Bowling + live music + local + green

That essentially captures what New York’s Brooklyn Bowl is all about.

Bowling. Robert Putnam’s best-seller lamented that the social capital in the U.S. was one the decline as we were ‘bowling alone’ more often. While his measure of social capital may be misleading, maybe Brooklyn Bowl’s founders took his comments to heart, as it’d be difficult to bowl alone with a live music venue, restaurant, lounge and ongoing events present. Convergence is what creatives are used to, though not the $40-$50 per lane per hour rates.

Live music. There’s live music every single night, with tickets starting at $5. Now that’s something more up the creatives’ alley.

Local. Local businesses can have four times the economic impact than nationals, and Brooklyn Bowl (with a name like that, you know it’s local) does their part with a local restaurant as well as having all their beers brewed in Brooklyn.

Green. It’s LEED-certified, the only such bowling alley in the world, featuring 100% wind-powered electricity; pin-spotters that use 75% less energy than a typical pin-spotter (see video), serve no bottles or cans with all soft drinks and beers on tap; LED stage lights that use 90% less energy than the typical draw; 100% reclaimed cork floors in Bowler’s Lounge and 100% recycled truck tires for the stage floor; and 30+ capacity bike racks.

This is the kind of destination that can define a revitalizing neighborhood, though more so if the activity (ie bowling) were less price exclusive.

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neilkt