One Of NYC's Oldest Operating Bars Was Once A Star In Your Favorite Mob Movie

Neir's Tavern, located in Queens, New York, opened in 1829. Andrew Jackson had just become the 7th U.S. President, there were only 24 states, and the Queens neighborhood where it can still be found, Woodhaven, was then a rural farming town. All the extensive history aside, this storied bar, located at 87-48 78th Street, may best be known as a setting in the 1990 Martin Scorsese mob movie "Goodfellas." 

In the film, mobster Jimmy Conway, played by Robert De Niro, holds a Christmas party at the bar following the massive Lufthansa airlines heist from John F. Kennedy International Airport. During the scene, Conway dresses down two of his cohorts for buying expensive items, like a Cadillac and a fur coat, just days after the robbery. The bar was also the location in the film where Conway and his crew planned the robbery at JFK, among other shots that comprise 14% of the entire film.

In real life, some of the mobsters Scorsese based his characters on may have frequented the bar where the film was shot, allowing Neir's Tavern to join the ranks of other New York City restaurants mobsters liked to frequent, such as Rao's Italian restaurant. But Neir's Tavern's long history isn't solely defined by its Hollywood star turn. Over the years, besides serving as a set for "Goodfellas," Neir's Tavern has housed a bowling alley and music hall, where Golden Age movie star Mae West may have gotten her start dancing on its stage.

Neir's began life as a bar called the Blue Pump Room in 1829, where patrons of the Union Course Racetrack went to party. It went through many hands and many names before German immigrant Louis Neir bought it in 1898 and renamed it after himself. In 2009, when it nearly closed, current owner Loycent Gordon — a New York City firefighter — bought the establishment, renovated it, and helped transform it into a centerpiece of the neighborhood where it's as much a community hub as it is a bar. Today, Neir's Tavern is still serving drinks on its historic carved mahogany bar and serving food to locals. It doesn't mind playing up the "Goodfellas" connection, with film memorabilia on the walls, and the Goodfella Burger on the menu.

Neir's Tavern claims to be the oldest continually operating tavern in New York City, pitting it against some other Manhattan establishments that have also staked that claim, like McSorley's Old Ale House, which has been around since 1854, and Fraunces Tavern, opened in 1762, where George Washington used to dine and drink (although the latter has been rebuilt over the years). But neither of these other establishments can lay claim to being the location for a Scorsese movie or a slightly less iconic film, "Tower Heist," the Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy comedy from 2011, which was also filmed at Neir's Tavern.