How the Mob Helped Establish NYC’s Gay Bar Scene | HISTORY

Contents:

• THE 10 BEST WT HOLLYWOOD GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS WT HOLLYWOOD
• GAY BARS NEAR ME
• HOW THE MAFIA MCLED AND CONTROLLED THE STONEWALL INNBULLY OF THE TOWNGREENWICH VILLAGE WAS THE GENOVE FAY’S BACKYARD, SO OF URSE THE MOB HAD A HAND EVERY EXTRA-LEGAL ENTERPRISE, STARTG WH BARS THAT TERED TO GAY PATRONS.RONALD K. FRIEDUPDATED NOV. 20, 2019 11:42AM EST / PUBLISHED JUN. 29, 2019 10:18PM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY ELIZABETH BROCKWAY/THE DAILY BEASTAFTER THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE STONEWALL RTS, GRAFFI SCRAWLED NEXT TO THE BOARD-UP BAR SUMMARIZED THE FORC ALIGNED AGAST GAY BAR PATRONS NEW YORK 1969:PROHIBITIONCORUPT$ COPS$FEED$ MAFIA A PAMPHLET SOON APPEARED URGG GAY NEW YORKERS TO “GET THE MAFIA AND THE PS OUT OF GAY BARS.”  ITS THOR WAS CRAIG RODWELL, OWNER OF THE OSR WIL MEMORIAL BOOKSHOP GREENWICH VILLAGE, AND AN EARLY PROPONENT OF THE NEED TO STAND UP TO THE POLICE AND THE GENOVE CRIME FAY, WHICH AT THAT TIME NTROLLED MOST GREENWICH VILLAGE GAY BARS, CLUDG THE STONEWALL INN. IT’S A MEASURE OF THE URAGE DISPLAYED BY THE NIZENS OF THE STONEWALL AND THEIR SUPPORTERS THAT THEY WERE, EFFECT, TAKG ON TWO GANGS: THE MAFIA AND THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT. THAT’S BEE BACK THEN THE NYPD OFTEN FUNCTNED AS A LEGALLY SANCTNED GANG THAT HARASSED GAY MEN AND WOMEN.“IT WAS REALLY HEROIC,” SAYS ALEX HORTIS, THOR OF THE MOB AND THE CY, AN EXHSTIVELY REARCHED HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK MAFIA. “A LOT OF PEOPLE NEW YORK WERE TERRIFIED OF THE MAFIA. IMAGE BEG UP AGAST NOT ONLY THE LEGAL APPARAT, BUT ALSO THE UNRWORLD.” RUNNG GAY BARS WAS ACTUALLY AN IAL BS FOR THE MOB.“THE MAFIA DIDN’T PICK ON PEOPLE THEIR OWN SIZE,” SAYS HORTIS, WHOSE NEXT BOOK FOC ON THE MOB’S ROLE GAY BARS NATNWI. “THEY TEND TO PICK ON THE WEAK, PECIALLY PEOPLE WHO ULDN’T GO NNG TO THE POLICE.” AND AS LATE AS 1969, THIS WAS CERTALY TE OF THE LGBT MUNY. DRAG QUEENS WERE PECIALLY VULNERABLE SCE WAS ILLEGAL FOR A NEW YORKER TO DRS AS A MEMBER OF THE OPPOSE SEX.  THE MOB’S DOMATN OF GAY BARS WAS A NATURAL OUTGROWTH OF S ROLE NNG SPEAKEASI DURG PROHIBN. THE 25TH AMENDMENT, WHICH END PROHIBN 1933, GAVE STAT “VIRTUAL RTE BLANCHE THORY TO REGULATE ALHOL,” SAYS HORTIS, A PRACTICG ATTORNEY WHO BRGS HIS LEGAL EXPERTISE TO HIS ANALYSIS OF MAFIA HISTORY. THE NSTUTNAL CHANGE HAND STATE ERNMENTS A TOOL TO CRACK DOWN ON HOMOSEXUALS.  WHAT FOLLOWED WAS WHAT HORTIS LLS, “GAY PROHIBN—A FORM OF ALHOL PROHIBN, EXCEPT THAT THE RTRICTNS WERE ON HOMOSEXUALS.” AT TIME OF THE STONEWALL UPRISG, SAME-SEX KISSG AND DANCG BARS WAS NSIRED “DISORRLY NDUCT” AND ULD RULT THE LOSS OF A LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE BAR.IN THIS HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, GAY BAR OWNERS NEED PROTECTN OM THE POLICE—A SERVICE THAT THE MOB HAD FE-TUNED DURG PROHIBN. AND MANY MEMBERS OF THE GAY MUNY ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP THEIR BARS OPEN WAS TO RELY ON THE MOB. AS HORTIS PUTS , THE MAFIA “KNEW HOW TO TURN THE REGULATORY STATE TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.”THE STONEWALL WAS NOMALLY OWNED BY THREE MAFIA-NNECTED LOWLIF. THE REAL BOSS, HOWEVER, WAS GENOVE FAY PO MATTY “THE HORSE” IANNIELLO.  THE GANGSTERS WHO RAN THE STONEWALL REPORTEDLY PAID THE SIXTH PRECCT OF THE NYPD A MONTHLY STIPEND OF $1,200 TO KEEP THE CLUB NNG WH ONLY TOKEN POLICE TERFERENCE.  