The Brooklyn Hangar — Local services in New York

First review of 2017 belongs to the venue where I spent my twilight hours of 2016 (how appropriate). Yes, the venue is quite the hike from the city; yes, there are no "flush toilets" (only porta-potties); yes, it's a cash bar only. Guess these things don't bother me nearly as much as some of my fellow reviewers (though I do empathize with the females at the lack of lavatory facilities with running water). After considering the venue though, it is a warehouse/hanger... and it is called the Brooklyn "Hangar"... in that it is a literally a "hangar" that is located in Brooklyn. The place isn't really selling itself on being anything more than just that... that being a large space in the middle of nowhere; and it just so happens that large isolated spaces make for great venues to blast loud music for throngs of people to get down to.

I was here for Gareth Emery's Electric for Life NYE celebration, and the whole event came and went as smoothly as possible. As I had observed the low 2 star review prior to my visit to this venue, I pretty much expected the worst... and with low expectations comes an opportunity for those expectations to be shattered (and in this case, shattered they were).

It was a mild New Year's eve, somewhere in the low to mid 40s, and with a couple of openings to the venue (one main garage opening and a side entrance), there was some good ventilation going in the place... which was much needed since everyone in the well-attended space was dancing a storm by the time 2017 rolled in. I could see this place becoming a sauna for shows in the summer months, but I ain't writing about my experience from a summer show... so go in the summer at your own risk.

There was also a really good crowd in attendance. By "really good," I mean that there was a lot of people who attended, but not to the point where I couldn't move. I was actually able to get to the bar in the back from my spot near the front, and then get back to the front, in relatively painless fashion ("please" and "excuse me" do count for something when appealing to the kindness of strangers). While on my stroll to the bar, I also risked a trip to the porta-potties (I hadn't been outside of the venue since 2016... that's just me being a smart @ss, saying that I watched sets that started before midnight...), and was able to maneuver/snake through the crowd about as easily as I did from the front to the bar.

The lighting and sound were also impressive. I had just gone to Pier 94 a couple days prior to NYE, and the sound system there was extremely disappointing. Being able to hear the layers in some dark techno beats in the set prior to Gareth was extremely gratifying (I suppose these are the benefits to having a "smaller" venue"). And enclosed spaces are best friends w/ laser beams and disco balls... so if you feel the need to wear sunglasses indoors at this place, I wouldn't blame you.

All in all, I'd definitely come back to this spot; I suppose one should be smart about who they see here. More popular DJs (ahem Armin) would not be able to fit a crowd in here that comfortably (which makes me curious about said DJ's visit to Marquee this February... not my problem), so do factor that in if you decide to make the journey to this pretty wonderful place (again, depending on the circumstances that you decide to...

This venue was great for a rave really felt like an underground rave experience. It is basically a warehouse with amazing lights and an awesome sound system. It is indoor/outdoor but once it fills up it gets warm in there even in February. The bathrooms are porta pottys that you need to go outside to get to unless you are VIP, which was rough being it was a freezing rain in February the night we went. The drinks were Brooklyn priced ($18-$25 for a cocktail , $10 for beer) and the coat check was pricey ($10 per coat). The worst part was retrieving the coat at the end of the night the line was massive and chaotic you have to go downstairs to get to it and there was a lot of pushing. There was a decent amount of free street parking around the venue which was great! The staff was friendly and it was an overall great experience. I would go back (I just wish the bathroom situation...

So this place is just a venue that other people rent out. Pretty sure they don't throw any events of their own. So any problems people have with this place should be aimed at event promoters. That being said, I do feel like they should put some high quality A/C in this warehouse. It gets WAY TOO hot when it's packed. Installing bathrooms would be nice, but there would be a huge line constantly. So event promoters need to set up Porta Potties. I went here for Dreamstate and had one heck of a good time! They do have a basement area, but it's almost a secret. You have to know it's there. I didn't notice any parking lots or anything. But since it's not a very highly populated area, street parking is easy. Overall, I'd go here again. But only if the people throwing the party brought A/C like Insomniac did. I couldn't imagine this place without it. It was still...