Where Are All the Local Car Enthusiasts?
Seldom do we hear Manhattanites discuss Cars & Coffee events, so as former Los Angeles residents, it never really crossed our minds to look for local gatherings in Manhattan or the surrounding boroughs.
This makes sense considering most locals don’t own a car–or a driver’s license for that matter (gasp!)–due to the sky-high costs of garaging, parking and the overall ineffectiveness of driving a car through the congested streets. Have a burning desire to “move” about town in a car? Wave down a cab or grab an Uber.
Now, of course, there are a few folks that do own cars, but they’re normally not that “special car” seen at most Cars & Coffee gatherings. So when CarPark NYC’s Cars & Coffee popped up in our Instagram feed, we made a run for it.
Hip and Industrial
This particular edition of CarPark NYC was set up on cobblestone streets in south Brooklyn’s Industry City. Located just across the East River from Manhattan–off the “D” line (36th Street Station) for those in the know–lies the historic shipping, warehousing and manufacturing area of days past. Today, these rows of warehouses have been transformed into office spaces, galleries, hip restaurants, and cool retail shops. The area even houses New York’s oldest chocolate shop!
The Lineup
Having arrived later in the morning, most of the cars were already lined up along the cobblestone street – pssst… those “special cars” do in fact exist here. At first glance, the gathering seemed a little smaller than what we’re used to at other events, but as we made our way along the street, there was actually a great variety of cars lined up. From American classics and muscle cars to foreign imports like Porsche and Mercedes, there were plenty of cars to satisfy all types of enthusiasts. There were even a couple of older Toyotas and Land Rovers.
Most of the people had come in from the five boroughs, but some even made the trip from New Jersey and Connecticut. While spectators admired cars and sipped their coffees, a three-piece band provided a fun atmosphere from a nearby landing – a nice touch!
Stop By
Though we didn’t get a chance to chat with organizers themselves, we wanted to give a thumbs up to the founder and coordinator, Jeffrey Einhorn, for putting on a great event and for making a couple of folks from car-crazy Los Angeles feel right at home.
If you live in the city or boroughs and love cars, be sure to follow CarPark NYC for an update on their Cars & Coffee events. And if you’re in town this weekend, head over to Industry City at 8am on Sunday, August 4th for CarPark NYC’s final summer lineup. We hear Big aLICe Brewery will be serving $1 drafts from 10am-12pm so when you’re done with your coffee grab a pint. Cheers! 🙂
Stay cool!
