There's a first time for everythg, but the first vis to a gay bar occupi an entire place of s own.
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HOW THE MOB HELPED ESTABLISH NYC’S GAY BAR SCENE
The Stonewall Rts, also lled the Stonewall Uprisg, took place on June 28, 1969, New York Cy, after police raid the Stonewall Inn, a lol gay club. The raid sparked a rt among bar patrons and neighborhood rints as police hled employe and patrons out of the bar, leadg to six days of protts and vlent clash. The Stonewall Rts served as a talyst for the gay rights movement. * gay club wikipedia *
But between New York’s LGBT muny the 1960s beg forced to live on the outskirts of society and the Mafia’s disregard for the law, the two ma a profable, if uneasy, the gay muny blossomed New York Cy the 1960s, members had few plac to gather publicly. At the time, was still illegal to serve gay patrons alhol, to display homosexualy public or for two gay people to dance together. Unr the guise of New York State’s liquor laws that barred “disorrly” premis, the State Liquor Authory and the New York Police Department regularly raid bars that tered to gay the law saw viance, however, the Mafia saw a goln bs opportuny.
“Fat Tony, ” purchased the Stonewall Inn 1966 and transformed om a bar and rtrant that attracted straight clientele to a gay bar and nightclub.
Dpe s ls-than-ial ndns, Stonewall quickly beme a popular statn the gay muny—even somethg of an stutn. It was the only place where gay people uld openly dance close together, and for relatively ltle money, drag queens (who received a bter receptn at other bars), naways, homels LGBT youths and others uld be off the streets as long as the bar was open. To operate s gay bars, the Mafia greased the palms of the NYPD.
THE BT GAY CLUBS MIAMI FOR A NIGHT OUT WH THE BOYS
* gay club wikipedia *
“Fat Tony, ” for one, paid New York’s 6th Precct approximately $1, 200 a week, exchange for the police agreeg to turn a bld eye to the “cent nduct” occurrg behd closed Photo<em>An NYPD officer grabs someone by their hair as another officer clubs a young man durg a nontatn Greenwich Village after a Gay Power march New York, 1970.
David Carter explas his book Stonewall: The Rts That Sparked the Gay Revolutn, that durg a typil raid, bar owners would change the lights om blue to whe, warng ctomers to stop dancg and drkg.
Sometim the ps even went to the extreme measure of sendg female officers to the bathroom to verify people’s get around laws that prohibed servg alhol to LGBT patrons, many gay bars—cludg the Stonewall—operated ostensibly as “bottle bars, ” private clubs where members would brg their own alhol. His book, The Mafia and the Gays, the mob also plied the gay flh tra, wh bouncers “pimpg out” patrons.