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A Beloved Bar Owner Was Skeptical About the Virus. Then He Took a Cruise. A Beloved Bar Owner Was Skeptical About the Virus. Then He Took a Cruise.
(about 13 hours later)
Decades before he would embark on a cruise to the Mediterranean, confident that the coronavirus would have little to do with him, Joe Joyce was known to the world as a social creature, the kind who would do well on a boat full of strangers.Decades before he would embark on a cruise to the Mediterranean, confident that the coronavirus would have little to do with him, Joe Joyce was known to the world as a social creature, the kind who would do well on a boat full of strangers.
In the early 1970s, back from Vietnam and newly married, he was working as a gym teacher in a Catholic school in Brooklyn when he realized that he needed to make more money if he were ever going to own a house. So he took a weekend job tending bar.In the early 1970s, back from Vietnam and newly married, he was working as a gym teacher in a Catholic school in Brooklyn when he realized that he needed to make more money if he were ever going to own a house. So he took a weekend job tending bar.
The only child of a single mother who struggled with depression, Joe lost his father when he was 7 — maybe to a heart attack, he was never really sure. At the Tankard Inn, distinguished in the Brooklyn happy-hour scene of the period as a “couples bar,” Joe seemed to find his place in the conviviality of saloon life — the constant company of other people; the distracting kookiness and drama of the regulars; the dutiful marrieds, the swingers. He wanted a bar of his own.The only child of a single mother who struggled with depression, Joe lost his father when he was 7 — maybe to a heart attack, he was never really sure. At the Tankard Inn, distinguished in the Brooklyn happy-hour scene of the period as a “couples bar,” Joe seemed to find his place in the conviviality of saloon life — the constant company of other people; the distracting kookiness and drama of the regulars; the dutiful marrieds, the swingers. He wanted a bar of his own.
That ambition was fulfilled when he opened JJ Bubbles in Bay Ridge in 1977. The neighborhood was newly famous following the release of “Saturday Night Fever,” the blockbuster showcasing the area as a center of white working-class frustration and epic escape.That ambition was fulfilled when he opened JJ Bubbles in Bay Ridge in 1977. The neighborhood was newly famous following the release of “Saturday Night Fever,” the blockbuster showcasing the area as a center of white working-class frustration and epic escape.
It was a good time to own a bar in southwest Brooklyn; the vibe didn’t accommodate restraint. But even as moods and tastes shifted, JJ Bubbles and Joe Joyce largely thrived — a son sent to Harvard, a daughter to graduate school at Brown, a getaway place bought in New Hampshire — until the cruelest interventions of the pandemic, last month.It was a good time to own a bar in southwest Brooklyn; the vibe didn’t accommodate restraint. But even as moods and tastes shifted, JJ Bubbles and Joe Joyce largely thrived — a son sent to Harvard, a daughter to graduate school at Brown, a getaway place bought in New Hampshire — until the cruelest interventions of the pandemic, last month.
I have heard about Joe Joyce for as long as I have known his oldest son, Eddie, a neighbor and friend, a lawyer turned novelist who was at odds with his father politically but grateful for his contradictions. Joe Joyce was a Trump supporter who chose selectively from the menu of current Republican ideologies, freely rejecting what didn’t suit him. He didn’t want to hear how much you loved Hillary Clinton, as one regular at his bar put it to me, but he was not going to make the Syrian immigrant who came in to play darts feel as if he belonged anywhere else.I have heard about Joe Joyce for as long as I have known his oldest son, Eddie, a neighbor and friend, a lawyer turned novelist who was at odds with his father politically but grateful for his contradictions. Joe Joyce was a Trump supporter who chose selectively from the menu of current Republican ideologies, freely rejecting what didn’t suit him. He didn’t want to hear how much you loved Hillary Clinton, as one regular at his bar put it to me, but he was not going to make the Syrian immigrant who came in to play darts feel as if he belonged anywhere else.
Last year, Vice Media went to JJ Bubbles and other bars in Bay Ridge to talk to supporters of the current president and landed on some of these ambiguities, discovering for instance the guy who admired Pete Buttigieg as much as he loved Donald Trump. Where these kinds of voters align is not in the right’s hatred of the marginalized but in its distrust of the news. If the “liberal” media was telling us that a plague was coming and that it would be devastating, why should anyone believe it? Joe Joyce had his skepticism.Last year, Vice Media went to JJ Bubbles and other bars in Bay Ridge to talk to supporters of the current president and landed on some of these ambiguities, discovering for instance the guy who admired Pete Buttigieg as much as he loved Donald Trump. Where these kinds of voters align is not in the right’s hatred of the marginalized but in its distrust of the news. If the “liberal” media was telling us that a plague was coming and that it would be devastating, why should anyone believe it? Joe Joyce had his skepticism.
