12 Lost Gay Bars of New York Cy

Contents:

• THE 30 BT GAY BARS NYC
• THE 10 BEST NEW YORK CY GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS NEW YORK CY
• THE 15 BT GAY BARS NYC TO CHECK OUT
• A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF NEW YORK CY'S GAY & QUEER BARS
• GAY NEW YORK CY
• THE 10 BEST NEW YORK GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS NEW YORK
• ONE OF NEW YORK CY’S OLST GAY BARS IS NOW A HISTORIC LANDMARK
• NEW YORK CY GAY BARS
• TOP 5 GAY BARS NYC'S EAST VILLAGE

THE 30 BT GAY BARS NYC

27 plac sorted by traveler favorBars & Clubs • Gay BarsDowntown Manhattan (Downtown)Bars & Clubs • Gay BarsDowntown Manhattan (Downtown)Gay BarsDowntown Manhattan (Downtown)Bars & Clubs • Gay BarsDowntown Manhattan (Downtown)What travelers are saygDgn1010Dungannon, UK392 ntributnsSo ol to be drkg such a historil bar.

I went to a few gay bars, and by far this was the bt place to dance and the mic was the bt here, varied, and not too much dance mic like you got your head bangg a fish bowl! There are plenty of gay bars up and down 9th ave and there's no reason to spend money at a place that will treat you like total trash, threaten you, and be unnecsarily belligerent and make you feel unsafe jt bee they're on some kd of power trip. The Stonewall InnAny list of the bt LGBTQ bars New York Cy would be remiss not to clu the landmark waterg hole largely rponsible for lnchg the morn gay rights movement: The Stonewall Inn.

THE 10 BEST NEW YORK CY GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS NEW YORK CY

If late-night hunger hs, the Tex-Mex menu is surprisgly good; opt for Flamg Saddl’ signature Fro Pie—’s Fro rn chips smothered homema Texas red chilli, and ’s absolutely Maria BadasianAn East Village stutn for two s, the Phoenix Bar is one of the bt gay bars NYC for a reason4. ” Inspired by civil rights s-s and anized by the Mattache Society, the “Sip-In” was a public challenge to the state’s discrimatory policy of revokg licens of bars servg gay clientele—a precursor to Stonewall and an sential step towards legimizg the velopment of gay bars. CubbyholeAs acceptance and tolerance ntue to bee the way of the world, once exclive gay clubs NYC are now welg everyone and anyone—so long as you’re equally open-md.

THE 15 BT GAY BARS NYC TO CHECK OUT

LipsFor a sctillatg drag queen show paired wh an exquise culary experience, head straight to Lips—NYC’s go-to drag spot for over two s and a mt-clu on any gay travel gui to New York Cy. Marie's CrisisIn this laid-back, gay-popular venue Greenwich Village, mil theatre stunts, fun-lovg ctomers, and even the ocsnal celebry stop by to belt their favoure Broadway show tun to the acpaniment of a live pianist.

While bathho, drag balls, and good ol’ “Screech Beach” (also known as the beach at Jab Riis Park) were all important s for queer gathergs, the cy’s queer muny pecially thrived s gay bars. Bars allowed queer people to socialize whout a polil agenda and offered a space for them to celebrate their sexualy wh relative eedom—“relative” beg the key word, as homosexual solicatn was still illegal and police raids were mon. In New York’s gay bars, however, pri is a yearlong event—and for your nvenience, we’ve assembled a list of the bt LGBTQ bars the cy has to offer, om chic clubs to kky div to s-old queer strongholds.

A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF NEW YORK CY'S GAY & QUEER BARS

Consistently ranked as one of NYC’s bt gay bars by New York Magaze and The Village Voice, Indtry is known for s sizeable high-ceilged dance floor and dtrial athetic. In 1966, a full three years before the Stonewall Rts, Juli’ was also the se of the Mattache Society’s “sip-, ” a prott agast the then-mon practice of bars refg to serve alhol to gay people, that ultimately succeed forcg the State Liquor Authory to relax s discrimatory polici.

As one of only 21 lbian bars left the untry and one of three New York Cy (the other two beg Cubbyhole jt a few blocks north and Gger’s Bar Park Slope) Henrietta Hudson is fiercely mted to creatg a space that embrac members of the LGBTQ muny who are often left alienated queer spac domated by cis gay men. In recent years, some gay bars have begun dilutg the kks and raw sexualy that prevly fed the spac an effort to make them a ltle more accsible to heterosexual bar hoppers.

When the permanent versn of his avant-gar queer nightclub opened 2017, quickly beme known for s dazzlg, celebry-studd baret, drag, and standup performanc ( whose dienc Cummg himself n ocsnally be spotted) as well as for hostg events that might not be tradnally found a gay bar, such as jazz jam ssns and “drk and draw” nights wh live figure mols. Jt a few blocks om the cha rtrants dottg Tim Square, The Spot is one of Manhattan’s newt gay bars, recently opened by the owners of Hell’s Kchen mastay Rise Bar. Whether you're celebratg NYC Pri late June, planng a future trip to the Big Apple, or a lol lookg for a new bar to check out, here is a prehensive list of nearly every gay and queer bar NYC.

GAY NEW YORK CY

Alibi Lounge, Harlem: One of the cy's only gay, Black-owned LGBTQIA+ bars, this morn bar serv up a variety of specialty cktails, we, beer, and bar snacks. The Eagle NYC, Chelsea: Perhaps the send-most cise-y of New York's gay bars, the multi-level Eagle ters almost exclively to gay men, and gets more bchero on each floor. Juli', Wt Village: Another Wt Village stutn, 1966, a "sip " was held by activists at the bar to challenge the New York State Liquor Authory's regulatn that barred the servg of homosexuals.

