Greenpoint has spent over a century building its reputation as Little Poland, home to the second-largest Polish population in the country and a neighborhood where pierogi shops and Polish bakeries still outnumber just about everything else.
This September, a corner of the waterfront is borrowing from a different European country entirely.
Zum Schneider, the 25-year-old German beer hall institution that got its start as a homesick founder’s fix for real Bavarian beer in the East Village, is turning Franklin Point into a full Wiesn-style Oktoberfest for the second year running, tents, steins, lederhosen and all.
It’s already shaping up to be one of the city’s largest Oktoberfest events, and we have all the details on how to get involved.
From East Village fix to full-blown Bavarian takeover
Founder Sylvester Schneider opened the original Zum Schneider in 2001 with a simple, personal motive: he missed real German beer and decided the East Village needed a proper Biergarten more than he needed to keep looking for one.
And it definitely worked.
The spot became a fixture of Alphabet City, known just as much for its World Cup viewing parties and in-house soccer club as its beer list, and it’s spent the better part of 25 years as one of the city’s most reliable spots for actual German hospitality.
Oktoberfest, or “Munich on the East River” as Schneider calls it, grew out of that same instinct.
What started as pop-up World Cup screenings eventually turned into a full seasonal tent event, and after a standout debut at Franklin Point last year, Schneider is bringing the whole operation back to Greenpoint for round two.
What’s actually happening at Franklin Point
Here’s everything on tap for this year’s run.
The setup mirrors Munich’s actual Wiesn about as closely as New York gets: beer served exclusively in traditional one-liter Steins, a fully decorated beer hall built out for the occasion, and a rooftop Biergarten with sweeping East River views for anyone who wants their pretzel with a skyline attached.
On the drink side, expect four proper German imports, Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, Schneider Weisse, and HB Traunstein, plus non-alcoholic German beer, wine, cider, Aperol Spritz, and soft drinks for anyone skipping the stein.
Food leans just as authentic too.
The menu runs through crispy Haxn (roasted pork shank), Wiesn Hendl (rotisserie chicken), Obazda (a Bavarian cheese spread most New Yorkers have never tried), imported giant pretzels, and a full lineup of traditional sausages.
Servers work the floor in lederhosen and dirndls, communal tables fill up fast, and the band Mösl Franzi & the JaJaJas plays a set of Bavarian singalongs designed to get an entire tent clapping and swaying at once.
Classic Wiesn games like Dosenwerfen (that’s German for can-tossing) round out the entertainment, along with a themed photo booth, and the whole thing is built to work for families, with kids 12 and under getting in free alongside a ticketed adult.
Ticket options at a glance
General seating runs $25 on weekdays and jumps to $35 on Saturdays, while reserved seating starts at $35 and climbs to $45 for the Saturday dates.
VIP access is set at $110, and anyone looking to go all out can book an all-inclusive table for $2,250.
Rooftop Biergarten access alone, for anyone who just wants the view and a beer in hand, runs a flat $15.
Tickets are on sale now through ZumSchneider.com, and available for the entire weekend of festivities, which runs from October 1 – 4.