[EVG file photo]
As we noted last week, there is a new tenant seeking a liquor license for the former Lit Lounge space at at 93 Second Ave. between East Fifth Street and East Sixth Street.
Turns out the Cock is looking to move up Second Avenue from its current home between East First Street and East Second Street. They are on this month's CB3 SLA committee meeting docket.
Meanwhile, there's already opposition — via the the East Fifth Street Block Association — forming to block the Cock…
This will not be the first time that the Cock has faced unhappy residents. Last fall, the Cock was looking to move from Second Avenue to 25 Avenue B, home at the time of Idle Hands. The Cock reportedly decided to withdraw when it became clear that the SLA committee was going to issue a denial.
Lit Lounge quietly closed at the end of July after 13 years at 93 Second Ave.
The August CB3 SLA committee meeting is Monday at the CB3 office, 59 E. Fourth St. between Second Avenue and the Bowery.
Previously on EV Grieve:
Confirmed: Lit Lounge is closing on 2nd Avenue
Reports: Prep school teacher arrested for having sex with 16-year-old girl in bathroom at Lit Lounge
51 comments:
This place is such a nightmare, and Alan Manarelli thought nothing of misleading the landlord, CB3 and the state SLA in order get the license for it when it first opened on 12th and A (it was going to be a "cruise ship-themed restaurant with seasonal menus", and he had gone so far as to have an architect draw up floor plans including a kitchen, and create sample menus). Why he is consistently allowed to profit from his blatant lies and complete disregard for the people in its vicinity who are forced to endure the nightmare that is The Cock I have no idea.
Normally I am sympathetic to this sort of thing, because no one wants to live above or next to a notoriously loud/crazy club. But if these people don't want the Cock to move to the Lit space, say specifically why the Cock shouldn't be there. Invoking colossal 6-month failure Superdive is pointless and weird. People barely remember Superdive at this point, and I say this as someone who lived directly across the street from it.
Furthermore "midgets" is a slur (the preferred term is little person or dwarf) and I'm sure these people thought they were being hi-larious by saying "What, do you want another all-you-can-drink-place with MIDGETS??" But they'll have to explain to the rest of us how having little people entertaining at a bar is a quality of life issue. Also why no one who saw this flyer before it was printed and distributed thought to say, "Hey, maybe we shouldn't take a cheap shot at little people."
tl;dr: you don't win support by coming off as assholes
Strikes me as a tad homophobic. Let's see - a straight pederast statutory rape brings yawns but a gay bar is an issue - "keep his cock where it is?" shouldn't they attach the confederate flag to this flyer as well ? is it 1915 or 2015 ?
I wish the Fifth St Block Association would expend its efforts on something positive and not hate filled disparagement..
How about helping Roman and his family reopen The Stage?
Seems like we save all our vitriol for bar owners but Croman, Shaoul and Icon run amok.
We as a community need to put our priorities in order.
The Rapture book store had a liquor license. They served cocktails at night when a portion of the space was used to host performers such as Karen Finley and Penny Arcade. So it's disingenuous to make it sound like they turned a book store into a bar. I'd take a gay bar over a frat bar any day. Different clientele. And yes, it does feel homophobic particularly in a neighborhood that was once gay friendly.
When the Cock was on 12th @ A (my block) I don't recall hearing much if any noise from it's customers. Of course our block as well as most the EV was a hell of a lot quieter then. I never thought of gay bars (perhaps this is more of a club) as being particularly loud but the people living next to the present location could attest to this better than I. I'm at a point where I would love to have a ban on any new bar (even relocating) from opening in our neighborhood. There are enough now and we all know more bars means more problems to everyone except the bar owners and the NY SLA. As every inch of Manhattan is becoming residential and high end residential it is typical that the poorer neighborhoods get the honor of hosting the city's worst nightlife scene. There is no 13th Step on Park Avenue or in Tribeca.
This isn't about a Gay bar- I lived across from both Superdive and the Cock when it was at 12th and A. Both were loud messes. Mr. Mannerilli did a terrible job of managing noise and crowds at both. Believe me nobody on the block has forgotten Superdive or the late night yelling and arguments that spilled out of the Cock. Rapture was supposed to be a bookstore but Mannerilli couldn't leave well enough alone and turned into one of the worst bars on Ave A. You don't want any of his bars on your block if you value your quality of life.
