Here’s some super sad news: One of Bushwick’s quirkiest homegrown bars, Gotham City Lounge, has closed after 15 years under the M train on Myrtle Ave. The superhero-themed drinks den was a hidden refuge for neighborhood old-timers and comic-lovers alike.

Gotham City Lounge owner Ray Torrellas (right) with his wife and artist Lee Trice (left) receiving a going away gift.
The bar, whose buzzer entry harkened back to a rougher time, was “crammed with comics memorabilia from Wonder Woman posters to figurines of the Thing to Captain America’s shield,” according to NYMag’s review. “The proprietor-collector is schoolteacher Ray Torrellas, whose family has owned the building for nearly a century (Grandma once ran a church here). Nerd-core décor notwithstanding, Gotham’s prices ($3 pairs PBR with whiskey) and hospitality attract all sexes and ages, from twentysomething bike messengers shooting pool to middle-aged Watchmen fans.”
During Gotham’s closing night on April 12, Torrellas told us that “I loved everybody here but it’s time for me to move on. It’s my pool-league players that will be the ones who really miss place.”
Local artist Lee Trice brought Torrellas a parody “Star Bong” action figure made by fellow NYC artist SUCKLORD. He told me Torrellas “is the man and he has a dope, old-school Cadillac that he would park out front. When I heard Gotham was closing I totally had to say goodbye and give him a gift.”
Henry Rushmore, a patron, said he would miss the bar’s $3 beers. “Nobody here has a lot of cash and it was nice to have this place as the neighborhood got more expensive.”
Scroll through our group portraits and click on the photos for a closer look.