NYC Bar Owned By Coop's BF Hosts 'GoGo' Obama Fundraiser

BY Neal Broverman

September 10 2012 12:19 PM ET

Eastern Bloc co-owner Ben Maisani (left) and the president

Eastern Bloc, the popular East Village bar, hosted a hip fundraiser for the president on Saturday, complete with dancers wearing Obama boxer-briefs.

The president wasn't in attendance, nor did it seem was Anderson Cooper, whose boyfriend, Ben Maisani, co-owns Eastern Bloc. The event charged $100 a head, attracted about 150 people, and raised at least $10,000 for the president's reelection efforts. The event was hosted by model Karen Elson, Harper's Bazaar editor Derek Blasberg, and Sean Avery, the hockey player and fashion fixture. Male dancers entertained the crowd wearing underwear festooned with the president's image.

“We do these parties for gay porn stars at Eastern Bloc whenever [they’re] in town from L.A.,” said event organizer Mickey Boardman, the editorial director of Paper magazine. “It’s always a room of Village gays, socialites, porn stars, fashion people. . . . We thought, ‘Why don’t we do a go-go thing at Eastern Bloc for [Obama]?’ ”