Uptown Favorite Coogan's Will Stay In Business

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Washington Heights restaurant and bar Coogan's, which has served the community from its Broadway and West 169th Street spot since the 80s, is staying in business — with a little help from its Uptown friends.

Just days after Coogan's announced that a rent hike would mean the end of the popular business, the bar successfully negotiated a new lease with its landlord — New York Presbyterian Hospital — local Congressman Adriano Espaillat announced.

"Proud to be a small part of the handshake agreement between [NewYork- Presbyterian Hospital and Coogan's] alongside many other Coogan’s fans," Espaillat Tweeted Friday night.

Elected officials such as Espaillat and Borough President Gale Brewer helped broker the deal between Coogan's and New York Presbyterian, the restaurant announced on its Facebook page. Broadway superstar Lin-Manuel Miranda — a Washington Heights native — and his father also intervened to help the business.

Miranda celebrated the deal at Coogan's.

Coogan's first announced it would be forced to shut its doors later this year on Wednesday. New York Presbyterian had attempted to raise the rent up to $62,000 per month, Coogan's owners Peter Walsh, Dave Hunt and Tess McDade first told the Manhattan Times.

The restaurant opened in 1985 and quickly became a gathering place for the diverse Washington Heights neighborhood. During the neighborhood's dark days of the 80s and 90s — which were plagued by drug-related violence — the restaurant remained open.

Photo by Google Maps street view