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Nightlife is where so much of New York City culture is born, yet nightclubs all around the city are having an increasingly difficult time keeping up with soaring demands and prohibitively expensive rents.
The latest casualty? Paragon, the iconic nightclub on Myrtle-Broadway, which confirmed yesterday that it will close in April.
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"After almost 3 years of running a venue with some of the world’s best people we simply cannot afford the financial reality of this industry in 2025 and will be closing our doors this April," Paragon wrote on its Instagram post. "Please consider swinging by to pay your respects. We will miss you all." It also added that the business is now for sale.
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If you've never been, Paragon instantly stood out in the crowded field of Bushwick club venues when it opened in 2022: its over-the-top but still somehow sexy, with a primary dance floor boasting checkered floors that feel like they were pulled out of some rich lady's mansion. Clubbers popped champagne behind the DJs on the mezzanine level and danced frivolously above the crowd. Then, there was the basement level, with a smaller bar, ceilings with panels that lit up and corners dark enough to sneak in a whiff of Rush.
Paragon's existence signaled a Bushwick nightlife renaissance: It was proof that "underground" didn't have to mean precarious, and that we deserved nice things. Soon after it opened, Paragon hosted a Boiler Room, further cementing itself into our nightscape.
Luna La Sirena, the resident videographer at the venue, tells me that Paragon changed the trajectory of her life and career. John Baclays, one of the owners, allowed her to record Paragon's parties on her camcorder, and she began filming the DJ sets and ravers.
"They told me they had a vision of documenting this place like they used to in studio 54. It was genius," Sirena tells Time Out. "That’s the magic of this place. Purely John Barclays wildest manifestation. Paragon, even though didn’t last as long as we wanted will now be surrounded by the infamy of clubs like Limelight or Studio 54 and we have the footage to remember it by!"
And then there were the lineups: Whether it was a performance by LSDXOXO, sets by Juliana Huxtable and Eli Escobar or lesser known DJs on the come up, the curation ran the gamut but was always right on the underground pulse.
"John and the team single handled changed the game of what a Bushwick Club looks like," Maxwell Vice, who manages the nearby club Nowadays, tells Time Out. "There will truly never be a club or a team that understands the sound of the underground, but also how important it is to keep the community involved. Its a shame to see a business end like this, and in a climate where so many of us need a second home. We will always remember Paragon."
On X, there was discourse almost immediately after Paragon announced its imminent closure: "these clubs closing because nobody in brooklyn drinks alcohol and everybody is on the guest list SKFJAKFNAKFJSJ," wrote Alaska, the social editor at Paper.
The last time I was at Paragon in December, the downstairs bathroom had flooded and the dance floor was nearly empty. Admittedly, I was on the guest list. As I waited in line 20 minutes for the only functioning bathroom, I did wonder for a brief moment if this was the beginning of the end.
There's a sense in the neighborhood that if Paragon—a cultural giant—can't survive, then things for everyone else are looking pretty bleak, too. These days, I don't even know where nightlife is headed, and this closure will hit particularly deep. RIP Paragon. You gave us everything we needed and more.
Pay Paragon a visit before they close on Fridays and Saturdays from 9:30pm till 3am at 990 Broadway. Check its Instagram for upcoming lineups.