Another of Chelsea's rather garish sex-toy and porn stores, the Blue Store (206 8th Ave, 212-924-8315) has garnered its share of bad press since it opened in 2003, first stirring the ire of neighbors who complained about its relentless blue-neon facade and the neighborhood's seeming excess of such establishments. Then in 2005 cops shuttered the place for a bit following a prostitution sting. The store has cleaned up its act some and is still an excellent source of gay erotica, lube, and such - plus, the staff is generally quite friendly, if a bit indifferent about whatever you might be browsing or purchasing (and after all, isn't that what many people want from staff at a porn shop?).
More recently, the Blue Store drew the ire of New York's finest by presenting a vaguely erotic massage demonstration in its storefront window - Michael Musto of the Village Voice offered the following account of this November 2009 "event." The massages were performed by employees of the online company Manworks.com, a quite useful website that lists hundreds of gay massage workers around the world (most of them are in the U.S.).
The Blue Store competes with such neighbors as the Unicorn (around the corner, next to Barracuda gay bar), and Rainbow Station.