[EVG file photo]
CB3's SLA committee last night voted against Allan Mannarelli's application to move the Cock from its current Second Avenue home several blocks north to the former Lit Lounge space.
However, according to a report by Lisha Arino at DNAinfo, Mannarelli plans to appeal directly to the State Liquor Authority.
Per DNAinfo:
“I have full intention of moving the bar there and we’ll try every avenue to do it,” he said after the meeting, adding that he was not surprised at the pushback from residents and the community board.
And…
Mannarelli said his intended move to Lit Lounge’s former digs was a strategic one. The space is larger, he said, and would allow the bar to host drag shows and gay karaoke. His current lease also has a demolition clause that allows the landlord to buy him out and give him eight months to vacate the space, he said.
Residents who were opposed to the move to the Lit space between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street said that the block was already oversaturated with bars, with 61 licensed operators in the immediate vicinity, among other reasons.
BoweryBoogie has details on a few other applicants here.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Confirmed: Lit Lounge is closing on 2nd Avenue
13 comments:
Seriously, my favorite thing in the world is drag bingo, so I'm a little ambivalent about this one.
Why is everyone giving the cock a hard time?
Wanna see a cock move up 2nd Avenue? Come out on Wednesday night.
Just another bad example of the residential-above and retail-below conflict. We don't dislike a good Cock, but it needs to be in a non-residentially zoned area like clubs used to be.
Unfortunately, there just are not as many industrial or manufacturing areas as there used to be, where the cool clubs were, so Bloomberg's rezoning debacle is just pitting businesses against residents. Bad for everyone, and that makes me sad.
The opposition to the Cock moving up the street:
1. The entrance to the proposed site is directly in line with a bus shelter, narrowing the sidewalk considerably. Any lines for shows or people hanging around outside is an impediment to foot traffic. The Cooper bar build out to the legal limit along with the bus shelter already creates congestion and difficulty for people walking on that side of the street.
2. Noise from the previous tenant, Lit Lounge, impacted the residents of the building as well as the residents in the backs of the buildings on 5th street that share a common back space as well as surrounding buildings and those across the street. Although the owner claims that he will control that noise, past experience both with Lit Lounge and previous dealings with the owner show otherwise.
3. While the block of the current location is mostly commercial, with most businesses closing in the evening, 2nd Ave between 5th and 6th St has two family -oriented restaurants (Thai and Indian),a liquor store Tokyo Toys open in the evenings. Congestion on the sidewalk and noise from the venue will adversely affect all of the businesses on the block in addition to the residents. Access for strollers, walkers, family groups, is impeded by any lines or hangers-on in this space.
4. This proposed site is now between the newly moved liquor store and whatever the Beer Factory (catty-corner) will be. Both are likely to attract drunken bros. Mixing the two constituencies in a crammed sidewalk space does not bode well for either...and I certainly don't want to be stepping off a bus in the middle of it...
Although the owner says he can keep the lines inside, it's hard to believe that everyone will want to wait indoors, with no light and little ventilation during Spring, Summer and Fall months.
5. The owner of the Cock left the CB3 meeting belligerent and angry. He made it clear to everyone within hearing that he had no intention to work with the neighbors, the block association or the community board to resolve any of the issues presented. Both sides are now antagonized and this does not make for a neighborly transition if the SLA eventually approves the license.
The opposition to the Cock's move has nothing to do with its patrons, only the conditions any new club with live shows and scheduled performances brings to the block.
I would love to see the Cock remain where it is but I also understand the issues with the lease and the possibility it can be shut down on short notice. Finding another site in the EV is near impossible because of the rents. Unfortunately, I am sad and heartbroken to see our many old businesses be forced out, especially those that made the EV what it was. I hope the Cock can find a more suitable space, if not in the EV, then somewhere near enough that it doesn't lose it's patrons.
CB3 finally got something right. We do have too many bars and clubs along this stretch of Second Avenue which interferes with pedestrian traffic, automotive traffic, quality of life issues of noise and dirt, criminal issues of public intoxication promoting vandalism and violence.
While the Cock is a quiet bar that always seems to be minding its Ps&Qs, it is still a bar.
old people whining loudly.
Young people spending money they don'have on alcohol to have the illusion that they are having fun.
@2:27 I don't think your understanding of "drag show" is correct. Rarely does a drag show create any sort of line outside -- it's just going inside to a bar, and at some point in the night a drag queen comes out and does a song / dance / whatever. The "shows" aspect of The Cock will in my opinion not cause any lines to be formed outside -- if there are any lines it'll be the same as a line for any old bar that doesn't have "shows."
and another things -- IT'S LEGAL NOW
This blog is full of commenters whining and complaining about local, long standing businesses being forced out by developers and chains--hypocrites. The Cock has been in the neighborhood for over 15 years and is one of the last gay establishments from '90's and '00's, when the East Village was welcoming of gay culture. This isn't the first time a gay bar hasn't been able to move into a previously noisy "straight" bar. Shame on you East Village. Bring on the "bro's" you deserving cows.
@9:40 AM This has nothing to to with a gay bar, it has to do with a belligerent owner who stormed out of the last CB meeting and has a history of running places that make tenants lives miserable. If you did a poll you would find that most people would prefer a well run chain store to a drunken noise riot run by a local money grabber.
To anonymous at 11:14 and 2:27 I have to take issue with your assessment of Mr. Mannarelli's behavior after the meeting. I was being interviewed by one of the reporters at the end of the meeting and Mr. Mannarelli stood nearby patiently until the reporter was finished with me. I then stood by and watched as he spoke to two different reporters. This occurred directly in from of the CB office. At no point did I see him "storm out" or act "belligerent" or "angry". On the contrary he was congenial and polite, a far cry it seems from the lynch mob mentality you both seem to possess. I was there against another item and I find it interesting how obsessed it seems some people are with this individual, who to me comported himself as a gentleman in full control of his emotions.
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