Cookie Gates at Lit Lounge (Photo by Erik Foss)
When Lit Lounge’s co-owner Erik Foss announced a month ago that the East Village institution would close after 13 years, we thought the place would have at least a few more wild nights in store if not the goodbye party of the decade. But after a particularly unseemly incident (even for Lit) a couple of weeks ago, the bar unceremoniously shuttered without so much as a nod and a “later, guys.”
Lit, the onetime “place where the Strokes hang out” and the only place that was Lit before a hundred places were “the new Lit,” is turning 16. In New York City nightlife years, that’s about 95, so who can blame the East Village bar for entering its teenage/golden years with a killer b-day party. Sure, the den of depravity atop a cavern of chaos has seen some changes over the years, but as you can see from the Friday the 13th-themed flyer, it can still draw a virtual dream team of downtown scenesters, including Ben Cho (Dima Dubson’s right-hand man during Morrissey night at Sway), Eric Duncan of Rub N Tug, Lit owner Erik Foss, and many more. It all happens Monday, Feb. 23, from 10pm to 4am — if nothing else, go chat up Paul Sevigny so you have a chance in hell of getting into his new place.