Top News Online
David Handschuh/New York Daily News
Patrons at the International Bar on First Ave and E. 7th St. will be able to drink all night New Year’s Eve and straight into New Year’s Day. Here, bartender Drey Perez pours shots for patrons.
It’s the longest New Year’s Eve party in recorded history — 44 hours of nonstop drinking and carousing beginning on Dec. 31 and not ending until the wee hours of Jan. 2.
The marathon 2014 bacchanal will be at the International Bar in the East Village — thanks to a little-known state permit for bars that wish to stay open until 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day.
Combine the permission slip with the International Bar’s normal 8 a.m. to 4 a.m. hours and you have a party that almost never ends.
“If you are going to stay up drinking all night, New Year’s would be the night to do it,” says International Bar regular Chase Mahlan, 22, of Brooklyn. “There will be a lot of regulars here. I’ll be having Irish coffees all day.”
The bar’s co-owner Molly Fitch said she’s hosting the marathon debauch for auld lang syne.
“It reminds me of the way New York used to be,” says Fitch. “It’s not like we ever make a lot of money at that time, but it’s pretty damn fun to be with a bunch of drunk people at 6 in the morning, watching the sun come up together.”
International Bar is one of 221 city bars that got the State Liquor Authority’s precious “all night permit” this year — slightly fewer than last year.
Nightclubs with bottle service — such as Marquee in Chelsea and Pacha on the way West Side — dominate the list. But most of the all night permits were given to small bars without a dance floor, where drinking is the primary pastime.
“New Year’s is really the most celebrated night of the year and nobody ever really wants it to end,” says Ariel Palitz, the owner of Sutra, a lounge in the East Village. “At 4 a.m. where are you going to go? You might as well just keep celebrating if you have the opportunity.”
David Handschuh/New York Daily News
Bartender Drey Perez amid Christmas decorations at International Bar
Palitz is even planning a brown bag breakfast for the early morning crowd, complete with handmade bagels from Kossar’s (perfect with a White Russian).
“We’ll stay open until the last drink is ordered,” Palitz says. “You never know who is going to walk through that door.”
……..
Round-the-clock celebration
More than 220 city bars have been granted permits to sell liquor until 8 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Here’s where you’ll find them:
Manhattan: 142 venues
Brooklyn: 22
Bronx: 23
Queens: 34
Staten Island: 0
