Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I meet A LOT of LGBT people in Bushwick. I would say they're everywhere, though. It's not like 1969 where theie community was centered around Greenwich Village
Quote:
Originally Posted by HellUpInHarlem
You’re late as hell. Hells Kitchen BEEN GHEY
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreamernyc
Hell’s Kitchen has been a gay neighborhood for at least the last 10 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NyWriterdude
Hells Kitchen has long had a lot of gay bars.
But most don’t live there. The commute from wherever. This isn’t the 70s or 80s where all out of town gays lived in one or two neighborhoods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BugsyPal
You need to get woke and out more.
Hell's Kitchen *was* the area gays moved onto after Chelsea, but like the latter many have moved on or out. This largely due to same forces working all over Manhattan including the once gay prime hot spot of West Village; rising real estate values.
There are still gays on the West Side from West Village through Hell's Kitchen, but the prime areas are mostly in Queens and some parts of Bronx.
You also have fact that now thanks to "equality" or whatever gays can live where ever they want, and or don't have as much need for a central ghetto. There are gays (including couples with kids) all over the UES, UWS, Harlem (east and west), Inwood, etc....
Other nail in coffin was in NYC like everywhere else gay bars/clubs have been closing/in decline. Some of it at least in NYC was thanks to Rudy G's quality of life initiatives, but also thanks to technology (the interent, apps, etc...) gays don't have to go bars or clubs to hook-up (primary reason for their existence in first place).
You go to many gay bars now and they are often filled with young straight (usually white) girls. That new gay sports bar on UES didn't even last a year IIRC before it shut down. Like other retail/commercial those bars just don't generate enough revenue to be profitable.
I mean are they exclusively focusing on Hell's Kitchen. I used to see then in other places like Chelsea.
I mean are they exclusively focusing on Hell's Kitchen. I used to see then in other places like Chelsea.
"They" aren't "focusing" on any neighborhood, that's what people are saying. You seem to think all gay people do one huge group text and say "Hey, let's focus on ____ now!"
People generally make their decisions about where to live around what is best for THEM, personally. In previous decades, part of that meant living in an area with lots of other gay people, for safety and a sense of community. Now, especially in NYC, being gay hardly generates a second look, so gay people feel pretty safe in any part of the city and choose where to live based on other factors (work, etc).
Your entire premise that all the gays get together and "focus on" a particular area is ridiculous. market forces, especially rising costs in what were previously "gay" neighborhoods, runs people out of an area. The creep of the "gay neighborhood" moving north over the past 30-40 years just means The Village got expensive, pushing it to Chelsea and then HK. With each decade, there is less 'need' to live in a "gay ghetto", where up through the 1970s and into the 1980s, it was much more a necessity socially.
I mean are they exclusively focusing on Hell's Kitchen. I used to see then in other places like Chelsea.
Am not that old, but grew up in this city, and am here to tell you *again*, you don't know what you're talking about.
Yes, the center of "gay life" such as it was during 1970's or so before HIV/AIDs hit was the West Village per se, but gays lived and or had clubs all over Manhattan. From Harlem right on down to the Village and beyond.
For your information the UWS long was home to large gay community (especially the area known as Lincoln Square), going back to the 1970's or before. Part of this was due to UWS being so close in proximity to the performing arts/theatre district where many gays worked or whatever.
Along those lines Hells Kitchen to some extent had a gay population going back decades for the same reasons; it is close to if not actually in the theater district. The fact area was not so highly desirable made for relatively cheap real estate/apartments.
That last bit is more of what you must be describing than anything else.
Gays long have moved into areas that were marginal to down right busted. Because no one else wanted to live there gays and lesbians often found more acceptance and or built up their own communities. This is not just true for NYC, but San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, etc....
Center of gay clubs/life began moving out of the Village thanks in large part due to the HIV/AIDs epidemic. Besides patrons/customers of gay owned businesses, many owners (gay themselves) died themselves. In short an entire demographic on various levels was dead, dying or otherwise gone. Those who survived and or the younger generation of gays that came up wanted to get away from the ghosts of Christoper Street, and moved up 8th Avenue to Chelsea.
Chelsea from Seventh to Meatpacking District (West Side Highway), long had a gay scene/population so it was a natural extension. Again cheap real estate (relatively) because many didn't want to live down there for various reasons.