AND THE MOB KNEW HOW TO ELIMATE ANY PETN. “THEY KNEW IF THEY GOT THE RIGHT POLICE THEIR POCKET, THE POLICE ULD SHUT DOWN ANY BAR,” HORTIS SAYS. IF THAT FAILED, THREATS ALWAYS WORKED. A MEMBER OF “THE FAY” WOULD SHOW UP TO EHER SHUT DOWN A PETG GAY BAR OR JT TAKE OVER. “ULTIMATELY ’S THE THREAT OF VLENCE THAT BACKS UP EVERYTHG,” HORTIS STRS.AND, OF URSE, AS HISTORIAN DAVID CARTER TAILS HIS EXCELLENT STONEWALL: THE RTS THAT SPARKED THE GAY REVOLUTN, THE MOBSTERS WERE TERRIBLE BAR OWNERS WHO RED ONLY ABOUT MAXIMIZG PROFS. THE STONEWALL HAD NO FIRE EX. THERE WAS NO NNG WATER BEHD THE BAR. GLASS WERE NOT WASHED, BUT ONLY RSED SKS OF WATER THAT GREW CREASGLY FILTHY AS A NIGHT WORE ON. THE TOILETS ROUTELY OVERFLOWED. THE LACK OF HYGIENE WAS BLAMED FOR AN OUTBREAK OF HEPATIS AMONG THE BAR’S PATRONS.  THE STONEWALL HAD NO LIQUOR LICENSE. INSTEAD, FUNCTNED AS A “BOTTLE CLUB,” AND PATRONS WERE CHARGED A FEE JT TO WALK THE DOOR. THE MOB PROVID STOLEN LIQUOR THAT WAS THEN WATERED DOWN, AND THE DRKS WERE NOTORLY AWFUL AND OVERPRICED. THE CIGARETTE MACH AND JEBOX SI THE BAR WERE ALSO MOB-NTROLLED.  “'SO YOU HAVE A VULNERABLE, ILLEGAL DTRY THE BACKYARD OF THE MAFIA. OF URSE THEY’RE GOG TO EXPLO THAT.'”— ALEX HORTIS “OVER A WEEKEND, THERE WAS A LOT OF SMOKG AND DRKG,” HORTIS SAYS, “SO YOU’RE TALKG ABOUT VERY HIGH PROF MARGS.” ACRDG TO THE CELEBRATED LGBT HISTORIAN MART DUBERMAN, THE OWNERS OF THE STONEWALL PAID A MERE $300 MONTHLY RENT AND ULD PULL AS MUCH AS $11,000 SH DURG A BY WEEKEND. AND THE MOB RRIED OUT ANOTHER ILLEGAL BS WH THE STONEWALL: DG ALG.  THEN THERE WAS THE POTENTIAL FOR BLACKMAIL. NEW YORK CY SCHOOL TEACHERS, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS IF THEY WERE ARRTED A POLICE RAID ON A GAY BAR OR WERE OTHERWISE PUBLICLY OUTED.FERAL EMPLOYE ALSO WERE VULNERABLE, AS WERE CLOSETED CELEBRI AND WEALTHY WALL STREET TYP.  IN RETROSPECT, WAS EVABLE THAT THE GENOVE CRIME FAY WOULD N THE VILLAGE’S GAY BARS BEE THE VILLAGE WAS THE GENOV’ HOME TURF.“THAT WAS THEIR BACKYARD,” HORTIS EXPLAS. “SO YOU HAVE A VULNERABLE, ILLEGAL DTRY THE BACKYARD OF THE MAFIA. OF URSE THEY’RE GOG TO EXPLO THAT—OF URSE THEY’RE GOG TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND TRY TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF .”THE GENOVE FAY WAS THE GAY BAR BS LONG BEFORE THE STONEWALL. IN FACT, VO GENOVE’S SEND WIFE, ANNA, WAS A PARTNER SEVERAL LEGENDARY LOWER MANHATTAN DRAG BARS OF THE ’30S, CLUDG THE HOWDY CLUB, THE 181 CLUB, AND CLUB 84, WHOSE PATRONS CLUD GRETA GARBO AND JUDY GARLAND. ANNA’S PARTNER WAS STEVEN FRANSE, ONE OF THE ONLY MOBSTERS THE PARANOID VO GENOVE TSTED. AND THERE LI A RELATED SORDID TALE.WHEN GENOVE FLED TO ITALY 1937 TO AVOID PROSECUTN ON A MURR CHARGE, HE TOLD FRANSE TO LOOK AFTER HIS BS TERTS AND KEEP AN EYE ON ANNA. BUT, AS HORTIS SAYS, “ANNA WAS HIGH MATENANCE, TO PUT BLUNTLY. SHE WAS A DIVA.”  DURG VO’S ABSENCE, ANNA, LONG MORED TO HAVE BEEN BISEXUAL, IS SAID TO HAVE BEDD MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE. ACRDG TO HORTIS, “THERE ARE DRAG QUEENS OM THAT ERA WHO SAY THEY SAW HER PICKG UP SOME OF THE ENTERTAERS.” IN 1952, WHEN ANNA FILED FOR DIVORCE OM GENOVE, SHE REVEALED THAT HIS E OM THE ITALIAN LOTTERY ALONE WAS AS MUCH AS $30,000 A WEEK. THE OTHERWISE VIC GENOVE REPORTEDLY DIDN’T HAVE THE HEART TO HAVE ANNA MURRED, SO HE DID THE NEXT BT THG: HE ORRED THE 1953 MURR OF FRANSE FOR HIS SUPPOSED FAILURE TO KEEP ANNA UNR NTROL. AS PER VO’S ORRS, WAS A PARTICULARLY VIC BOUT: FRANSE WAS FIRST BEATEN AND THEN STRANGLED WH A CHA. THE GOME TAILS N BE FOUND THAT CLASSIC MOB TELL-ALL THE VALACHI PAPERS.THE MAFIA’S GRIP ON VILLAGE GAY BARS DID NOT END THERE.  