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The Cock is a gay bar in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It is noted for its exhibitionist atmosphere and popularity as a cruising destination. Described as "a rarified taste of old New York and the cruisy gay scene that existed [there] in the '80s and '90s", the venue experienced frequent police raids in the late 1990s and early 2000s under Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The bar has relocated twice, and its 2015 move up Second Avenue was initially met with community opposition.

Description
The Cock is one of a few remaining cruising spaces in New York City, and photography is prohibited inside. The bar consists of two levels, with the basement serving as a dark room. New York magazine describes the venue as having "a rollicking backroom sex scene". The bar's street presence is minimal, marked only by a neon sign of a rooster. It is owned by Allan Mannarelli, a straight proprietor who also operates Albion, a bar in Kips Bay, and who used to manage Superdive, a now-closed establishment in the East Village.

History


The Cock opened in 1998, originally situated on Avenue A in Manhattan. Since then, it has relocated twice—most recently in 2015, when it moved to its present Second Avenue location. In its early years, the venue hosted exhibitionist shows organized by promoter Mario Diaz. According to New York magazine, "[the] sordid acts and general carefree air ... [attracted] not only horny young men but also plenty of spectacle-seeking celebrities," including Christina Aguilera, Boy George and George Michael. The bar was raided often during Rudy Giuliani's tenure as mayor of New York City, sometimes as frequently as twice per week. It was temporarily shuttered in 2000 for being a public nuisance. After the business reopened, it ran into legal trouble when patrons continued to smoke indoors after the 2003 statewide smoking ban, but its only formal citation was dismissed.

Mannarelli attempted to move The Cock to Avenue B in 2014, but the local community board rejected his application after learning that the venue would offer "drag shows, 'art performances,' and meat pies". The following year, The Cock successfully relocated up Second Avenue, into a space formerly occupied by a bar called the Lit Lounge. This move was met with resistance by the East Fifth Street Block Association, which opposed new venues in the nightlife-saturated neighborhood, and the locale's community board, which attempted to block the bar's liquor license.

In the 2010s, The Cock was managed by Nashom Wooden, a fixture of the New York City nightlife scene who performed in drag as Mona Foot and was a member of The Ones. Wooden also worked there as a bartender. During the same period, pornographic actor Boomer Banks began his career as a go-go dancer at the bar.

Reception
Of The Cock's current location, New York magazine says, "Despite the new space, [the bar] retains its penchant for irony-laced depravity: A young and young-acting crowd swells appropriately for a variety of theme parties, with go-go dancers and DJs every night." Alexander Cheves of them. magazine called the venue "the last filthy gay bar in New York", and he stated, "[T]here is — alarmingly — no other bar like it in the city and very few bars like it left in the country." In a list titled "The Absolute Best Gay Bar[s] in Manhattan", Mike Albo of GrubStreet.com ranked The Cock second with the following remark: "Rough-edged, covered in band stickers, and carved with little weird nooks and dark corners, this place is like a filthy, seductive, alluring alleyway." Time Out magazine writes that The Cock "is just the sort of dark, sketchy dive where you can unleash your inner sexy beast. The dearth of uptown attitude (or any apparent concern for cleanliness) pulls artists, musicians, writers, fashionistos [sic], tourists and closeted rebels, all of whom can appreciate a little dirty fun." Politico.com called The Cock "the neighborhoods [sic] most notorious gay bar".