Millennials itching for a taste of late-night TV celebrity fandom should head to Avenue A beloved dive bar Niagara, known by locals to be a favored haunt of The Tonight Show’s funny guy, Jimmy Fallon. The Alphabet City hipster haven is an after-work magnet for suit-and-tie-clad Fallon and his posse (often with female summer interns among the fray). Owned by East Village fixture Jesse Malin – who also helms Bowery Electric – Niagara was created to fill a gap in the market for a corner bar that would be a Frank Sinatra’s fantasy watering hole, where traveling musicians could chill out in between tours, swap sordid tales from the road, and drink for free. Populated by a grungy, rocker crowd, Niagara features a diverse Rolodex of live acts and comedy shows, and with $4 draft beers, $5 well liquor and frozen drinks, and a 4AM close time, a visit to the hipster hangout makes for a relatively cheap night out. Decorated with vintage cigarette signs, a photo booth and other pop-culture nods to the neighborhood’s grittier, pre-gentrification era, Niagara provides a space for those idealists in search of a scene from a bygone era when Starbucks wasn’t on every street corner. Infamous for being one of New York’s top pick-up bars, the crowd ranges from a mix of trust-fund frat kids to indie rock devotees. Check out Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara’s expert graffiti on the bathroom doors for a dose of downtown cool. While you’re unlikely to find yourself getting stabbed in a modern-day drug-dealer-versus-punk-rocker turf war, you might be lucky enough to nab a drunken selfie with Fallon. Just avoid talking politics with your neighbors at the bar. Note: Niagara has a strict door policy – all patrons must present valid ID on entry.
