This is a really tricky issue and i’m afraid there is no clear cut solution to it. I can see very convincing points on either side, so I’m going to limit my comment here to address what I feel is an unfair misrepresentation.
I am a native to Brooklyn, and have lived in this community for many years now. I know both Lou Sones and the owners of Floyd/Union Hall personally, and very truly like both parties as people and business owners. While I am not choosing sides in the struggle itself, I think it is ignorant and unfair to make this into an attack on Lou personally. While it may seem clear on the surface to simply say that it is a conflict of interest for him to be taking this position, I am convinced that it is not. First of all, Floyd and The Brazen Head are in no way competitors — anyone living in that part of the neighborhood can tell you that. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that O’Keefe’s on Court St. caters to the same law-heavy clientele that Brazen Head does. There truly is little to no overlap with Floyd. That being said, bar owners generally want there to be other successful bars around them – it generates more business for all. Just the fact that there is such a vitriolic backlash against him speaking his opinion, and voicing the opinions of the community, shows how wrongheaded everyone has gotten. In fact, I would be inclined to trust a bar owner MORE in this instance, as it takes more courage knowing that he is leaving his own business up to scrutiny.
I’ve just reread that and realized that it probably seems like I am standing behind Lou and am in support of shutting down Union Hall. This is not true at all. But I think we all need to be careful about where we hang our misguided ire.
