2. KGB Bar

KGB Bar is a Soviet-era theme bar in the East Village and a literary institution. The second-floor was once a speakeasy for Ukrainian Socialists. During the McCarthy era, the group had to meet behind double-locked doors. The KGB Bar opened in 1993 and has been hosting literary events since then. The upstairs, the Red Room at KGB Bar, functions as a Prohibition-inspired speakeasy.