Tag Archives: gay bars

Hotelier Mati Weiderpass: My Meeting With Ted Cruz Was Good For LGBT Rights

“I am happy to see such passion and energy in support of gay rights. We just need to channel that passion and energy to those who would deny us those rights. The dinner with Ted Cruz happened only because IT WAS NOT A FUNDRAISER. It was about security for Israel, but it also gave me a rare opportunity to address …

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CRUZ FALLOUT: Broadway Cares Cancels AIDS Fundraiser At Ian Reisner’s Hotel

From the executive director of Broadway Cares: It is with regret that we have decided to cancel this year’s edition of the Broadway Bares Solo Strips fundraiser, which was scheduled for May 10 at the NYC club 42West. We cannot in good conscience hold an event at a venue whose owners have alienated our community, as reflected in an April …

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IOWA: Man Charged With Sending Fake Anthrax Letter To Des Moines Gay Bar

Via the Des Moines Register: Police charged a man Thursday with sending hate mail containing suspicious powder to the Blazing Saddle, a gay bar in Des Moines, in late March. Eric Reece Wiethorn, 49, of Ames was arrested for first-degree harassment and booked in the Polk County Jail, the Des Moines Police Department announced in a news release Thursday. The …

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CHERRY GROVE: Fire Destroys Two Hotels, Gay Nightclub, And Several Residences

A massive fire swept through Cherry Grove’s commercial district on Fire Island last night, destroying several private homes, the Holly House Hotel, and the Grove Hotel, the last of which was home to the famed Ice Palace nightclub. For decades the Ice Palace hosted the Miss Fire Island pageant and served as the kickoff location for the annual Fire Island …

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CHELSEA: Gym Bar Gets Ten Year Lease

As I’ve recounted here in the past, Chelsea’s formerly famed gay nightlife has long been on the decline, supplanted by many newer clubs uptown in Hell’s Kitchen. But Gym Bar, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month, has just scored a lease for another ten years. “We didn’t want to move, I didn’t want to move anywhere but where we …

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NEBRASKA: Fire Destroys Gay Nightclub

A popular gay nightclub in Lincoln, Nebraska was destroyed in a fire last night. A four-alarm fire broke out at Karma Nightclub and Cabaret, heavily damaging the building and knocking out power in the surrounding area. The fire started at the club at 226 S. Ninth St. around 7:15 p.m. Saturday. Club occupants were being evacuated from the building by …

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Fire Island Business District Auctions To Manhattan Hotelier Ian Reisner For $10M

Via the New York Times: A strip of commercial real estate along the harbor in Fire Island Pines sold for $10.1 million at auction on Thursday to developers with plans to continue the revival of a former mecca for closeted gay men. The sale price was well below the $25 million the previous owners sought when they placed it on …

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IRELAND: Prime Minister Visits Gay Bar

Via the Irish Times: “So there’s An Taoiseach in Pantibar,” a post on the Dublin gay bar’s Facebook page reads over a picture of Enda Kenny who visited the bar last night. “It’s a changed world in many ways.” This was the reaction to the visit by Rory O’Neill, the entertainer and gay rights activist also known as Panti Bliss, …

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Singer Jimmy Ruffin Dies At 78

Motown legend Jimmy Ruffin, whose 1980 smash Hold On To My Love helped usher out an era of gay nightlife, has died at the age of 78. Via the Detroit Free Press: Ruffin, whose poignant “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted” is regarded by many as one of Motown’s greatest works, died Monday afternoon in a Las Vegas hospital. A Mississippi …

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NORTH CAROLINA: Gay Man Dies After Being Set On Fire By Nightclub Hook-Up

There is a sad follow-up to the crime reported here last week. Via the Associated Press: An Army veteran beaten by a man he met at a bar died Saturday afternoon, nearly a week after being hospitalized with burns so bad that parts of both arms had to be amputated, police and his partner said. Veteran Stephen Patrick White, 46, …

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Venerable Philly Bar Closes After 50 Years

