Any pool halls to recommend in Manhatten?

Roppongi said:

Hey guys,

I would be in Manhatten for the next 2 months or so for a business trip. Currently residing near the Time Warner Center next to Central Park.

Just wondering if there are any nice pool halls nearby that you guys would recommend me to visit?

Thanks!

Benny

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The best room in Manhattan is by far Amsterdam Billiards on 11th Street and 4th Avenue. I would recommend going during the day on weekdays or weekends since the wait list can get a little brutal during league nights.

What Jude said but BE SURE to visit Hall of Fame Billiards...just a tube ride to Brooklyn. It's owned by Jean Balukas' family and is a REAL player's room.

There is a good chance that Jean will be there because she runs the joint so in addition to playing in an authentic room, you can hang with one of the all-time greats!

Hall of Fame Billiards
505 Ovington Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11209-1701
Phone: (718) 921-2694

av84fun said:

What Jude said but BE SURE to visit Hall of Fame Billiards...just a tube ride to Brooklyn. It's owned by Jean Balukas' family and is a REAL player's room.

There is a good chance that Jean will be there because she runs the joint so in addition to playing in an authentic room, you can hang with one of the all-time greats!

Hall of Fame Billiards
505 Ovington Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11209-1701
Phone: (718) 921-2694

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Don't get me wrong, Bay Ridge is a beautiful neighborhood and Hall of Fame Billiards definitely has a classic look but a quick jaunt on the subway it is not. It's about a one hour trek from anywhere in Manhattan.

Related question: are there any weekly 9-ball tournaments you would recommend?

Benny I will be in Manhattan from 12/17 then I go to the Derby on 1/3. Im not far away from where you will be. If you want to play sometime PM me and I will meet you at Amsterdam and show you around. I hung out in Roppongi for a while.

Jude Rosenstock said:

The best room in Manhattan is by far Amsterdam Billiards on 11th Street and 4th Avenue. I would recommend going during the day on weekdays or weekends since the wait list can get a little brutal during league nights.

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The one thing I don't like about Amsterdam though is their house cues. Horrible, horrible tips. I mean, is it too much to ask to have house cues with decent tips?

Roppongi said:

Hey guys,

I would be in Manhatten for the next 2 months or so for a business trip. Currently residing near the Time Warner Center next to Central Park.

Just wondering if there are any nice pool halls nearby that you guys would recommend me to visit?

Thanks!

Benny

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Does the search function work on AZ? We should let someone know that it's broken.

-td

Jude Rosenstock said:

Don't get me wrong, Bay Ridge is a beautiful neighborhood and Hall of Fame Billiards definitely has a classic look but a quick jaunt on the subway it is not. It's about a one hour trek from anywhere in Manhattan.

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HUH??? Maybe during rush hour and a taxi strike. It's about exactly 12 miles and the last time I went to visit Jean, it took MAYBE 30 minutes in a cab (not rush hour) so I would assume it would have to be that time or less on the subway...although I don't ride the subway so I can't testify from personal experience.

But the tube HAS to average a LOT more that 12 mph, right?

And "anywhere in Manhattan?" From downtown you jump on the WSH, take the Battery Tunnel and you're practically there. 5-6 miles TOPS. 15 minutes in the subway.

But aside from travel time issues, Amsterdam is a SUPER place. Thorsten, Tony Robles and a bunch more top players hang there. An upscale classic.

Hall of Fame is and old fashioned, neighborhood pool hall. Clean and friendly but there is no brass or mahogany in the joint! (-:

Regards,
Jim

I swear this question comes up every single week on here.

av84fun said:

HUH??? Maybe during rush hour and a taxi strike. It's about exactly 12 miles and the last time I went to visit Jean, it took MAYBE 30 minutes in a cab (not rush hour) so I would assume it would have to be that time or less on the subway...although I don't ride the subway so I can't testify from personal experience.

But the tube HAS to average a LOT more that 12 mph, right?

And "anywhere in Manhattan?" From downtown you jump on the WSH, take the Battery Tunnel and you're practically there. 5-6 miles TOPS. 15 minutes in the subway.

But aside from travel time issues, Amsterdam is a SUPER place. Thorsten, Tony Robles and a bunch more top players hang there. An upscale classic.

Hall of Fame is and old fashioned, neighborhood pool hall. Clean and friendly but there is no brass or mahogany in the joint! (-:

Regards,
Jim

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Yeah, you're right. What do I know? I only live here.

Jude Rosenstock said:

Yeah, you're right. What do I know? I only live here.

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Jude, I got there in 12 minutes just a week ago during rush hour.

The trick is, you need to be in the batmobile.

Then make sure Batman skips the roads and goes rocket-boat style through upper New York Bay.

When you almost to brooklyn, turn on the rocket thrusters and get to about an altitude of 1200 feet.

From there you should be able to parachute right in on Jean and the fellas.

So let this be a lesson: Don't claim to know what you don't know. Got it, Jude?

dan_boersma said:

Jude, I got there in 12 minutes just a week ago during rush hour.

The trick is, you need to be in the batmobile.

Then make sure Batman skips the roads and goes rocket-boat style through upper New York Bay.

When you almost to brooklyn, turn on the rocket thrusters and get to about an altitude of 1200 feet.

From there you should be able to parachute right in on Jean and the fellas.

So let this be a lesson: Don't claim to know what you don't know. Got it, Jude?

