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Of course, part of The Tool Box's appeal lies in its low-key, neighborhood bar vibe. Bar and The Townhouse, both on East 58th Street. Located on Second Avenue just south of East 91st Street, the closest gay bars to it are more than 30 blocks south: The O.W. "People live there, but they don't live there." And nowhere is the difference between living and living on the East Side more noticeable than in its sole gay bar, The Tool Box. "I don't know anyone who goes to the Upper East Side unless they live there," says nightlife stalwart John Russell, a fixture on the gay bar scene. After all, even people who don't go in for the cachet of snagging a table at Butter or celebrating their birthday with drinks at Socialista rarely venture uptown on the 4/5/6 trains.
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But as outlandish as the television show can be and as dated as Wolfe's satire now is, there is one important aspect of life on the Upper East Side that rings true in both: all of the characters do their hard-core partying downtown. For another, it will always be the chilly setting of Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities. A NIGHT INSIDE THE UPPER EAST SIDE'S ONLY GAY BAR By Mark Peikert For a certain demographic, the Upper East Side has become synonymous with The CW's teen soap opera Gossip Girl over the last year.