Coogan’s Bar and Restaurant opened in New York City’s Washington Heights in 1985 and closed its doors for good in the pandemic spring of 2020. Sometimes called Uptown City Hall, it operated as a staple of neighborhood life during its 35 years in operation, welcoming people of all walks of life through its doors.
Now, Jon Michaud’s new book “Last Call at Coogan’s” tells the story of this beloved saloon, from the challenging times in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Washington Heights suffered the highest crime rate in the city, to the 2010s, when gentrification pushed out longtime residents and nearly closed Coogan’s itself.
On Friday, September 8, at 5 p.m., Michaud, who works as the collection management librarian at the Millburn Free Public Library in New Jersey, will be at Hampton Library in Bridgehampton to discuss the book with Water Mill resident Peter Walsh, a co-owner of Coogan’s. The pair will touch on the bar’s history and discuss how now, more than ever, we need places like libraries where we can get together with other members of the communities where we live.
The talk is cosponsored by the Bridgehampton Museum and books will available for purchase from Canio’s Books.
Hampton Library is at 2478 Main Street, Bridgehampton. For details, visit hamptonlibrary.org.
Staff Writer on Sep 1, 2023