The longevity of a bar in New York can almost always be tracked in inverse proportion to its snobbishness. Those that cater to the well paid and highly self-regarding rarely survive consecutive presidential administrations. Novelty compels, and the caravan invariably moves on.The longevity of a bar in New York can almost always be tracked in inverse proportion to its snobbishness. Those that cater to the well paid and highly self-regarding rarely survive consecutive presidential administrations. Novelty compels, and the caravan invariably moves on.
JJ Bubbles became an institution for those who remain: transit employees, ironworkers, teachers, sanitation guys, cops, firefighters, civil servants, accountants, retirees from all those occupations who, for the most part, sought their pleasures close to where they lived and in many cases where they had grown up. Neighborhood bars are places of consistency. For the near entirety of its existence, JJ Bubbles kept only two kinds of beer on tap: Bud and Bud Light. Every fourth drink was free.JJ Bubbles became an institution for those who remain: transit employees, ironworkers, teachers, sanitation guys, cops, firefighters, civil servants, accountants, retirees from all those occupations who, for the most part, sought their pleasures close to where they lived and in many cases where they had grown up. Neighborhood bars are places of consistency. For the near entirety of its existence, JJ Bubbles kept only two kinds of beer on tap: Bud and Bud Light. Every fourth drink was free.
In his bar Joe Joyce had set the tone for what evolved into an incongruously progressive place. From the beginning there had been a quiet gay presence that eventually grew. In the 1990s, a couple — Jim and Jim — became regulars. They were caring for a friend who was dying of AIDS. That friend started to come as well.In his bar Joe Joyce had set the tone for what evolved into an incongruously progressive place. From the beginning there had been a quiet gay presence that eventually grew. In the 1990s, a couple — Jim and Jim — became regulars. They were caring for a friend who was dying of AIDS. That friend started to come as well.
“Bay Ridge is maybe the only red area of Brooklyn,’’ Kevin Joyce, who like his two siblings, worked at the bar at various points, told me. “I wouldn’t say we were in a super-tolerant environment. And yet, things like that happened.’’“Bay Ridge is maybe the only red area of Brooklyn,’’ Kevin Joyce, who like his two siblings, worked at the bar at various points, told me. “I wouldn’t say we were in a super-tolerant environment. And yet, things like that happened.’’
A decade or so ago saw the arrival of Billy Baby, who had been selling makeup at the Bloomingdale’s flagship in Manhattan since the 1970s and moved to Bay Ridge from the Bronx. Billy Baby (who is really William Zeoli but called that by no one) quickly became a fixture at JJ Bubbles.A decade or so ago saw the arrival of Billy Baby, who had been selling makeup at the Bloomingdale’s flagship in Manhattan since the 1970s and moved to Bay Ridge from the Bronx. Billy Baby (who is really William Zeoli but called that by no one) quickly became a fixture at JJ Bubbles.
“I said to Joe, ‘There are really no gay bars in this part of Brooklyn, and we need to make everyone feel welcome,’” he recounted. “We didn’t put a pride flag in the window,’’ he said. “But people brought their lovers and kissed and felt totally comfortable.”“I said to Joe, ‘There are really no gay bars in this part of Brooklyn, and we need to make everyone feel welcome,’” he recounted. “We didn’t put a pride flag in the window,’’ he said. “But people brought their lovers and kissed and felt totally comfortable.”
Joe was someone who “always had his hand in his pocket,” Billy said. “That’s an old Italian expression meaning you’re always ready to help someone.’’ Joe opened up JJ’s for Billy’s fund-raisers — for a neighborhood community theater, for children’s charities. He supported groups that raised money for food banks and organizations that helped battered women. He worked helping disabled children.Joe was someone who “always had his hand in his pocket,” Billy said. “That’s an old Italian expression meaning you’re always ready to help someone.’’ Joe opened up JJ’s for Billy’s fund-raisers — for a neighborhood community theater, for children’s charities. He supported groups that raised money for food banks and organizations that helped battered women. He worked helping disabled children.