I walk past almost every night around midnight and there's much more noise coming from that new dance studio than from The Cock.
The only question I have is do they play any Taylor Swift songs, and how many will they play in a row? Cause you can't really be gay-gay unless you have some Tay-Tay on the play-play.
Why doesn't The Cock just stay in its current hole?
I love the holier than thou progressives claiming any criticism of a bar with gay clientele is homophobic, as if gay people are now above any criticism at all just for being gay. Do you people have any idea how juvenile you seem. Leveling claims of homophobia and bigotry at people who are fed up with noisy nightlife is pathetic. A gay club deserves just as much criticism as any other bar/club if the owner of said club has had problems with the community before.
I agree with this:
I walk past almost every night around midnight and there's much more noise coming from that new dance studio than from The Cock.
Let the Cock come up the street.
i'd guess it's moving for the usual reasons, rent increase.
one bar changes to another bar, what's the problem? and it's a neighborhood bar to begin with.
The Cock is an institution. A sleazy, degenerate, drunk, sometimes loud, institution. I've had more fun times than made poor decisions there over the past decade+ and would be sad to see it go. I think it's disingenuous to complain about gentrification and losing neighborhood character while trying to bounce a place that's flying in the face of all that. Also, it's 2nd Avenue, not mid-block, and it's replacing Lit Lounge - not a big change if you ask me. Rock the Cock!
Block the 13th Step and the rest of those Petri dish bars on Bro Way.
Seriously, what's the issue? I've never seen the current incarnation of the Cock to be loud; certainly not like bars right up 2nd Avenue...
I am gay, and I lived two doors down from the Cock when it was on Avenue A and 12th Street. The clientele weren't the problem. The guys didn't stand outside screaming and acting like idiots like the frat boy/sorority girl woo-hooers do. But the place itself was loud. Insanely loud. Again, I lived two buildings away, and my living room floor vibrated from the music, and whenever they opened the side door that opens out onto 12th Street, the blast of music was outrageous. I couldn't believe it. The patrons must have all been deaf. They apparently didn't do any soundproofing, and the management and DJs pumped up the volume to whatever they wanted, not caring at all about how it affected us neighbors.
Thid is NYC you uppity pigs. If you cannot handle noise then movie to Long Island. Leave the Cock alone!
I love how people cherry pick what they do and do not remember about bars/clubs they frequented/only heard about 20 years ago.
College kids are annoying etc., but nothing today will ever compare to what used to go on in bars like the cock.
Does anyone remember the contests they held there? The live sex shows? The fun of coming how late and seeing two people "fooling around" behind the trash cans on 12th street? The area always smelling like piss and the low life drug dealers that sold there? Noise lol, until 2AM if we were lucky.
Millenials don't even hold a candle to the fun we had.
Yea good luck moving with the opposition from the new stroller patrol and in bed by ten crowd. You all grew up, for better or for worse.
Just a bunch of rent stabilized senior citizens crying about how their quality of life is infringed whiled the majority of the community wouldn't bat an eye.
Hi, I can't wait to hear why you assert that the cock is a nightmare.
I, and everyone should, respect rent-stabilized seniors! Don't throw in and disparage such good people in with the crazies that put up this poster!
I live squarely between the Cock and lit Lounge, and can pledge that the patrons of Lit Lounge were A GREAT DEAL more irresponsible, loud and impetuously drunk. The men and women who frequent the East Village establishment that is cock very usually don't value loudness as part of their nightlife, or they'd visit a more boisterous bar.
The, 'But This is a Quiet Residential Neighborhood' claim doesn't hold up. It was less than two decades ago that the neighborhood was a impenetrable place synonymous with robbery, Gangs, and copping Heroine.
I live on a loud corner of 2nd Ave, and while I myself get annoyed with party-goers on any night (especially a Saturday when I like to stay in) refusing a bar it's privilege to open won't stop party goers, it'll just stop gay people from having a place to party.
Lit lounge was one of the most boisterous, indiscreet and impetuously drunk places in the east village. This is a step up by all means.