AND NTUED EVEN AFTER THE MOB CLOSED THE STONEWALL, SHORTLY AFTER THE RTS.  FOR ONE THG, THE UPRISG BROUGHT PUBLICY, WHICH IS ALWAYS BAD NEWS FOR THE MOB.  (LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN GOTTI AFTER HE BEME FAMO.) “EVERYONE NOW KNEW THE STONEWALL WAS A MOB BAR,” DAVID CARTER EXPLAS. “THE STONEWALL WAS NOW AAID TO SERVE LIQUOR WHOUT A LICENSE. THEY TRIED TO MAKE AS A JUICE BAR, BUT CLOSED THREE MONTHS LATER.”SOON CRAIG RODWELL—A RELATIVELY UNSUNG HERO OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHO IS CREDED WH BEG THE FIRST PERSON TO PROPOSE THE GAY PRI PARA—BEGAN URGG A BOYTT OF MOB-OWNED BARS.  “HE WAS THE MA PROPAGANDIST OF THE UPRISG,” SAYS CARTER. “I N’T THK OF ANYONE WHO IS MORE CENTRAL TO THE HISTORY THAN CRAIG.” EVENTUALLY, GAY-OWNED GAY BARS OPENED AND RAN THEIR TABLISHMENTS, OFFERG AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAFIA-NTROLLED BARS. BUT THE MOB DIDN’T SIMPLY TURN AND N, SAYS THOR LUCIAN K. TSTT IV, WHO VERED THE STONEWALL RTS FOR THE VILLAGE VOICE.“DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THKG THAT THERE WAS A DAY THAT THE MOB LOOKED AT STONEWALL AND CID, ‘LET’S GET OUT OF THIS BS,’” TSTT SAYS. “THEY WOULDN’T GET OUT OF A BS WHERE THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNY TO GOUGE PEOPLE AND MAKE AN UNREASONABLE PROF.”INSTEAD, THE MOB MCLED ON GAY BARS THE SAME WAY THEY TOOK OVER STRAIGHT BARS: BY GIVG UR LOANS TO BAR OWNERS WH TAX OR OTHER FANCIAL PROBLEMS OR SIMPLY G THE THREAT OF VLENCE TO GET A PIECE OF THE ACTN. OFTEN, TSTT SAYS, THEY WOULD TURN STRAIGHT BARS TO GAY BARS BEE THE PROF MARGS WERE HIGHER.AND THE MAFIA NTUED TO TER TO—OR EXPLO—THE LGBT MUNY OTHER WAYS, ACRDG TO ALEX HORTIS. ADAPTG TO A CHANGG ENVIRONMENT, THE MAFIA MOVED TO BATH HO, LEATHER BARS, AND GAY PORNOGRAPHY. HORTIS, WHOSE MOB AND THE CY DO A BRILLIANT JOB OF BUNKG MANY OF THE MYTHS ABOUT THE MAFIA, ARGU THAT THE NNECTN BETWEEN THE MOB AND GAY LIFE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISG.   “WHEN PEOPLE ASSUME THAT THE MAFIA IS PARTICULARLY HOMOPHOBIC, THEY’RE LOOKG BACKWARDS THROUGH THE LENS OF THE CLOSET,” HE SAYS. “THEY’RE LOOKG AT HOW THE MAFIA WAS THE ’80S AND ’90S—AND THE FICTNAL PORTRAYALS OF THEM—AND MORE BROADLY ITALIAN-AMERIN CULTURE. BUT WHAT THEY’RE FETTG IS THAT EARLIER ON, WAS VERY DIFFERENT. SAME-SEX ACTIVY WAS UNUALLY HIGH AMONG ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS BEE WASN’T NSIRED GAY OR HOMOSEXUAL, WAS JT SEXUAL RELEASE.” AND AS HORTIS POTS OUT THE MOB AND THE CY, MOBSTER “CRAZY” JOEY GALLO “TALKED ABOUT HOW ‘NORMAL, NATURAL, AND UNREMARKABLE’ HOMOSEXUALY WAS PRISON.”SO WHAT LSONS N BE DRAWN OM THE NNECTN BETWEEN THE MAFIA AND THE GAY MUNY?"WHEN THE STATE FORCED GAY AND TRANSGENR PEOPLE TO THE CLOSET,” HORTIS SAYS, “THEY WERE DRIVEN TO THE CLUTCH OF ANIZED CRIME. LGBT PEOPLE WERE FIGHTG NOT ONLY THE STATE, BUT EXPLOATN BY THE MAFIA. THE LSON IS THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE GAY PEOPLE EVERY SOCIETY. WHEN THE STATE TRI TO SUPPRS THEM, THEY WON'T JT DISAPPEAR; THE HARMS TO THEM WILL ONLY BE POUND." RONALD K. FRIED
• THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI
• HOW TO BEE POPULAR AT A GAY BAR
• 'THE PEOPLE THERE BEME A KD OF FAY': WHAT GAY BARS MEAN TO YOU
• HOW THE MOB HELPED ESTABLISH NYC’S GAY BAR SCENE
• RH, “AN ALL NEW GAY BAR” G TO SHAW, POSTS LIQUOR LICENSE PLARD
• A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.

