'Brooklyn Changes, Farrell's Remains': Film Honors 80-Yr.-Old Bar

BROOKLYN, NY — For the people of Windsor Terrace and neighboring Park Slope, stopping by the unassuming bar on the southwest corner of Prospect Park for the last 86 years has become more than a tradition — it's a right of passage.

"Generations of residents have followed the same arc, being born in Methodist Hospital and ending up in Greenwood Cemetery, along the way, making their stop right in the middle, in Farrell’s," locals Rob Martin and Jay Cusato write.

That longstanding local history is why Martin and Cusato, of Park Slope Films, said they thought it was time to document the imprint Farrell's Bar & Grill has made on the neighborhood, and the city, since it first opened in 1933.

Or rather, understand why it is the watering hold made such a long-lasting imprint in the first place.

The filmmakers have spent the better part of the last two years trying to answer the question "Why Farrell's?" for a new documentary that will don the same name. They are now hoping to raise the $24,200 necessary to turn that research into a full-length film.

“Why Farrell’s?” will endeavor to explain how this unassuming watering hole, has outlasted dozens of other local bars and businesses — survived NY real estate, blackouts, gentrification, 14 presidents, 39 wars, stock market crashes, and has remained largely unchanged since it’s founding and remains an important staple of its community today," the filmmakers write.

"Farrell's is more than a Brooklyn bar with a reputation of having the coldest taps beer in New York City," they say. "It's a town hall, a community center, a place to get caught up with friends and family from the neighborhood, it’s a meeting place for a celebration, or to hear the sad news of the passing of old friends."

Answering that question will include looking into the little-known past of the bar's founder, Eddie Farrell, who died in 1995.

Martin and Cusato — who grew up around Farrell's in the 1970s, 80s and 90s — said Farrell became a "surrogate father"to many regular patrons, but rarely shared about his home life at the bar, or talked about the bar with his family.

His private life led a lot for the filmmakers to uncover, they said.

"There is the story of Eddie’s Uncle, who rescued people on the Titanic. There is the time Eddie purchased a new bell for Holy Name, the neighborhood church, paying out of pocket," they said. "These types of stories were relatively unknown to the people who loved him and the place where he held court daily for decades."

(Park Slope Films). Eddie Farrell in front of Farrell's Bar & Grill.

The money raised in the fundraiser, set up on movie kickstarter Seed & Spark, will help Martin, Cusato and the rest of their team with the production phase of the documentary.

The money will allow them to hire a crew for interviews, find and interview famous patrons who have drank at the bar — like Pete and Dennis Hamill, Shirley McClain, Peter Weller and Harvey Keitel — and work on licensing, copyright and post-production.

"Our entire production team is made of multi-generational natives who grew up all over New York City," the filmmakers wrote. "Each of us witnessing gentrification and constant change all around us we feel we have the perfect team to tackle this project."

The fundraiser launched this week and will run for 45 days.