Coogan's Way Memorialized With Washington Heights Street Sign

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — An Irish pub lost to Washington Heights during the COVID-19 pandemic will be reborn Wednesday as a street name on a local block.

The corner of 169th Street and Broadway will be co-named Coogan's Way during an outdoor celebration on the street at 5:30 p.m., Councilmember Carmen De La Rosa announced Tuesday.

"Coogan’s closed during the pandemic but the memories for all who made it home will live on," De La Rosa wrote on Twitter. "Tomorrow we celebrate the co-naming of 169th Street & Broadway as Coogan’s Way!"

Coogan's had been a neighborhood staple in Washington Heights for 35 years when it closed in April 2020, just a month after city businesses were shuttered in an attempt to slow the virus's rapid spread.

In March, co-owner Peter Walsh told Patch that it wouldn't last long without the regular flow of regulars.

"If this goes to a certain amount of time and it's too difficult to reopen we'll close forever," he said. "This emergency is so unique — this has never happened in our lives."

If Coogan's was lost, the memory will live on in form of the street sign and a documentary of the same name, which will be broadcast Wednesday at the Armory Foundation at 216 Fort Washington Ave. following the ceremony, De La Rosa said.

The documentary tells the story of Coogan's survival amid a decade rocked by violence, the crack cocaine epidemic and the AIDS crisis.

"The community needed a safe space, a political hub, a cultural center and a home-away-from-home," filmmakers write in the introduction to a promotional interview released in February.

"Coogan's Way is the story of how a small bar and restaurant that welcomed all races, religions and interests became a force for good in their community."

In the interview, Walsh adds, "We landed in Washington Heights at a time when it was probably one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the country ... We decided, what a great place to open a bar."