THE 10 BEST WT HOLLYWOOD GAY CLUBS & BARSGAY CLUBS & BARS WT HOLLYWOOD

12 plac sorted by traveler favorGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissGay Bars • Dance Clubs & DissWhat travelers are saygHad to go and s beneath the portra of Elizabeth Taylor one of LA's classic gay bars.

Tripadvisor performs checks on KMona1, 009 ntributnsWh all the other alleged gay bars failg this would have to be the bt and last Wt Hollywood Drks are good and at reasonable pric Wrten May 19, 2019This review is the subjective opn of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. 41) Bar Gaytherg (Miami Beach, FL)42) Cafe Lafte In Exile (New Orleans, LA)43) Cubbyhole (New York, NY)44) Srlet Honolulu (Honolulu, HI)45) The Goln Lantern (New Orleans, LA)46) Freddie’s Beach Bar & Rtrant (Arlgton, VA)47) Replay Beer and Bourbon (Chigo, IL)48) Berl (Chigo, IL)49) Marty’s Marti Bar (Chigo, IL)50) The North End (Chigo, IL). We intified bs the gay bars tegory, then ranked those spots g a number of factors cludg the total volume and ratgs of reviews between January 1, 2016 and April 28, 2021.

GAY BARS NEAR ME

Chanc are, if you’re readg this, you’ve heard somethg fabulo about Upstate New York or you’ve wonred to yourself “is the Hudson Valley gay iendly? Well known for ’s adventurome mayor – who was the first to marry gay and lbian upl 2004 – this is one of the funkier llege towns of the Hudson Valley. The furtht of the statns on our lol map, gay life the Cy of Hudson is driven primarily by Trixie Starr, the head of the Hudson Pri Foundatn and the anizer of the town’s Pri Para.

Micky’s WeHo has long been a staple on Wt Hollywood’s strip of gay nightclubs and bars on Santa Moni Boulevard, known for s open-walled two-story buildg where passersby n see the party ragg om the street.

Though Sweetwater isn’t officially known as a lbian bar, the humble tablishment has long been the go-to spot for queer women the lol gayborhood, which featur nearly half a dozen gay bars that le Broadway Long Beach. One of Long Beach’s few, if not only, three-level gay bars, Executive Sue boasts a karaoke bar, vio gam, pool tabl for rent, and regular drag shows. Dubbed by KCET as Montebello’s bt Lato gay bar, Chi is the sister to Club Cobra, servg as a groundg se for the queer Latx muny the suburbs of East LA.

