ABSTRACT
In response to governmental crackdowns on venues carried out on the basis of the three people dance provision, clubs and bars developed tactics to evade cabaret law violations (Healy 2003; Steinhauer 2004). Illegal cabarets like Cooler in the meatpacking district (which is currently defunct), or Pyramid in East Village (which is no longer illegal), used tactics prevalent among “stealth” gay clubs in the 1960s. Once the presence of the so-called MARCH (Multi-Agency Response to Community Hotspots) 1 was detected in the neighborhood, a message would be hurriedly conveyed to the DJ of the bar. Once the MARCH squad stepped inside the venue, they would find people chatting with each other over drinks while lounge music played in the background, with no dancing in evidence.
