Pins & Needles: Bad Decisions — A Free Weekly Comedy Show in Ridgewood, Queens Starts September 24

You have made a bad decision recently. Statistically, you have made several. You texted the person. You quit the job, or worse, you didn't. You signed a lease on an apartment with a bathtub in the kitchen because the light was good at 4 PM on the one day you saw it.

Starting Thursday, September 24, you can hand that decision over to four comedians and let them do what your friends are too polite to do.

Pins & Needles: Bad Decisions is a new free weekly stand-up comedy show in Ridgewood, Queens, hosted by comedian and producer Taylor Drew. It runs every Thursday at 9 PM at Pixelated Records, 792 Onderdonk Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385. Admission is free. The show is one hour. The room is small enough that "intimate" is being generous, and that is entirely the point.

The premise: comedians comment on your bad choices

Here is how a night of Bad Decisions actually works.

Before the show, you submit a decision you're stuck on. A text, a QR code scan, thirty seconds on your phone while you're still on the L train. Should I move to Philly. Should I go back to school at thirty-four. Should I tell my roommate I know what he did. You can stay completely anonymous, or you can put your name on it — and if you do, you're getting called out in a room full of strangers who are already on your side.

During the show, four comedians do stand-up sets. Real sets, real material, the kind of tight New York City comedy that gets built on stages like this one before it goes anywhere bigger.

And somewhere inside each of those sets, the comic pulls a submission at random and deals with it live. No warning, no prep, no idea what they're about to read. They give you their honest advice, then pitch you the absolute worst possible version of your plan in loving detail, until the correct answer becomes obvious by process of elimination — and then they walk right back into their material like nothing happened.

Four comics, four decisions, four completely different reads on how to ruin your life. Nobody in the room knows which one is coming next, including the comic holding it.

It is not a roast. Nobody is there to humiliate you. It's closer to what happens when you tell a story at a bar and five people you barely know suddenly become deeply invested in your life for eleven minutes.

Why Ridgewood, and why a record store

Pins & Needles Comedy started as a tattoo-culture stand-up showcase — flash art, ink, the whole apparatus — and has run shows in New York City and a thirteen-night run at the Edinburgh Fringe. Bad Decisions is the stripped-down weekly spinoff. Same hand-drawn tattoo-flash look, same sensibility, none of the production overhead. Just a mic, a room, and whatever you people are doing with your lives.

Pixelated Records is a record store on Onderdonk Ave, which means the show happens surrounded by other people's excellent taste. Ridgewood has quietly become one of the best neighborhoods in New York City for this kind of thing: close enough to Bushwick that the comedy scene is deep, far enough that a Thursday night still feels like a discovery instead of a wait in line.

If you're looking for things to do in Ridgewood on a Thursday, or free comedy in Queens that doesn't come with a two-drink minimum and a guy at the door with a clipboard, this is a very easy yes.

Show details at a glance

• Show: Pins & Needles: Bad Decisions
• Host: Taylor Drew
• Premieres: Thursday, September 24
• Runs: Every Thursday, 9 PM
• Venue: Pixelated Records
• Address: 792 Onderdonk Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385
• Admission: Free
• Runtime: One hour
• Format: Four stand-up sets, each comic pulling a random audience-submitted decision mid-set

Who this show is for

• Anyone searching for a free stand-up comedy show in New York City on a weeknight
• People who like audience participation comedy but do not want to be dragged on stage
• Comedy fans who'd rather see four comics work a small room than one comic work a theater
• Anyone currently sitting on a decision they've already asked four friends about and gotten four useless answers

How to submit your bad decision

Submissions open before each show. Text it in or scan the QR code at the door, choose anonymous or attach your name, and then sit back and watch four professionals take your life apart with real affection.

You do not need to submit anything to come. Plenty of people will show up purely to hear what other people are considering doing, which is arguably the healthiest possible use of a Thursday.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pins & Needles: Bad Decisions really free?

Yes. Free entry, every Thursday at 9 PM at Pixelated Records in Ridgewood.

Where is Pixelated Records?

792 Onderdonk Ave, Ridgewood, NY 11385, in Queens.

How long is the show?

One hour. You'll be out with your night still ahead of you.

Do I have to participate?

No. Submitting a decision is completely optional, and you can submit anonymously if you'd rather not be identified.

Will my submission definitely get read?

Not necessarily. Each comic pulls one at random during their set, so a handful get picked each week. Everything else stays in the pile.

Is it a roast show?

No. The comics respond to your decision, give you their honest read, and pitch the worst-case version for laughs — but the show isn't built on tearing anyone down.

How early should I get there?

Early. The room is genuinely small, and a free weekly show in Ridgewood is not going to stay a secret for long.

Who hosts it?

Taylor Drew, a stand-up comedian, filmmaker, and producer based in New York City, who co-produces Pins & Needles Comedy.

Come make one good decision

Thursday, September 24. 9 PM. Pixelated Records, 792 Onderdonk Ave, Ridgewood.

Bring the choice you've been avoiding. Bring a friend who's making a worse one. Admission is free, the show is an hour, and at minimum you'll leave knowing that whatever you're doing, someone in that room is doing something significantly dumber.

For lineups, upcoming dates, and future Pins & Needles Comedy shows, visit pinsandneedlescomedy.com. For a faster response, reach out on Instagram @pinsandneedlescomedy.