Gay bars brooklyn new york
Starlite Lounge
History
Formerly located in the building at the corner of Bergen Street and Nostrand Avenue in Crown Heights, the Starlite Lounge was established by openly homosexual African-American entrepreneur Harold “Mackie” Harris as an LGBT-inclusive bar in 1962.
Starlite was possibly the first Black-owned gay exclude in Brooklyn, catering to LGBT people of tint at a time when the Mafia operated most LGBT bars in Unused York. Harris lived in the neighborhood and created what became a mythical safe-haven in central Brooklyn that catered to a diverse clientele, LGBT and straight, depending on the hour of the diurnal and day of the week.
Kate Kunath, director of We Came To Sweat, 2014
Between 1992 and 2004, the bar was owned by William “Butch” King, who was the resident DJ and helped establish Starlite as a destination for house music and dancing.
By the end of its 50-plus-year run, the self-described “oldest black-owned non-discriminating exclude in New York” catered to LGBT people of color and a broader clientele throughout the week and especially at Friday ni
This new queer bar in Greenpoint is far from divey
When you picture a gay bar, there’s probably a very specific place of details that reach to mind: cheap, powerful drinks served in plastic cups, a sticky dance floor and, more likely than not, a bathroom that looks straight out of an apocalypse film.
And, while gay dive bars are fun for a unrestrained night out or when you’re a college pupil, it would also be kind of nice to get a place where we could enjoy a nice, high-quality cocktail in a classy setting around other queer people.
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Thanks to ANIMAL, a new queer bar at 307 Meeker Avenue in Greenpoint, we finally hold that.
Opened by Jim Morrison Hevert, who co-owns The Exley in Williamsburg, and Ashton Correa, who formerly worked as the director of People and Culture at the Ace Hotel, ANIMAL has been a illusion project nearly 20 years in the making.
“We all grew up going to male lover bars, many of which aren’t LGBTQ+ owned, which served the lowest quality drinks and lacked a queer aesthetic,” Correa tells Time Out. "As we’ve gotten olde
Brooklyn is a vibrant hub of LGBTQ+ culture, offering a diverse array of gay bars that cater to every taste and style. NYC’s most hipster borough, Brooklyn has distant been a cultural hotspot in New York Town, attracting creatives, foodies, and nightlife enthusiasts from around the world. From the vibrant art scene in Bushwick to the trendy boutiques (and now more bougie spots like Hermes) in Williamsburg, there’s always something new and thrilling to discover in this dynamic and ever-changing borough.
There’s been a bit of a Brooklyn gay exclude renaissance with at least four new queer spaces opening up since the pandemic, including one just a few weeks ago. And these aren’t all just your typical queer bars attracting the alike type of gay guy. These are all actual diverse, interesting places with their own unique vibes.
Whether you’re a first-time visitor or a seasoned Brooklynite, there are plenty of options for LGBTQ+ travelers looking to explore the city’s vibrant gay scene. From lively dance floors to cozy hangouts, these gay bars I’ve picked below are my personal favorites—each helps to form fun and safe spaces where the community
The bars are back: Inside Brooklyn’s queer and dyke bar resurgence
By Arielle Silver-Willner
It’s a dark, frigid weeknight in Brooklyn, but Lex (the app affectionately established as queer Craigslist) is buzzing: queer friends in search of fun in Bushwick, a lonely femme looking for company at Ginger’s in Park Slope, a missed connection at The Woods in Williamsburg. From Bay Ridge to Bed-Stuy, everyone wants to know: “What’s the go tonight?”
Before the early ‘90s, Brooklyn was home to a sparkling abundance of dyke and queer spaces. For the last rare decades, though, Ginger’s Lock in Park Slope remained Brooklyn’s sole surviving dyke bar. The scarcity has been a result of assimilation, as non-queer spaces have grown more hospitable to the queer people, in addition to various economic and legislative factors. Now, the pendulum is swinging back. Like fanny packs and The Spice Girls, the bars are back — and this time, with new opportunities for inclusiveness.
The state of the scene
In addition to the loosening of Covid restrictions, the Queer woman Bar Project, an Emmy-winning film-based advocacy project active to generate support and visibility for lesbian bars, has played a starr
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