HOW THE MAFIA MCLED AND CONTROLLED THE STONEWALL INNBULLY OF THE TOWNGREENWICH VILLAGE WAS THE GENOVE FAY’S BACKYARD, SO OF URSE THE MOB HAD A HAND EVERY EXTRA-LEGAL ENTERPRISE, STARTG WH BARS THAT TERED TO GAY PATRONS.RONALD K. FRIEDUPDATED NOV. 20, 2019 11:42AM EST / PUBLISHED JUN. 29, 2019 10:18PM EDT PHOTO ILLTRATN BY ELIZABETH BROCKWAY/THE DAILY BEASTAFTER THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE STONEWALL RTS, GRAFFI SCRAWLED NEXT TO THE BOARD-UP BAR SUMMARIZED THE FORC ALIGNED AGAST GAY BAR PATRONS NEW YORK 1969:PROHIBITIONCORUPT$ COPS$FEED$ MAFIA A PAMPHLET SOON APPEARED URGG GAY NEW YORKERS TO “GET THE MAFIA AND THE PS OUT OF GAY BARS.”  ITS THOR WAS CRAIG RODWELL, OWNER OF THE OSR WIL MEMORIAL BOOKSHOP GREENWICH VILLAGE, AND AN EARLY PROPONENT OF THE NEED TO STAND UP TO THE POLICE AND THE GENOVE CRIME FAY, WHICH AT THAT TIME NTROLLED MOST GREENWICH VILLAGE GAY BARS, CLUDG THE STONEWALL INN. IT’S A MEASURE OF THE URAGE DISPLAYED BY THE NIZENS OF THE STONEWALL AND THEIR SUPPORTERS THAT THEY WERE, EFFECT, TAKG ON TWO GANGS: THE MAFIA AND THE NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT. THAT’S BEE BACK THEN THE NYPD OFTEN FUNCTNED AS A LEGALLY SANCTNED GANG THAT HARASSED GAY MEN AND WOMEN.“IT WAS REALLY HEROIC,” SAYS ALEX HORTIS, THOR OF THE MOB AND THE CY, AN EXHSTIVELY REARCHED HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK MAFIA. “A LOT OF PEOPLE NEW YORK WERE TERRIFIED OF THE MAFIA. IMAGE BEG UP AGAST NOT ONLY THE LEGAL APPARAT, BUT ALSO THE UNRWORLD.” RUNNG GAY BARS WAS ACTUALLY AN IAL BS FOR THE MOB.“THE MAFIA DIDN’T PICK ON PEOPLE THEIR OWN SIZE,” SAYS HORTIS, WHOSE NEXT BOOK FOC ON THE MOB’S ROLE GAY BARS NATNWI. “THEY TEND TO PICK ON THE WEAK, PECIALLY PEOPLE WHO ULDN’T GO NNG TO THE POLICE.” AND AS LATE AS 1969, THIS WAS CERTALY TE OF THE LGBT MUNY. DRAG QUEENS WERE PECIALLY VULNERABLE SCE WAS ILLEGAL FOR A NEW YORKER TO DRS AS A MEMBER OF THE OPPOSE SEX.  THE MOB’S DOMATN OF GAY BARS WAS A NATURAL OUTGROWTH OF S ROLE NNG SPEAKEASI DURG PROHIBN. THE 25TH AMENDMENT, WHICH END PROHIBN 1933, GAVE STAT “VIRTUAL RTE BLANCHE THORY TO REGULATE ALHOL,” SAYS HORTIS, A PRACTICG ATTORNEY WHO BRGS HIS LEGAL EXPERTISE TO HIS ANALYSIS OF MAFIA HISTORY. THE NSTUTNAL CHANGE HAND STATE ERNMENTS A TOOL TO CRACK DOWN ON HOMOSEXUALS.  WHAT FOLLOWED WAS WHAT HORTIS LLS, “GAY PROHIBN—A FORM OF ALHOL PROHIBN, EXCEPT THAT THE RTRICTNS WERE ON HOMOSEXUALS.” AT TIME OF THE STONEWALL UPRISG, SAME-SEX KISSG AND DANCG BARS WAS NSIRED “DISORRLY NDUCT” AND ULD RULT THE LOSS OF A LIQUOR LICENSE FOR THE BAR.IN THIS HOSTILE ENVIRONMENT, GAY BAR OWNERS NEED PROTECTN OM THE POLICE—A SERVICE THAT THE MOB HAD FE-TUNED DURG PROHIBN. AND MANY MEMBERS OF THE GAY MUNY ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP THEIR BARS OPEN WAS TO RELY ON THE MOB. AS HORTIS PUTS , THE MAFIA “KNEW HOW TO TURN THE REGULATORY STATE TO THEIR ADVANTAGE.”THE STONEWALL WAS NOMALLY OWNED BY THREE MAFIA-NNECTED LOWLIF. THE REAL BOSS, HOWEVER, WAS GENOVE FAY PO MATTY “THE HORSE” IANNIELLO.  THE GANGSTERS WHO RAN THE STONEWALL REPORTEDLY PAID THE SIXTH PRECCT OF THE NYPD A MONTHLY STIPEND OF $1,200 TO KEEP THE CLUB NNG WH ONLY TOKEN POLICE TERFERENCE.  AND THE MOB KNEW HOW TO ELIMATE ANY PETN. “THEY KNEW IF THEY GOT THE RIGHT POLICE THEIR POCKET, THE POLICE ULD SHUT DOWN ANY BAR,” HORTIS SAYS. IF THAT FAILED, THREATS ALWAYS WORKED. A MEMBER OF “THE FAY” WOULD SHOW UP TO EHER SHUT DOWN A PETG GAY BAR OR JT TAKE OVER. “ULTIMATELY ’S THE THREAT OF VLENCE THAT BACKS UP EVERYTHG,” HORTIS STRS.AND, OF URSE, AS HISTORIAN DAVID CARTER TAILS HIS EXCELLENT STONEWALL: THE RTS THAT SPARKED THE GAY REVOLUTN, THE MOBSTERS WERE TERRIBLE BAR OWNERS WHO RED ONLY ABOUT MAXIMIZG PROFS. THE STONEWALL HAD NO FIRE EX. THERE WAS NO NNG WATER BEHD THE BAR. GLASS WERE NOT WASHED, BUT ONLY RSED SKS OF WATER THAT GREW CREASGLY FILTHY AS A NIGHT WORE ON. THE TOILETS ROUTELY OVERFLOWED. THE LACK OF HYGIENE WAS BLAMED FOR AN OUTBREAK OF HEPATIS AMONG THE BAR’S PATRONS.  THE STONEWALL HAD NO LIQUOR LICENSE. INSTEAD, FUNCTNED AS A “BOTTLE CLUB,” AND PATRONS WERE CHARGED A FEE JT TO WALK THE DOOR. THE MOB PROVID STOLEN LIQUOR THAT WAS THEN WATERED DOWN, AND THE DRKS WERE NOTORLY AWFUL AND OVERPRICED. THE CIGARETTE MACH AND JEBOX SI THE BAR WERE ALSO MOB-NTROLLED.  “'SO YOU HAVE A VULNERABLE, ILLEGAL DTRY THE BACKYARD OF THE MAFIA. OF URSE THEY’RE GOG TO EXPLO THAT.'”— ALEX HORTIS “OVER A WEEKEND, THERE WAS A LOT OF SMOKG AND DRKG,” HORTIS SAYS, “SO YOU’RE TALKG ABOUT VERY HIGH PROF MARGS.” ACRDG TO THE CELEBRATED LGBT HISTORIAN MART DUBERMAN, THE OWNERS OF THE STONEWALL PAID A MERE $300 MONTHLY RENT AND ULD PULL AS MUCH AS $11,000 SH DURG A BY WEEKEND. AND THE MOB RRIED OUT ANOTHER ILLEGAL BS WH THE STONEWALL: DG ALG.  