Nightlife in Floral Park

When Sherri Shepherd, one of the leading ladies from ABC’s The View came to visit Times Scare NYC, she asked her husband, “Are you scared?” and he replied, “I’m not afraid of ghosts. They’re afraid of me.” One insane doctor and a felon armed with a chainsaw later, he had changed his tune. “If I run,” he said, “you run behind me.” Later, when interviewed by her friends on the View, she told them she had screamed so much, she lost her voice. Or perhaps New York City’s only year-round haunted house scared it away?

Time Scare is rumored to be legitimately haunted. In the 1920s, it was a crematorium. Today, more than just a few ghosts are rumored to linger in the labyrinthine house, in one of the macabre bars, and Crypt Café.

Even if there’s nothing sinister afoot, there’s something wonderfully menacing about the bar’s cocktails with names such as the Black Death and Dracula’s Kiss served in front of what looks like the cold-storage drawers in a morgue. In the café, diners suck the spicy-ketchup lifeblood from dishes such as Satan’s sliders and knife the Fire and Brimstone ravioli stuffed with crab, lobster, and black mushrooms.

Flowing with live music, libations, and good-spirited sports, Tobacco Road eschews the pretentions of club-hopping nightlife in favor of a convivial neighborhood-bar experience. Voted Best Dive Bar by the Village Voice, Tobacco Road’s weekly schedule runs the gamut of entertainment with nightly events for sports fans, blues and show-tunes devotees, and rampaging bachelorettes. Friday and Saturday nights, dueling pianos reign with the famed Shake Rattle & Roll showcase, a raucous all-request sing-along where classic hits such as “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “Piano Man,” and Beethoven’s Symphony in C Major inspire revelrous toasts, games, and shot giveaways. A motley crew of bikini-clad barmaids and friendly clientele rounds out the colorful cast at the Midtown dive, which is located a leap-frog’s jump from the Port Authority.

Rihanna, Shania Twain, Mumford & Sons, and Elton John. That's not from the playlist of an indecisive radio DJ—it's from the song list at Radio Star Karaoke, which boasts more than 28,000 English and Spanish tunes. Visitors belt out melodies from nine private rooms, the biggest of which can fit up to 40 singers. Bolder singers exercise their pipes on the stage of the ultra-modern bar area, decked out with translucent plastic chairs illuminated by multicolored, club-style lighting. Dots of laser light flit across the entire space, framing wrap-around couches and flat-screen TVs. In the front hallway, a museum of vintage microphones and RCA Victor radios is on display to inspire singers. Fueling the festivities, which on some nights can last until 4 a.m., is a menu of spirited beverages and sharable appetizers that have all been stolen from Prince’s kitchen.

Selected by Nightclub & Bar magazine as the Nightclub of the Year in 2011 and designated a city landmark in 2008, Webster Hall's four floors hold more than 125 years of history, from the Grand Ballroom to the Balcony Lounge. The building’s iconic framework has hosted such major acts as Prince and Mick Jagger, and served as a speakeasy, a lecture hall, and a mentor to troubled teenage buildings since its construction in 1886.

Originally established in the years after World War I, McGarry’s Pub & Restaurant still evokes the charm of a bygone era. From the moment guests step through the cheery red façade and belly up to the gleaming wood bar, they are transported to a simpler time when cars couldn’t shift gears or text automatically. An equally easygoing atmosphere permeates the beer garden, where wrought-iron tables beckon beneath umbrellas. Indoors and out, a hearty menu of classic Irish pub fare sates patrons’ appetites, offering plates such as shepherd’s pie, fish 'n' chips, and burgers. Brunch is served on the weekends, and beer, wine, and cocktails can be poured whenever someone suggests a toast to their festive surroundings.

Weekend dance parties fill the twin floors at Columbus 72, soundtracked by live swing and Latin bands or DJs spinning Top 40 dance hits. Piloted by a premium-liquor-packing waitstaff, the pillar-peppered Columbus ballroom accompanies a private-lounge sidecar boasting cocktail tables, an LCD screen, and optional helmet laws. Right off the expansive boogie zone nestles a brood of plush red and black VIP booths, which seat six to eight and may be enhanced with bottle service. Meanwhile, the Broadway Bar serves a separate dance floor in a more intimate setting with its own DJ and sound system on Friday and Saturday nights. The club's strict dress code demands casual, neat wear such as collared shirts and dress sneakers, with black-tie attire required for carousing team mascots.