Carter will be DJ-ing until daybreak.

PARK SLOPE/GOWANUS

The Rub: NYE
The Bell House, 149 7th Street (Gowanus)
$45

Party until 4am with The Rub’s New Year’s Eve edition. This monthly party features DJs, dancing, drinking and debauchery, which are the four D’s you need to have a good New Year’s.

Karaoke Killed the Cat New Year’s Eve Spectacular
Union Hall, 702 Union Street (Park Slope)
$5

5,000-square-foot Union Hall will be hosting their infamous Friday night party, Karaoke Killed the Cat for a New Year’s Spectacular. Come early for the party and drink specials, stay late to ring in the New Year, karaoke/dance party-style.

rocco katastrophe
In this instance, you want your New Year’s to be a catastrophe. Photo by Amos Mac, via Facebook

Notorious New Year’s Eve
Loki Lounge, 304 5th Avenue (Park Slope)
$15 presale/$20 door

It’s no trick, there’s a party going down at the Loki Lounge, with tunes provided by DJ Jo Collura, and America’s first openly transgender rapper, Rocco Katastrophe (above).

 

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