SoHo Billiards Evicted, Awnings Deposed

Eight ball, corner pocket – game over for SoHo Billiards at 298 Mulberry Street. News of its eviction a couple weeks ago, courtesy of EV Grieve, certainly suffocated wind from the proverbial sails of the old school neighborhood. More than two decades of pool ends with naught but a whimper.

The post-mortem silence is over, though. Yesterday afternoon, a pair of ladder-bound laborers sliced apart the longtime green awning, leaving behind only the skeletal framework. Inside the storefront, meanwhile, the demolition has already begun. Scrap heaps reside where pool tables once bustled with action. No permits yet on file with the DOB, though.

This particular loss hits home. Many a drunken night was spent haunting the floor of SoHo Billiards. Yes, it was a dump of a pool hall and more than a tad shady. But unobstructed billiards tables are impossible to find around the neighborhood these days without having to schlep up to Amsterdam.

We shudder to think about the possibility of replacements. These are some rather large kicks to fill, and certainly have nightclub written all over ‘em. After all, it’s a corner anchor spot.