TV Eye

TV Eye is a 250-capacity music venue in Ridgewood, Queens, on the Bushwick border. Its defining feature is a former 1930s textile-factory interior reshaped into four connected bar rooms, a gallery, and courtyard, with the original wood floorboards retained for dancing and acoustics. The Ballroom concentrates the show experience: an arced stage, red-velvet curtain, curved bar, disco balls, custom DJ booth, large projection screen, and contemporary sound and lighting rig give a small room a deliberately produced feel.

A New Year’s opening, then a pandemic pivot

TV Eye opened on New Year’s Eve 2019 with Jonathan Toubin’s 13th Annual New Year’s Ball, entering Ridgewood as a venue-gallery built around music, food, art, and late-night gatherings. The ownership group brought together Caleb Braaten of Sacred Bones Records; Jonathan Toubin; Brian and Michael Swier, associated with Bowery Ballroom and Mercury Lounge; plus Todd Abramson, Amanda Haase, and Jasper McGandy. The team converted a former factory space into a multiroom club, while the textile-era floor remained in place.

Its first stretch as a club ran directly into COVID-era restrictions. In a 2021 interview, Toubin described TV Eye’s adaptation as a patio restaurant for roughly a year and a half, using newly built picnic tables and distanced seating. He recalled a full-club return in late June or early July, a reopening that restored the venue’s central mix of bands, DJs, social spaces, and courtyard activity.

How the room works today

TV Eye’s booking approach favors subcultural, community-based programming: rock shows and dance events anchor the calendar, with indie, alternative, metal, electronic, Latin, jazz, screenings, comedy, and multimedia events also fitting the format. Artists can submit through the venue’s booking form, with its booker responding when a relevant opening appears. For concertgoers, the key advantage is movement: the Ballroom handles the performance while the horseshoe-shaped front bar, smaller Peacock Room, gallery, hidden Room 237 bar, and heated courtyard create places to regroup before and after a set. Shows are generally 21+, with exceptions listed on individual ticket pages; wheelchair access runs through the patio.