@12:31. Last week there was some absurd diatribe over nothing because a coffee place wanted to open. There have also been screeds about other coffee shops, gyms, cookie stores, bagel shops, ice cream places, wing joints, and there really is little rhyme or reason to it. It's sort of like that bitter old man that everybody had in their neighborhood growing up that gets angry about anything, everything and (particularly) everyone that has been around here for less than 20 years. Just pay no attention. It encourages them.
I lived on 12th btwn A + B back when the COCK was there and I'll take the COCK over any douche-frat-bro bar ANYDAY.
@ Anon 10:46- Dirty!
I can't wait to see who amongst our community will speak on behalf of moving a known infamous bar further down and closer to the heart of the EV.
Please be sure to record and remember who they are and what they say. Please be there to watch these supporters of Manerelli forever lose their credibility in wanting to help our community.
I agree, we should leave trash like this behind us.
BUT THE SUPREME COURT SAYS ITS LEGAL
Can't we just get back to talking about Taylor Swift?
I live on 5th St and attend the block association meetings. About 50% of the time, I oppose their decisions on liquor licenses, finding their reasoning absurd and with absolutely no understanding of running a business.
At the same time, having a noisy bar around the corner run by someone with no concern or respect for the neighbors is of great concern.
What I am gathering from the above posts is that this owner has, in the past, run a noisy and intrusive establishment. However, somewhere along the line he may have learned a lesson or two and the Cock is now a better run business?? It's really hard to tell as there are such opposing opinions here.
I don't like the block association automatically fighting every liquor-serving establishment and would be willing to support the Cock if I had a better understanding of where they are today. I guess I could walk around for a few nights and check out the scene, but anything anyone here can add to sway me either way is appreciated.
Those rent protected senior citizens are cooler than you'll ever be. They were here when this place was what it's famous for. I didn't move here until recently but used to come up on a regular basis. My boyfriend and were big fans of The Fugs (and later personal friends of Tuli). I'm not what you'd call a senior citizen... My twenties was in the Eighties (lucky for me my 27 year old boyfriend and I listen to the same music - hee hee!). When I first moved here I wondered where all the gay bars went. The punk bars are long gone - I say we should encourage them to flourish and prosper. I tried to wrap my head around why I don't like the bros & hos... It's the "I'm better than you" attitude, the propensity for them to smash everything that's waiting for trash collectors to pick up, and the dumb animal stare while they drunkenly yell "dude whaddup wid dat bitch - she was gonna do #%£$@*^€ what da fuk is dis mirror near my car?!?!" (Sounds of breaking glass).
and I was hoping to use this space for my new artisanal frozen yogurt store.
@2:56, Maybe they were *in their day*, or maybe they weren't. But they certainly aren't now. I don't think that they were as crotchety 25 years ago.
As for the "I'm better than you" vibe, I think the pot may be calling the kettle black. There is a ton of that going on from the old timers as well. I'm not going to necessarily claim that they have a worse case of it, but I think it would be hard to refute. Suffice it to say that there is a lot of it going around from both sides. Just read the comments for any given day, and say that the old timers don't place themselves on one hell of a high horse. For example, trying to shut down anything that doesn't serve their demographic. The younger guys don't do that. For example, if a punk bar were to try to open (there are still a couple around and agree would be cool if they made a comeback) you wouldn't see a bunch of 25 year olds try to block with SLA or CB3. You don't see the younger residents (and likely majority at this point) calling for, let's say B&H to be shuttered out of pure contempt for the older generation, like the old guys do with (bizzarely) coffee shops and black seed bagels.
As for the asshole behavior, sadly, every generation has assholes, and there's nothing that can be done about that. In the 80s, the assholes of that day were into stabbings, muggings, robberies and break-ins (or some combination thereof). I think we can agree that was worse. Do such things still happen now? Sure, but not nearly to the same degree.
Finally, good on you with the younger man! You sound awesome. (See there can be cross-generational respect. It just sometimes takes a little patience and listening).
The 25 year olds won't block anything because they're transients. All they care is that there's some small portioned, over priced, trendy food they can wait on line for to Instagram and a gutter to sit in and eat it.
