We’ve been given exclusive video footage by a W42ST reader that shows two young women dragging Gossip Bar’s Bear (and chair) along 9th Avenue in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) was sitting outside at Atlas Social Club when he spotted the bear being dragged along the Hell’s Kitchen street. His quick reactions helped him capture this video just before 12:30am.
The bears became a feature of the Irish bar last year after they were evicted from Yankee Stadium and Citi Field to make room for COVID testing and vaccination centers. The bar was one of the first in the area to take outdoor dining space on the road on 9th Avenue and its Teddy Bear with a mask on became a Hell’s Kitchen favorite, photographed and featured around the world to show New York’s resilience and humor during the pandemic.
Kieran Greene from Gossip insists that he wants no retribution, but simply: “We don’t care about the chair, we want our bear!”
As one Hell’s Kitchen local said on Facebook: “Classic Hell’s Kitchen hangover — ‘Dude, wtf is there a bear in the lounge this morning?’ Seriously though, I can’t believe I’m the only person that had to quickly check around the house to see if I’ve got a massive rogue bear knocking about…”
Ladies — if you’re not sure where you put the bear, call Kieran on (212) 265-2720 and organize a replacement!