The Cock has moved its trademark neon rooster up a few blocks and it’s now glowing/crowing atop the former home of Lit Lounge. After going two rounds in what might be called a cockfight with Community Board 3, it looks like the gay bar and East Village institution has emerged with its feathers unruffled. Last night, the Oh, Fuck You Honey party was in full swing in the basement, which looks pretty much exactly like it did before Lit closed in July, with the notable addition of some gogo dancers, a shirtless bartender, and some red light bulbs strung up on the ceiling.
the cock
Community Board Blocks The Cock, Chance for a Bigger Cock Now in Hands of State Liquor Authority

The State Liquor Authority Committee at Community Board 3 convened yesterday evening (Photo: Nicole Disser)
Members of Community Board 3 tried to block The Cock from moving to the former Lit Lounge space at a meeting last night. But Allan Mannarelli, owner of the gay dive, is going forward with his plans despite outcry from neighbors.
“If they think I’m going to stand and get abused they have another thing coming,” Mannarelli had texted us before going before CB 3’s SLA committee.
More →
The Cock Is Moving into Lit’s Old Space, ‘Will Prevail’ Against Naysayers

Lit. (Photo: Daniel Maurer)
Yesterday, while sharing our oral history of Lit Lounge, we reported that Allan Mannarelli, owner of The Cock, was taking over the space. Today he confirms to us that he plans to move his Second Avenue dive a few blocks up into Lit’s currently shuttered home, and hopes to have bands like Scissor Sisters and Peaches play at the new incarnation of the “rock ‘n roll fag bar.” The potential move isn’t sitting well with the East Fifth Street Block Association, aka the “plywood patrol.” Ahead of a Community Board 3 meeting on Monday, the association is circulating a flyer demanding that neighbors “BLOCK THE COCK” and tell the “notorious” Mannarelli to “KEEP HIS COCK WHERE IT IS!!!!!”
More On The Cock’s Move, Alphabet City Wine Co.’s Expansion and More
Though the owners of The Cock aren’t saying anything about their possible move to 25 Avenue B, we’ve learned a little bit more about the dive’s new location via a liquor license questionnaire posted to Community Board 3’s website.
More →
Is The Cock Leaving the Block?
Anyone who thinks East Village grit vanished when Mars Bar closed has probably never walked a block over to The Cock, the equally ramshackle and (judging by the horrified Yelp reviews) even more rambunctious dive. But could that seedy throwback be leaving Second Avenue as well?
More →
Watch Amy Touchette and The World Famous *BOB* Discuss Their New Photo Book
The Strand has posted footage of last week’s talk between Williamsburg photographer Amy Touchette and The World Famous *BOB*. The duo met backstage at CBGB, then at Bliss Cafe on Bedford Avenue, and eventually spent a year collaborating on what’s now a photo book about the legendary “female female impersonator,” titled Shoot The Arrow. During the talk, *BOB* recalls doing her first burlesque show after her drag mother Jackie Beat told her, “You should mix a drink in your boobs, they’re big enough.”
More →