@2015 at 4:39 PM
There are a few good things that come with living 50-60-70 years and it is experience and hopefully a bit of wisdom. The 20 somethings can only live in today they have little to reference what they are experiencing at this time and place. Fighting for the survival of institutions meaning a place that has benefitted a generation or a few generations should not taken as misplace nostalgia. I've always had an interest in history, culture(s) and trends and I am grateful to previous generations great contributions in music, art, literature etc.... I would even include various ethnic restaurants in that group.
Funny you mention punk and punk clubs which I have to say, please let that one go. Punk was not just about black leather jackets, mohawks and thrashing about on stage, it was about rebellion, being pissed off by stupid shit and looking for something better. I don't see much rebellion in the youth of today so any talk about being punk sound hollow to me.
On the surface the young people out on the streets of the EV seem pretty much tame (when sober) born to shop and consume constantly. This generation inhabiting the EV has money, these are not the young from the ecumenically depressed 70's and 8os. but a generation that yelps, photograph their meals, and despite their social media addiction and the large groups the amass to buy cronuts, they are shut off and tuned out when walking down the street.
Let the Cock up a few blocks, please. Keep the character of our neighborhood (and it's not that noisy - Irene on the door is terrific - learned to remember her name the night the hurricane was due) Or would you just rather another Chase bank?? If we are at all serious about stopping gentrification and losing the old flavor, say yes to Cock!
@anon 12:05, keeping the old flavor of the neighborhood does not mean moving a bar that is a good for hooking up and to score a bag of blow closer to my home. I will have to say no and remind my neighbors of its infamous history.
@7:05 AM
Aren't most bars known for people "hooking up"?
7:05am would prefer a shitty bro bar, obviously
Hopefully you will attend the CB3 meeting and be a fair voice of reason willing to discuss this like te intelligent adult you apparently are.
Many other respondents are fair and balanced- like Fox News that is.
Sad. Complaints from people who want to sit at home on Sat night and hear nothing. There is major generational conflict. What will happen as the entrenched RS lifers get older and even more bitter and angry? Should bars close at 10? Should young energetic kids not go out? It's an identity crisis. Bitch about suburban types and then act like them
Pine for your selective memories of the old days because you were better than these darn kids with their smartphones and their noise. Is the Grieve in EV Grieve people grieving for their youth and prime? Grieving because the city has moved along and you feel left behind? These kids are in their prime in an America that elected a Black President, and legalized gay marriage and has Obamacare helping millions. What was accomplished when you were in your 20s? Putting a needle in your arm as an act of rebellion? It's tired hearing the same old tired complaints from tired people
My hat is off to Anonymous 5:57!
Why does everyone try to generalize so hardcore about each generation?
If that is all that place means to you then you may need to check your privilage...or at least compare it to lit lounge and then rethink that statement
leave the cock alone, it's not noisey, there's rarely anyone there. all of the guys are on their phones finding dick on scruff. now what can we do to close down these generic heterosexual sidewalk-seating bars like WineBar, Dempseys, etc.. that's where the real noise (and lack of culture) problem is stemming from on 2nd ave...
Yes, because no one over 30 voted for Obama. Or went to the Cock when it was the real Cock on Avenue A. Old people are clearly the problem here, even though many of us are DISAGREEING with the little people-hating fools who made this flyer.
Sit your silly Millennial ass down, it's not my problem you're overpaying for your shitty 2nd Ave studio.
I'm with Anonymous 12:12
Don't judge the generations- just show up, sign up to speak, and be heard. Pro or con!
Anon 6:35- not a millenial. And I own. I'm talking about the angry bitter 57 yr olds. And you clearly know what Im talking about which is why you responded. 'Yesterbating' is the new pastime here. Thats what old bitter angry people do. Wave your walking stick and tell your stories. Sitting at home on Sat . Scary right? These people are young enough to be your kids. Deal with reality. Drink some ensure. Read AARP magazine. Dye your hair black and complain about everything. Ots a social experiment. Old punks who wont move to FL
9:46, you're just ranting nonsensically. Do you even have a point? I'm not bitter, I'm hardly 57, and I like the young people and I liked the Cock back in my day. Bet you are real proud of "yesterbating," though the people at work have talked behind your back that while clever, they'd really like you to stop forcing it into every conversation.
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