Union Pool also carries a bit of infamy with its reputation as a hook-up spot <\/a>from earlier days: a place to swipe right before the apps existed. It\u2019s in a league with other local bars, great, unpretentious places like Metropolitan Bar, open since 2002, and Pete\u2019s Candy Store, around since 1999. For many longtime Brooklynites, including me, it has been an anchor.<\/p>\n The patio at Union Pool. Millicent Souris<\/p>\n Union Pool is no dive bar; it\u2019s too well cared for. Whatever age Union Pool shows, it comes by honestly with ghost signs from the previous business: a pest control and swimming pool supply company whose graphics linger on the wall behind the cooler in the front bar. (Which raises the question: where are all the swimming pools in Williamsburg?)<\/p>\n The outside patio, tucked under the BQE, is steps away from Meeker Avenue, but that distance feels like miles, protected by a solid fence, brightly painted picnic tables, and plants. The wisteria blooms lushly across the patio in spring, where the neon sign for the El Diablo Tacos shines brightly, a beacon for those in need of sustenance. The tacos have probably saved more lives than Mother Teresa.<\/p>\n The official opening date was always a mystery \u2014 generally considered Halloween \u2014 until general manager Alex Holden found one of Abeyta\u2019s early spiral-bound notebooks a few years ago. \u201cUnion Pool will open to the public Oct. 29, 7 p.m.,\u201d a page reads in Ray\u2019s handwriting. Both Ray and Alyssa died in the 2010s, but their legacies live on in the bar. Ray is still everywhere by way of his artwork: his lettering around the bar, his paintings on the taco truck, and around the venue. And still, the staff is centered on Alyssa\u2019s commitment to the community.<\/p>\n What also hasn\u2019t changed about Union Pool is its staff, many of whom have worked here for a decade or more. \u201cBottom line,\u201d Suzanne Rogaleski said of the owners. \u201cThey made a business to help all their friends who needed to pay their rent.\u201d She noted how many of the employees are musicians, dancers, artists, and writers. \u201c It\u2019s a special place for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n The selection of wine, beer, booze, and non-alcoholic beverages is better than it needs to be, including a rotating selection of decent wines, KCBC <\/a>Union Pool Lager, a collaboration with the local brewery, beer-and-a-shot specials, and the delicious M & M, Montenegro Amaro and Amaras Mezcal. Happy hour is weekdays from 4 to 7 p.m., with $5 for some cocktails, well pours, cans, and wine, plus $2 tacos from El Diablo.<\/p>\n Union Pool\u2019s calendar is fun and varied, something for everyone if you\u2019re into music and dancing. There\u2019s PAT<\/a>, the free queer dance party that\u2019s in its 12th year and running, takes over the bar every third Thursday of the month, hosted by DJs JD Samson and Amber Valentine. Then, every Monday, Reverend Vince Anderson and the Love Choir play what they call \u201cdirty gospel music.\u201d They\u2019ve never charged a cover fee in the history of their residency. I\u2019ll confess: Anderson is my partner, and our wedding party was at Union Pool. Since then, every May, friends text me pictures of the wisteria as a reminder of the day.<\/p>\n The venue consistently books indie, rock, and all sorts of avant-garde bands like Ryan Sawyer\u2019s Shaker Ensemble, 75 Dollar Bill, Pink Mountaintops, and Tara Jane O\u2019Neil, throughout the week and, on weekend nights, the room transforms into a dance club. Summer Thunder,<\/a> a free daytime outdoor concert series hosted with Academy Records for over a decade, has played live sets from Ted Leo, Circuit des Yeux, Frankie Cosmos, and legendary mainstays Joe Bataan and Sun Ra Arkestra.<\/p>\n When disaster strikes, Union Pool is consistently there to help. Before the pandemic, the bar was a hub for people to meet up during crises like 9\/11, the 2003 summer blackout, and Hurricane Sandy in 2012. The venue became a bucket brigade for donations to the Rockaways<\/a>, which were devastated after the 2012 storm.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/IMG_8507.jpg\"\/)
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