“There’s no sitting on the party bus!” screamed a bearded man sporting a neck tattoo and glistening in sweat. He was stomping up the aisle of a pulsating bus — part of a crowd of about 30, drinking free Budweisers and catching a free ride from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to the Rusty Knot, a campy nautical-themed bar in the West Village.
It takes about 60 minutes to drive from Brooklyn to the bar, on West Street, with one extended stop in the East Village. But unlike most trips winding through the city, this does not seem like the longest hour of the riders’ lives — not in a bus tricked out with a dance floor, moody lighting, a D.J. and free alcohol. Not with Judas Priest blasting and cigarette smoke billowing.