Philadelphia’s Westbury bar, which was first advertised in gay guides back in the early 60s, has closed after last month’s fire in the hotel above it. From their Facebook page: With a very broken heart, I have to announce, the Westbury Bar and Restaurant will not be reopening. Our extensive efforts trying get an exception from the city have not …

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MINNEAPOLIS: Man Shouting Scripture Shoots Gay Couple With BB Gun

Two tourists visiting the popular Minneapolis gay bar The Saloon were shot with a BB gun on Thursday by a man shouting bible verses. “He made a disrespectful comment towards the homosexual community, towards a couple that was holding hands and he obviously didn’t appreciate that,” [security guard Tyler] Erickson said. Shortly after his expletives, Odegard’s sheer disregard for the …

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AUSTRALIA: Gay Club Issues Lifetime Ban On Patrons Found Using (Some) Drugs

Saying they are fed up with problems caused by patrons using GHB and crystal meth, the popular Melbourne gay nightclub Poof Doof has announced a lifetime ban for any customer caught using those substances. These bans will be shared with more than 100 nightclubs across Australia, who jointly use a system called Scantek to record the identities of problem customers. …

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ISRAEL: Gay Club Promoter Denounced For Evoking ISIS Beheadings In Party Ads

Via NBC News: An Israeli gay party promoter has published posters featuring a stark parody of ISIS beheading videos. Drek, which puts together events in famously gay-friendly Tel Aviv, apologized for the use of the homoerotic humor drawing on the gruesome murders of James Foley, Steven Sotloff and David Haines, but also defended the posters. “Our way to express our …

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JMG Worldwide Exclusive Premiere:
Jimmy Somerville’s New Single Travesty

Via press release: The euphoric joy of disco has been one consistent thread, which has run through the diverse, illustrious thirty-year career of pop legend Jimmy Somerville. Famous for re-making disco classics as his own, “Travesty”, Jimmy’s first original disco-styled single will make its debut on JoeMyGod on Sept. 15th and will be serviced promotionally (single version and extended mix) …

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NEW YORK CITY: West Village Locals Block Attempts To Relocate Gay Bar

In the face of soaring rent, Boots & Saddle is soon leaving its Christopher Street location after almost 40 years. The owners have found another location in the neighborhood, but the local community board has blocked their move. Community Board 2’s State Liquor Authority committee unanimously rejected Boots & Saddle’s bid to transfer its liquor license to the new location. …

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Boxers To Open Third Manhattan Location

Gay nightclub mini-chain Boxers, which presently has Chelsea and Hell’s Kitchen locations, is opening a new club next week in Times Square – but this one is meant to appeal to a mixed crowd. The bar chain — known for its shirtless bartenders — plans to make the new location at 215 W. 40th St. a little more restrained than …

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NEW YORK CITY: West Village Gay Bar Boots & Saddle To Close After 40 Years

The tiny but popular Christopher Street bar Boots & Saddle is closing after 40 years in business due to a large rent increase. The gay bar — known for its drag shows, packed parties and welcoming vibe — cannot afford to pay a rent increase on its space at 76 Christopher St. and will shut down soon after 40 years …

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COLORADO: Denver Gay Bar Found Guilty Of Discriminating Against Man In Drag

Colorado civil rights officials have ruled that a Denver gay bar discriminated when its bouncers refused entry to a man in drag. Via the Associated Press: The civil rights division of the state’s Department of Regulatory Agencies has ordered the Denver Wrangler to resolve the dispute with Vito Marzano, a gay man who was wearing a dress and wig when …

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SEATTLE: Judge Doubles Requested Sentence, Arsonist Of Gay Nightclub Gets Ten Years In Federal Prison

From the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: The Seattle man who set fire to a popular Capitol Hill club during a New Year’s celebration was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison – twice as long as the term requested by prosecutors. Facing federal charges in the dangerous but non-injurious blaze, Musab Masmari admitted to starting a fire inside Neighbours Nightclub during the …

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