THEN THERE WAS THE POTENTIAL FOR BLACKMAIL. NEW YORK CY SCHOOL TEACHERS, FOR EXAMPLE, WOULD LOSE THEIR JOBS IF THEY WERE ARRTED A POLICE RAID ON A GAY BAR OR WERE OTHERWISE PUBLICLY OUTED.FERAL EMPLOYE ALSO WERE VULNERABLE, AS WERE CLOSETED CELEBRI AND WEALTHY WALL STREET TYP.  IN RETROSPECT, WAS EVABLE THAT THE GENOVE CRIME FAY WOULD N THE VILLAGE’S GAY BARS BEE THE VILLAGE WAS THE GENOV’ HOME TURF.“THAT WAS THEIR BACKYARD,” HORTIS EXPLAS. “SO YOU HAVE A VULNERABLE, ILLEGAL DTRY THE BACKYARD OF THE MAFIA. OF URSE THEY’RE GOG TO EXPLO THAT—OF URSE THEY’RE GOG TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AND TRY TO MAKE MONEY OFF OF .”THE GENOVE FAY WAS THE GAY BAR BS LONG BEFORE THE STONEWALL. IN FACT, VO GENOVE’S SEND WIFE, ANNA, WAS A PARTNER SEVERAL LEGENDARY LOWER MANHATTAN DRAG BARS OF THE ’30S, CLUDG THE HOWDY CLUB, THE 181 CLUB, AND CLUB 84, WHOSE PATRONS CLUD GRETA GARBO AND JUDY GARLAND. ANNA’S PARTNER WAS STEVEN FRANSE, ONE OF THE ONLY MOBSTERS THE PARANOID VO GENOVE TSTED. AND THERE LI A RELATED SORDID TALE.WHEN GENOVE FLED TO ITALY 1937 TO AVOID PROSECUTN ON A MURR CHARGE, HE TOLD FRANSE TO LOOK AFTER HIS BS TERTS AND KEEP AN EYE ON ANNA. BUT, AS HORTIS SAYS, “ANNA WAS HIGH MATENANCE, TO PUT BLUNTLY. SHE WAS A DIVA.”  DURG VO’S ABSENCE, ANNA, LONG MORED TO HAVE BEEN BISEXUAL, IS SAID TO HAVE BEDD MEN AND WOMEN ALIKE. ACRDG TO HORTIS, “THERE ARE DRAG QUEENS OM THAT ERA WHO SAY THEY SAW HER PICKG UP SOME OF THE ENTERTAERS.” IN 1952, WHEN ANNA FILED FOR DIVORCE OM GENOVE, SHE REVEALED THAT HIS E OM THE ITALIAN LOTTERY ALONE WAS AS MUCH AS $30,000 A WEEK. THE OTHERWISE VIC GENOVE REPORTEDLY DIDN’T HAVE THE HEART TO HAVE ANNA MURRED, SO HE DID THE NEXT BT THG: HE ORRED THE 1953 MURR OF FRANSE FOR HIS SUPPOSED FAILURE TO KEEP ANNA UNR NTROL. AS PER VO’S ORRS, WAS A PARTICULARLY VIC BOUT: FRANSE WAS FIRST BEATEN AND THEN STRANGLED WH A CHA. THE GOME TAILS N BE FOUND THAT CLASSIC MOB TELL-ALL THE VALACHI PAPERS.THE MAFIA’S GRIP ON VILLAGE GAY BARS DID NOT END THERE.  AND NTUED EVEN AFTER THE MOB CLOSED THE STONEWALL, SHORTLY AFTER THE RTS.  FOR ONE THG, THE UPRISG BROUGHT PUBLICY, WHICH IS ALWAYS BAD NEWS FOR THE MOB.  (LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO JOHN GOTTI AFTER HE BEME FAMO.) “EVERYONE NOW KNEW THE STONEWALL WAS A MOB BAR,” DAVID CARTER EXPLAS. “THE STONEWALL WAS NOW AAID TO SERVE LIQUOR WHOUT A LICENSE. THEY TRIED TO MAKE AS A JUICE BAR, BUT CLOSED THREE MONTHS LATER.”SOON CRAIG RODWELL—A RELATIVELY UNSUNG HERO OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHO IS CREDED WH BEG THE FIRST PERSON TO PROPOSE THE GAY PRI PARA—BEGAN URGG A BOYTT OF MOB-OWNED BARS.  “HE WAS THE MA PROPAGANDIST OF THE UPRISG,” SAYS CARTER. “I N’T THK OF ANYONE WHO IS MORE CENTRAL TO THE HISTORY THAN CRAIG.” EVENTUALLY, GAY-OWNED GAY BARS OPENED AND RAN THEIR TABLISHMENTS, OFFERG AN ALTERNATIVE TO MAFIA-NTROLLED BARS. BUT THE MOB DIDN’T SIMPLY TURN AND N, SAYS THOR LUCIAN K. TSTT IV, WHO VERED THE STONEWALL RTS FOR THE VILLAGE VOICE.“DON’T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF THKG THAT THERE WAS A DAY THAT THE MOB LOOKED AT STONEWALL AND CID, ‘LET’S GET OUT OF THIS BS,’” TSTT SAYS. “THEY WOULDN’T GET OUT OF A BS WHERE THERE WAS AN OPPORTUNY TO GOUGE PEOPLE AND MAKE AN UNREASONABLE PROF.”INSTEAD, THE MOB MCLED ON GAY BARS THE SAME WAY THEY TOOK OVER STRAIGHT BARS: BY GIVG UR LOANS TO BAR OWNERS WH TAX OR OTHER FANCIAL PROBLEMS OR SIMPLY G THE THREAT OF VLENCE TO GET A PIECE OF THE ACTN. OFTEN, TSTT SAYS, THEY WOULD TURN STRAIGHT BARS TO GAY BARS BEE THE PROF MARGS WERE HIGHER.AND THE MAFIA NTUED TO TER TO—OR EXPLO—THE LGBT MUNY OTHER WAYS, ACRDG TO ALEX HORTIS. ADAPTG TO A CHANGG ENVIRONMENT, THE MAFIA MOVED TO BATH HO, LEATHER BARS, AND GAY PORNOGRAPHY. HORTIS, WHOSE MOB AND THE CY DO A BRILLIANT JOB OF BUNKG MANY OF THE MYTHS ABOUT THE MAFIA, ARGU THAT THE NNECTN BETWEEN THE MOB AND GAY LIFE SHOULD NOT BE SURPRISG.   “WHEN PEOPLE ASSUME THAT THE MAFIA IS PARTICULARLY HOMOPHOBIC, THEY’RE LOOKG BACKWARDS THROUGH THE LENS OF THE CLOSET,” HE SAYS. “THEY’RE LOOKG AT HOW THE MAFIA WAS THE ’80S AND ’90S—AND THE FICTNAL PORTRAYALS OF THEM—AND MORE BROADLY ITALIAN-AMERIN CULTURE. BUT WHAT THEY’RE FETTG IS THAT EARLIER ON, WAS VERY DIFFERENT. SAME-SEX ACTIVY WAS UNUALLY HIGH AMONG ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS BEE WASN’T NSIRED GAY OR HOMOSEXUAL, WAS JT SEXUAL RELEASE.” AND AS HORTIS POTS OUT THE MOB AND THE CY, MOBSTER “CRAZY” JOEY GALLO “TALKED ABOUT HOW ‘NORMAL, NATURAL, AND UNREMARKABLE’ HOMOSEXUALY WAS PRISON.”SO WHAT LSONS N BE DRAWN OM THE NNECTN BETWEEN THE MAFIA AND THE GAY MUNY?"WHEN THE STATE FORCED GAY AND TRANSGENR PEOPLE TO THE CLOSET,” HORTIS SAYS, “THEY WERE DRIVEN TO THE CLUTCH OF ANIZED CRIME. LGBT PEOPLE WERE FIGHTG NOT ONLY THE STATE, BUT EXPLOATN BY THE MAFIA. THE LSON IS THAT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE GAY PEOPLE EVERY SOCIETY. WHEN THE STATE TRI TO SUPPRS THEM, THEY WON'T JT DISAPPEAR; THE HARMS TO THEM WILL ONLY BE POUND." RONALD K. FRIED