Updated July 22, 2020 Updated July 23, 2020
On March 1, Joe Joyce and his wife, Jane, set sail for Spain on a cruise, flying first to Florida. His adult children — Kevin, Eddie and Kristen Mider — suggested that the impending doom of the coronavirus made this a bad idea. Joe Joyce was 74, a nonsmoker, healthy; four years after he opened his bar he stopped drinking completely. He didn’t see the problem.On March 1, Joe Joyce and his wife, Jane, set sail for Spain on a cruise, flying first to Florida. His adult children — Kevin, Eddie and Kristen Mider — suggested that the impending doom of the coronavirus made this a bad idea. Joe Joyce was 74, a nonsmoker, healthy; four years after he opened his bar he stopped drinking completely. He didn’t see the problem.
“He watched Fox, and believed it was under control,’’ Kristen told me.“He watched Fox, and believed it was under control,’’ Kristen told me.
Early in March Sean Hannity went on air proclaiming that he didn’t like the way that the American people were getting scared “unnecessarily.’’ He saw it all, he said, “as like, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax.”Early in March Sean Hannity went on air proclaiming that he didn’t like the way that the American people were getting scared “unnecessarily.’’ He saw it all, he said, “as like, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax.”
Eventually, Fox changed course and took the virus more seriously, but the Joyces were long gone by then. A spokeswoman for Fox News said that Mr. Hannity made statements taking the spread of coronavirus seriously early on, and that his comment about the public being scared by the coverage happened after the Joyces had left on their cruise.Eventually, Fox changed course and took the virus more seriously, but the Joyces were long gone by then. A spokeswoman for Fox News said that Mr. Hannity made statements taking the spread of coronavirus seriously early on, and that his comment about the public being scared by the coverage happened after the Joyces had left on their cruise.
On March 14, they returned to New York from Barcelona, and the next day, before bars and restaurants were forced to close in the city, Joe Joyce went to work at JJ Bubbles for the last time.On March 14, they returned to New York from Barcelona, and the next day, before bars and restaurants were forced to close in the city, Joe Joyce went to work at JJ Bubbles for the last time.
He and his wife then headed to their house in New Hampshire. Their children were checking in from New York and New Jersey, and on March 27, when Kristen got off the phone with her father, she called an ambulance. He was wheezing. His oxygen level turned out to be a dangerously low 70 percent. On April 9, he died of Covid-19. The following day, Artie Nelson, one of his longtime bartenders at JJ Bubbles, and also in his 70s, died of the virus as well.He and his wife then headed to their house in New Hampshire. Their children were checking in from New York and New Jersey, and on March 27, when Kristen got off the phone with her father, she called an ambulance. He was wheezing. His oxygen level turned out to be a dangerously low 70 percent. On April 9, he died of Covid-19. The following day, Artie Nelson, one of his longtime bartenders at JJ Bubbles, and also in his 70s, died of the virus as well.
It is possible, of course, that Joe Joyce did not contract the coronavirus on a trip to Spain, where almost 20,000 have died from complications related to it. Although the combination of being on a cruise ship — a proven petri dish for infections — and visiting a country with a full-blown outbreak is hard to ignore. But there was a way he might have avoided the trip, his daughter speculated. “If Trump had gone on TV with a mask on and said, ‘Hey this is serious,’ I don’t think he would have gone.”It is possible, of course, that Joe Joyce did not contract the coronavirus on a trip to Spain, where almost 20,000 have died from complications related to it. Although the combination of being on a cruise ship — a proven petri dish for infections — and visiting a country with a full-blown outbreak is hard to ignore. But there was a way he might have avoided the trip, his daughter speculated. “If Trump had gone on TV with a mask on and said, ‘Hey this is serious,’ I don’t think he would have gone.”
When her father began to feel sick, he resisted getting tested. “He didn’t think that he could have it,” Kristen said, “because he wasn’t 100 percent confident that it was a thing.”When her father began to feel sick, he resisted getting tested. “He didn’t think that he could have it,” Kristen said, “because he wasn’t 100 percent confident that it was a thing.”
Seven days before he was admitted to the hospital, Joe and Kristen had an argument about the emerging public health crisis, which Kristen described as the only dispute she ever had with her father that she wished she hadn’t won. “He said, ‘Don’t you think this is fishy? Do you know anyone who has it? Do you know anyone who has died from it?’ And I said, ‘Dad, I don’t know anyone now, but give me a week and I bet I will.’”Seven days before he was admitted to the hospital, Joe and Kristen had an argument about the emerging public health crisis, which Kristen described as the only dispute she ever had with her father that she wished she hadn’t won. “He said, ‘Don’t you think this is fishy? Do you know anyone who has it? Do you know anyone who has died from it?’ And I said, ‘Dad, I don’t know anyone now, but give me a week and I bet I will.’”