We were having this debate the other day…when exactly did the decline of downtown’s premier outdoor drinking spot for people too poor to go to a bar occur? Most insisted that the summer of 2009 was the beginning of the end — when the Basket’s culture shifted from trios of Mexican laborers individually downing six-packs in under 20 minutes, skateboarders and the occasional overgrown Union Square lurker, to a full-blown NYU college bar and pitstop for shitheads on expensive bikes to debate microbrewery flavors.
Truthfully, it’s 4 Loko’s fault. Put a place where people could drink 4 Lokos outside and meet up with their white dreadlocked weed dealers two blocks from the nearest NYU dorm, and it’s bound to be hell before 8 P.M.
That’s not to say we haven’t kept clinging on to hope for a once-great establishment. Rob Harris makes the case for The Basket’s continued relevancy in this new night session video for DQM. The clip throws a curveball by portraying the Basket as a springboard for a night session, as opposed to its more common role as a deterrent for one. You’re almost positive they won’t make it north of Washington Square Park (the nearest actual skate spot), but miraculously, they make it all the way up to midtown. Features Lee Smith, Keith Denley, and Brian Delatorre.
Loosely Related: There’s also a new DQM / Vans commercial out by Marcus Manoogian, who did those two great Hopps commercials.