Rz Bar & Lounge, Hell's Kchen: Smack dab the thick of the Theater District, multi-level Rz Bar & Lounge plays host to many good old-fashned dance parti, attractg a mostly younger gay crowd. The Toolbox Bar, Upper East Si: One of the few, if only, gay bars on the Upper East Si, this lorful, timate bar offers happy hour specials and regular live entertament.

Townhoe Piano Bar, Midtown East: Three bars, a piano room wh nightly performanc (and a drs ), this cktail lounge attracts a mix of senr and younger gay men.

THE 10 BEST NEW YORK GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS NEW YORK

Hombr Lounge, Jackson Heights: Self-proclaimed as havg the most Manhattan vibe of all Queens gay bars, Hombr Lounge attracts a diverse, predomantly Lat crowd and offers up tasty bar food wh s cktail menu.

It would figure that Williamsburg's premiere gay bar would have only a MySpace page as s webse—ah, the ironic retro ter—and this award-wng gay and lbian oriented bar is one of the most popular the borough, even moro durg the warm weather months due to s am...

The Boiler Room is as far removed thematilly as is geographilly om the Hell's Kchen and Chelsea gay scen—what New York lovgly lls a "post-gay gay bar"—where orientatn isn't a good enough basis for nversatn and beg the most over-the-top bottom won't w yo... Probably Manhattan's most clive gay club, Indtry is a b of an anomaly Midtown nightlife, that rare place you aim directly for stead of happen to end up at. Multi-level gay bar wh three differently themed rooms, om a banquette-stuffed lounge for dg and mglg, a simple but elegant bar, and a third for dancg and cisg.

ONE OF NEW YORK CY’S OLST GAY BARS IS NOW A HISTORIC LANDMARK

New York's Lost Gay BarsWe've known for many years that too many of our cherished gay bars and clubs are shutterg, fallg victim to risg rents and the ubiquy of apps like Grdr and Scff. The spac, whether always gay iendly or only durg certa tim of the day or week, gave LGBT people the eedom to be themselv a way they ually uld not be their personal or profsnal liv.

Photograph: Bertie ChengThis historic neighborhood is home to some of New York's bt and longt-standg LGBT and gay barsThe morn gay rights movement got s start Manhattan's Wt Village 1969, at the mafia-owned dive the Stonewall Inn. (In fact, Stonewall isn't even the neighborhood's olst gay hnt; that honor go to Juli's.) Gay bars here tend to veer toward the divey si, and that's jt fe by .

NEW YORK CY GAY BARS

The Stonewall Rts, also lled the Stonewall Uprisg, began the early hours of June 28, 1969 when New York Cy police raid the Stonewall Inn, a gay club loted Greenwich Village New York Cy. For stance, solicatn of same-sex relatns was illegal New York such reasons, LGBT dividuals flocked to gay bars and clubs, plac of refuge where they uld exprs themselv openly and socialize whout worry.

However, the New York State Liquor Authory penalized and shut down tablishments that served alhol to known or spected LGBT dividuals, argug that the mere gatherg of homosexuals was “disorrly. But engagg gay behavr public (holdg hands, kissg or dancg wh someone of the same sex) was still illegal, so police harassment of gay bars ntued and many bars still operated whout liquor licens— part bee they were owned by the Rights Before StonewallThe first documented U. Police raids forced them to disband 1925, but not before they had published several issu of their newsletter, “Friendship and Freedom, ” the untry’s first gay-tert newsletter.

TOP 5 GAY BARS NYC'S EAST VILLAGE

In 1966, three years before Stonewall, members of The Mattache Society, an anizatn dited to gay rights, staged a “sip-” where they openly clared their sexualy at taverns, darg staff to turn them away and sug tablishments who did. When The Commissn on Human Rights led that gay dividuals had the right to be served bars, police raids were temporarily Stonewall Inn The crime syndite saw prof terg to shunned gay clientele, and by the mid-1960s, the Genove crime fay ntrolled most Greenwich Village gay bars. And was one of the few—if not the only—gay bar left that allowed were still a fact of life, but ually rpt ps would tip off Mafia-n bars before they occurred, allowg owners to stash the alhol (sold whout a liquor license) and hi other illegal activi.

Stonewall's LegacyThough the Stonewall uprisg didn’t start the gay rights movement, was a galvanizg force for LGBT polil activism, leadg to numero gay rights anizatns, cludg the Gay Liberatn Front, Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lbian Alliance Agast Defamatn), and PFLAG (formerly Parents, Fai and Friends of Lbians and Gays) the one-year anniversary of the rts on June 28, 1970, thoands of people marched the streets of Manhattan om the Stonewall Inn to Central Park what was then lled “Christopher Street Liberatn Day, ” Ameri’s first gay pri para.

”In 2016, then-Print Barack Obama signated the se of the rts—Stonewall Inn, Christopher Park, and the surroundg streets and siwalks—a natnal monument regnn of the area’s ntributn to gay Gallery The Stonewall Inn is a bar loted New York Cy’s Greenwich Village that served as a haven the 1960s for the cy’s gay, lbian and transgenr muny. Most gay bars and clubs New York at the time were operated by the Mafia, who paid rptible police officers to look the other way and blackmailed wealthy gay patrons by threateng to “out” them. As -founr of the Gay Liberatn Front, Rivera was known for participatg the Stonewall Rts and tablishg the polil anizatn STAR (Street Transvte Actn Revolutnari).