The bars are safe spac where members of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) muny n e together and celebrate their inti whout fear of discrimatn or judgement. But attempts to brg queer and trans folks to the folds of legal Amerin life do not make for a full cultural revolutn, nor n they undo the impacts of historil vlenc, like the Lavenr Sre, a postwar moral panic agast homosexualy fomented by the feral ernment, or the implic msag of the ernment’s refal to migate the HIV/AIDS crisis and vt the health of Black and brown queer and trans people. After the first night of the Stonewall Rts, graffi scrawled next to the board-up bar summarized the forc aligned agast gay bar patrons New York 1969:PROHIBITIONCORUPT$ COPS$FEED$ MAFIAA pamphlet soon appeared urgg gay New Yorkers to “get the Mafia and the ps out of gay bars.

THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI

” Its thor was Craig Rodwell, owner of the Osr Wil Memorial Bookshop Greenwich Village, and an early proponent of the need to stand up to the police and the Genove crime fay, which at that time ntrolled most Greenwich Village gay bars, cludg the Stonewall Inn. ” At time of the Stonewall uprisg, same-sex kissg and dancg bars was nsired “disorrly nduct” and uld rult the loss of a liquor license for the this hostile environment, gay bar owners need protectn om the police—a service that the mob had fe-tuned durg Prohibn.

“Ultimately ’s the threat of vlence that backs up everythg, ” Hortis, of urse, as historian David Carter tails his excellent Stonewall: The Rts that Sparked the Gay Revolutn, the mobsters were terrible bar owners who red only about maximizg profs.

