“Beard’s Erie Basin, ca. 1880.” Founded in 1843 by William Beard, the Erie Basin was a dock, drydock, and warehousing complex that marked the New York City terminus for Erie Canal cargo.

My Archive Spring 2019 "Softball Team Charlie Browns: Tommy, Paul, and Dennis. After a game we would head back to Charlie Browns Pub on Fifth Avenue between Prospect Avenue and 17th Street...ah the good ole days!!" —Paul Eickman

Bud & Packy's Restaurant, 1959. A 1924 Brooklyn Eagle classified lists a “corner store” for rent at 199 Richards Street, a “desirable location.” By 1927, the new tenants had run afoul of the law: the establishment was fined and “padlocked” for selling liquor. When Bud Fischer and Patrick “Packy” Laffan took over ownership, it became a popular drinking spot for workers of the nearby Todd Shipyards and Sucrest Refinery. It was also known as a Brooklyn Dodgers bar. Following the team’s October 1951 loss of the National League pennant, the bar put a headless effigy of Dodger manager Chuck Dressen up in the window. The bar closed in 1984 when the building was sold twice in less than a month. Sadly the bar was locked up (though the gold painted 'RESTAURANT' sign in the window was long visible through the gates). The building deteriorated terribly over the next few decades. Happily, though, a serious renovation was undertaken that same year, and the building is looking much better, the gold sign in the window remains. The ground level space though seems to still be unoccupied.