for once, not bad

I've been pretty negative in reviews about the Block, so to be fair, have to give a thumbs up here. The physical plant is nothing special (with one key exception), and at times, the atmosphere is sorta annoying, due largely to the bartender who runs the place like a factory (yelling, pushing drinks, etc.). But there are two major positives (warning: as with ALL block bars, things can change in a New York minute, but this represents 2-3 visits over a period of time, long enough to make hoping for the best realistic).

The lap dance area: It's at the far end of the bar, with both beads and a wooden frame that comes up about belt level. In short, it provides by far the best privacy of any lap dance area I've seen. In addition, the chairs back there are comfortable as all dickens, making it easy to sit back and relax. This is total contrast to the VIP room, which I have not used but have seen when open; it's a small, dirty room with a type of flat couch).

The girls: Again, this is relative, but at least in the day time, the last few times I've gone there's always been 3-4 pretty good looking girls; not just block good looking, but in general. There's also a wide selection of types, from cute, GND types to exotic looking, slightly older types. And its not just looks -- some of them can actually carry on pretty good conversations, as long as you're willing to go along with the "yes, I'm about ready to go back to school" or the more annoying "really need rent in a few days" scenario. But the lap dances are always fun -- while there's a YMMV, and there are very specific cutoffs for what will and wont happen (usually VIP upsell comes up), it's still a private, relaxed, fun time with a relatively good looking dancer. While that was the norm years ago, it's pretty damn rare now, and definitely worth checking out. There will be some hustler, and some of the best looking girls are very clear on the no-chat, let's get busy idea, but there are enough that if you're down on the block, it's a must go -- have at least one drink and see who comes by