Neir's Tavern

The story

Neir's Tavern kept pouring drinks even during Prohibition, operating as a speakeasy at 87-48 78th Street in Woodhaven, Queens — just one chapter in a run that began in 1829. Founded near the Union Course racetrack, it drew horse-racing crowds under names like Blue Pump Room and Old Abbey, and once housed a ballroom, hotel rooms, and a bowling alley. The Neir family held it from 1898 to 1967, after which it slid toward closure. In 2009, a music producer named David Eng stepped in at the last moment, saving one of the oldest bars in the United States.