HOW TO BEE POPULAR AT A GAY BAR

”Soon Craig Rodwell—a relatively unsung hero of the gay rights movement who is creded wh beg the first person to propose the Gay Pri para—began urgg a boytt of mob-owned bars. ”Instead, the mob mcled on gay bars the same way they took over straight bars: by givg ur loans to bar owners wh tax or other fancial problems or simply g the threat of vlence to get a piece of the actn. Often, Tstt says, they would turn straight bars to gay bars bee the prof margs were the Mafia ntued to ter to—or explo—the LGBT muny other ways, acrdg to Alex Hortis.

Hortis, whose Mob and the Cy do a brilliant job of bunkg many of the myths about the Mafia, argu that the nnectn between the mob and gay life should not be surprisg. ” And as Hortis pots out The Mob and the Cy, mobster “Crazy” Joey Gallo “talked about how ‘normal, natural, and unremarkable’ homosexualy was prison. When the bar fally reopened Sprg 2022, an entire borough’s worth of gays celebrated by floodg the new back pat all summer and Gger’s has been crowd wh queers ever sce.

It began s life as a beer-and-we offshoot of the Metropolan Health Club, a gym that opened 1983 to serve the gay ctomers who’d been bullied out of other lol clubs at the height of AIDS hysteria. While you won’t fd any Pri flags at Farraguts, you will undoubtedly hear Cele Dn and Melissa Etheri blarg om the bar’s dty, old jebox and, hontly, isn’t that jt as gay? Live out your Brokeback Mounta fantasi at this verno club, where wboy stum are not nsired drag, and le dancg is not an explic exprsn of homophobia.

'THE PEOPLE THERE BEME A KD OF FAY': WHAT GAY BARS MEAN TO YOU

A gay gatherg spot sce 1939, and gay bar sce 1963, and the Bar Complex sce the 80s, s unassumg exterr beli a triple-threat treat of lounge, performance space, and a mirrored dance club reportedly moled after Stud 54. ) The glorly lively bar and rtrant scene is enhanced by a black box theater downstairs, where farcil plays, lbian standup, and gay dance troup reign.

If you want to get away om the typil scene at fellow gay bars Olly’s and Gregs Our Place, English Ivy is an ial place to meet iends: mature enough for a proper Ladi Lunch (or bnch or dner. It’s not a gay bar the tradnal sense, but a place where traed pianists play selectns om Broadway shows and all of the drama teachers and mil theater majors of the tri-state area nverge to sg along.

HOW THE MOB HELPED ESTABLISH NYC’S GAY BAR SCENE

It was the se of an early gay-liberatn “sip ” 1966, years before Stonewall, and has been a low-key haven ever sce, wh a diverse clientele, a small menu, classic cktails, and an extensive (and packed) 4:00-7:00 happy hour.

The origal was burned down an anti-gay hate-crime a few years back, but the revival has jt opened across the street and is bigger and better, wh a new performance space. CourtyWashgton DC: TraIn a town where n feel like every other bar is crawlg wh Capol Hill staffers lookg to talk shop, Tra is the rare, glorly gay dive where absolutely everyone is wele to jt kick back. 20 mass shootg at Club Q Colorado Sprgs, which took the liv of five people and jured at least 19 others, LGBTQ bar patrons have been takg the news pecially ’s bee, historilly, the absence of any other safe gatherg plac, gay bars have been the heartbeat of the queer muny.

RH, “AN ALL NEW GAY BAR” G TO SHAW, POSTS LIQUOR LICENSE PLARD

And still now, particularly for those livg ral areas, or nservative strongholds like Colorado Sprgs — headquarters of Christian anti-gay mistry Foc on the Fay and recently nsired the fourth most nservative cy Ameri — ’s often the only place to feel safe while beg fully one’s self, pecially if shunned by fay members and while beg spegoated by policians and targeted by an creasg number of anti-LGBTQ bills.

“That's where I learned how to be everythg that I am, ” Kara Coley, bar manager at SIPPS, one of jt two gay bars southern Mississippi, tells Yahoo Life, addg that she “blossomed” such queer bars and clubs have always been a place for people to disver themselv and “fd their chosen fay, ” says Fredd E. Downg)Still, spe the importance that the spac held and still hold for queer people, the number of gay bars has been clg natnwi, pecially after beg h hard by the panmic lockdowns, rultg a drop of nearly 15% between 2019 and sprg of 2021, acrdg to a study om Oberl College.

Past attacks have clud an assailant g gasole 2013 to set fire to a gay nightclub Seattle on New Year’s Eve, remiscent of an famo 1973 arson attack on a popular New Orleans gay club that killed 32 people. Recent cints have clud that of a man ught on mera jt this week throwg a brick through the wdow of an NYC gay bar and, acrdg to GLAAD, 124 anti-LGBTQ cints and threats targetg drag queens 2022 Agast Guns, formed rponse to the Pulse nightclub shootg, held a New York Cy monstratn on the anniversary of the shootg, June 12, to honor victims this year.

A GAY UPLE RAN A RAL RTRANT PEACE. THEN NEW NEIGHBORS ARRIVED.

(Photo: Facebook)Craig Cammack, the LGBTQ outreach liaison for Mayor Lda Gorton of Lexgton, Ky., says clubs like Crossgs are the heartbeat of the lol queer muny — somethg that really ronat wh him as a gay man who grew up the son of a Baptist preacher small-town Indiana.