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Wow, that might be the funniest thing I've read all week.

Jude Rosenstock said:

Yeah, you're right. What do I know? I only live here.

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You *can* get around quickly in manhattan if you are lucky, but you can't predict traffic at rush hour. Two days ago I managed to drive from 38th street and 6th avenue to my garage near west 4th and 6th in only 6 minutes without hitting a single red light. Now would i tell people it only takes 6 minutes, by car, at 5:30pm to make that trip, not likely. I would tell people to budget *at least* 20 minutes for it. (note I also drive like a madman...so I definitely don't give out *my* drive times as suggested drive times)

The subways move well over 12mph between stations. But when you add in a full minute at every station to stop, especially on a local, the average speed is probably under 12mph...consider it takes me about 10 minutes to get to work on the subway if i catch the F or V (local) from 4th street to 42nd street - that's only 4 stops and less than 2 miles that makes for an average speed of about 12mph!

A great subway travel reference is HopStop. HopStop says that from Times Square to Hall of Fame billiards would be about 47 minutes - that assumes you are already at the subway station and don't have to walk to the starting subway stop. The time could be longer or shorter depending on where you start in manhattan, if you start somewhere very unfavorable for getting to queens it could be much longer. If you start right on the edge of manhattan it could be shorter...

Also telling someone who you don't know to take a cab from Manhattan to far away queens is not very nice, that could be a $30 cab ride!

Jude Rosenstock said:

Yeah, you're right. What do I know? I only live here.

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Well, excuse me Jude but checking your profile, I see that you are in your mid 30s which means that have been traveling to N.Y. with great frequency since before you were born.

My brother lived in N.Y.

My newphew lives in N.Y.

I have clients in N.Y.

So, I STILL travel there frequently.

But most importantly, I just did a MapQuest from 119 W. 54th, which for the uninitiated, is mid town Manhattan and found that my distance estimate of "exactly 12 miles" was indeed wrong.

In fact, it's 11.88 miles door to door. Please forgive me for that.

In addition, since you live in Manhattan, you should know that the Bronx is up and the Battery is down. Brooklyn lies on the other end of the Battery tunnel so your statement that it would take an hour to travel 6.69 miles which is the distance from the N.Y. Stock Exchange to Hall of Fame in the subway is just silly.

I see that you mention Amsterdam in your avatar and may have have all kinds of reasons to recommend it...as you well should because it's a great place. But that doesn't mean that you should give misinformation to a visiter which you obviously did.

So, let's all argue about this for a while. If you want to suggest that it takes an hour to travel 7 miles on the subway in typical conditions...then fine, knock your socks off.

And BTW, I DID cab it from Mid-Town to Hall of Fame a few months ago and it DID take 25-30 minutes. When was the last time YOU went there in a cab?

juggler314 said:

A great subway travel reference is HopStop. HopStop says that from Times Square to Hall of Fame billiards would be about 47 minutes - that assumes you are already at the subway station and don't have to walk to the starting subway stop. The time could be longer or shorter depending on where you start in manhattan, if you start somewhere very unfavorable for getting to queens it could be much longer. If you start right on the edge of manhattan it could be shorter...

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OK, so start from your apartment...walk to your parking garage...wait for the elevator...exit the elevator and walk to your car....allow a few minutes to find it if you were drunk the night before...etc. (-:

Also telling someone who you don't know to take a cab from Manhattan to far away queens is not very nice, that could be a $30 cab ride!

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I DIDN'T TELL HIM TO TAKE A CAB!!!!!!!! I TOLD HIM I TOOK A CAB!!
SHEEEESH!

And , Hall of Fame is in BROOKLYN NOT QUEENS...unless they merged recently to create the massive borough of Queenbrook! (-:

Finally, SO WHAT if it takes an hour to visit a pool hall owned and frequented by one of the greatest players of all time?????

av84fun said:

Well, excuse me Jude but checking your profile, I see that you are in your mid 30s which means that have been traveling to N.Y. with great frequency since before you were born.

My brother lived in N.Y.

My newphew lives in N.Y.

I have clients in N.Y.

So, I STILL travel there frequently.

But most importantly, I just did a MapQuest from 119 W. 54th, which for the uninitiated, is mid town Manhattan and found that my distance estimate of "exactly 12 miles" was indeed wrong.

In fact, it's 11.88 miles door to door. Please forgive me for that.

In addition, since you live in Manhattan, you should know that the Bronx is up and the Battery is down. Brooklyn lies on the other end of the Battery tunnel so your statement that it would take an hour to travel 6.69 miles which is the distance from the N.Y. Stock Exchange to Hall of Fame in the subway is just silly.

I see that you mention Amsterdam in your avatar and may have have all kinds of reasons to recommend it...as you well should because it's a great place. But that doesn't mean that you should give misinformation to a visiter which you obviously did.

So, let's all argue about this for a while. If you want to suggest that it takes an hour to travel 7 miles on the subway in typical conditions...then fine, knock your socks off.

And BTW, I DID cab it from Mid-Town to Hall of Fame a few months ago and it DID take 25-30 minutes. When was the last time YOU went there in a cab?

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I'm not here to argue. I'm just saying you're telling someone who does the Manhattan/Brooklyn commute everyday how long it takes. I mean, I know the times because I do it twice a day. Have a nice day, sir.