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When the original Eagle, long a New York landmark, closed in 2000, it left Manhattan's leather-clad S&M community crying into their beers. This latest incarnation, a palatial two-story club located near the West Side Highway, manages to evoke its predecessor while actually outdoing it. We could go on about the décor—they spared no expense on the chain-link—but of more interest is the fact that the regulars who haunted the original Eagle have now been joined by a new generation of denim-and-leather fanatics (this could really be anybody who's bored with the pouty preeners who gravitate toward Chelsea or the self-consciously indie vibe of the East Village). The self-serious machismo once inherent in leather culture—that football game on the television isn't fooling anyone, by the way—has toned down considerably. (Patrons seem to be entertaining themselves with their leatherware as opposed to trying to prove something.) Of course, that still leaves plenty of room for pool-shooting, cigar-chomping, and boot-shining.

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Best of New York Awards

• Best Leather Bar (2002)