On the other hand, the owner of Native did open No Parking in Washington Heights which has been a popular uptown gay bar since it debuted and the proprietor of Gym Bar in Chelsea had been actively looking for a location in Harlem with an eye on the ever changing demographics. The article fails to mention Suite which is in Morningside Heights but is very close to South Harlem and the club El Morocco in West Harlem has gay events on Sundays. Other establishments not featured that have a mostly straight crowd but are often frequented by the LGBT community uptown include Il Caffe Latte, Chez Lucienne, Harlem Food Bar, Lenox Coffee and Red Rooster. Read more in The Atlantic Cities: LINK
If I had to guess at reasons, I would site both the churches and CB10; the stranglehold churches have on Harlem has really retarded growth in a lot of areas.
ReplyDeleteI'm totally supportive of gay oriented businesses and gay-friendly businesses. I just think it's a bit funny how we classify establishments. I'm sure I'd be laughed at if I started asking about white-friendly bars or black-friendly lounges. Or 'solid black'.lol.I guess that's progress.
ReplyDeleteSome places in Harlem are more diverse than others...which would you rather hang out at?
ReplyDeleteWhat percentage of bars in New York could be considered "gay bars"? E.g. having a majority or disproportionate share of gay clientele? 2%? 5%?
ReplyDeleteOutside of Chelsea and the West Village, which are historically gay neighborhoods, there aren't that many.
Harlem doesn't have many bars in general, so the lack of a proper "gay bar" isn't that surprising.
Gay bars serve a purpose, because if a gay person is looking to meet someone, he/she cannot simply go into a "diverse" bar and hope that his/her gaydar is functioning properly. In other words, there is a practical reason for a gay person to want to be in a "gay" bar. And, South Harlem is definitely ready for one.
ReplyDeleteObviously coming from a straight person. There are multiple gay bars in the East Village and Hell's Kitchen and even a couple on the Upper East Side. Brooklyn has them. Jackson Heights Queens has many in close proximity.
ReplyDeleteHarlem had them in the past so why not in the future?
A true gay bar is one where a gay person would not have to turn on his gaydar before approaching someone. Anything other is simply "gay-friendly" or "diverse".
ReplyDeleteAre there any local community representatives actively trying to reverse the church/ bar zoning rules? I don't get why on earth a bar can't be near a church when church is least active at night when bars are most active. The community is losing out on so much income brought into the area with the lack of these establishments.
ReplyDeleteI'm a gay man who pretty much despises hanging out in nearly all straight bars, but I really like Bier and also liked Nectar when it was open. Mind you, I never went to either bar solo, but both are/were great places to hang out with gay friends. Ditto for Harlem Food Bar (but I see that as a gay venue).
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, I'd LOVE for there to be a true gay bare in the area...
Jay, I love the Freudian slip above. I think we would all enjoy seeing more gays bare!
ReplyDeleteThat Atlantic Cities article is almost a year old, so it would be interesting to see how it would be written today, because HFB is really interesting and seems to really have changed the dymanic.
I always thought 67 Orange was a gay bar, although I am not sure why. Is it not one?
ReplyDeleteI would say that most of the clientele at Native (around the bar) are gay men and straight women. However, I do recognize the distinction between this and a gay bar. A gay bar is a place to hook up, not just to chat.
ReplyDeleteAh, well that makes it clear for me. If we're looking at it from the point of view of hooking up and not having to rely on the gay-dar then I see where a gay bar may be in demand.
ReplyDeleteThe article linked to is a bit out of date. So I'm wondering: Would the new Harlem Food Bar count as a Gay venue?
ReplyDeleteOf course, even if it does count, only one in a neighborhood like Harlem just means more work needs to be done.
Though, I'm guessing that a lot of the smaller local bars that may have had established Gay nights got closed down the last time the economy went to heck.
That may be why the landscape looks the way it does now.
The ownership of Harlem Food Bar own Secret Lounge in Chelsea and also owned Hell in the Meat Packing District (before they chose to shut it down, due to rising real estate prices) -- both gay bars. I'm betting that they will be the first to open a true gay bar in South/Central Harlem.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see so many responses about gay bars uptown--for those who may be new to Harlem Bespoke, there have been lots of posts over the years about the long and venerable history of gay, lesbian, drag, etc. establishments in Harlem, even in times when churches were far more influential and conservative. Many attracted downtown white slummers on so-called moral holiday, but others served a local clientele.
ReplyDeletePerhaps I ought to know this, but: what about gay bars over the decades catering to Harlem West Indians? Latinos? I never came across them in researching my history of Harlem, but maybe they were even more under the radar?