The cleaning up of Washington Street (as in getting rid of the trannie hookers), and Meatpacking area along with effects of Sex and the City began to gentrify Chelsea. Other nail in the coffin came when Bill de Boob "saved" the High Line from demolition and poured gasoline on a fire that transformed Chelsea/Meatpacking District, Far West Side into one of the most desirable areas of Manhattan.
Am down in Chelsea for business and other reasons all the time. There are still plenty of gays living and working down there, along with plenty of gay businesses. You see gays of all ages and sorts walking around holding hands and or pushing strollers.
Thing is to live down in Chelsea now you either have to have bank, and or scored a cheap rent regulated apartment years ago. That or be living in the remaining SRO hotels, getting some sort of rental voucher/subsidy,or in a NYCHA apartment.
As myself and others have already told you; young gays and or whatever today don't feel the need to live in a ghetto. I see gay couples on the UES all the time be it going into a Park Avenue white glove building, or pushing a stroller through Second Avenue Subway stations. No one gives an eff, or bats and eye on the UES or elsewhere when two guys or females walk down the street holding hand or whatever.
Also as have told you the gay bar/club scene while of course still active pales in comparison to what it once was. There are scores of apps or whatever for gays to hook-up; they don't have to go to a bar or club anymore unless they want to.
The gay scene you seem to be describing or seeing is one that was mostly white centric which is nearly alien to any gay < 40 or even < 30. Again there are large gay "areas" in the Bronx and parts of Queens, but they are mostly AA and Latino Hispanic. Two groups that historically hardly registered in the gay "scene" of old.
Bronx in fact (IIRC) has the largest population of gay families in NYC. But again were talking about largely AA and or Latino/Hispanic gays and lesbians (and the white guys/girls who love them), so that story hardly gets much traction in mainstream gay media.
Go down to the Village and Chelsea, there are plenty of "power gays" like Lance Bass and Andy Cohen, along with others who are wealthy enough to afford living down there, but many of them are boring and straight laced as their hetro neighbors. They don't want clubs, bars, drag queens, trannies, leather gays, or anything else that upsets their peaceful and tranquil tree lined streets of multi-million dollar townhouses or apartments.
I mean are they exclusively focusing on Hell's Kitchen. I used to see then in other places like Chelsea.
Absolutely not. The LGBT population in North Brooklyn (among other places) is enormous. Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen are spots for rich white gay guys, which is not representative of the city's LGBT population as a whole.
As somebody who actually lives in Hell’s kitchen , I don’t think any big number of actual gay people live in the area . They might but many gays are in the neighborhood for the summer because of the pride parade and all the gay bars in the neighborhood. If the neighborhoods gay residents aren’t high then Hell’s Kitchen definitley caters to them because literally there at least one rainbow flag on every block on 9th and 10th Avenue from 55th street to 43rd in addition to the cross streets . It’s much worse then Chelsea , even when u google Hell’s Kitchen references to its hub for gay culture is there . It’s okay I guess it’s there now neighborhood now lmfaoo
As a former HK resident the area is very gay popular and this weekend is world pride. There will be a ton of visitors in additional to residents milling around between numerous bars.
"They" aren't "focusing" on any neighborhood, that's what people are saying. You seem to think all gay people do one huge group text and say "Hey, let's focus on ____ now!"
People generally make their decisions about where to live around what is best for THEM, personally. In previous decades, part of that meant living in an area with lots of other gay people, for safety and a sense of community. Now, especially in NYC, being gay hardly generates a second look, so gay people feel pretty safe in any part of the city and choose where to live based on other factors (work, etc).
Your entire premise that all the gays get together and "focus on" a particular area is ridiculous. market forces, especially rising costs in what were previously "gay" neighborhoods, runs people out of an area. The creep of the "gay neighborhood" moving north over the past 30-40 years just means The Village got expensive, pushing it to Chelsea and then HK. With each decade, there is less 'need' to live in a "gay ghetto", where up through the 1970s and into the 1980s, it was much more a necessity socially.
LOL West Village, Chelsea, HK had comparable rentals going back to mid 2000s when this current wave of gentrification started. They have comparable rentals now. And if they really want cheap, 10th Ave have more gentrification. HK was never cheap and isnt now.
>As somebody who actually lives in Hell’s kitchen , I don’t think any big number of actual gay people live in the area . They might but many gays are in the neighborhood for the summer because of the pride parade and all the gay bars in the neighborhood.
Yeah, exactly, like how most Chinese people can't afford to reside in Flushing and most Central Americans can't afford to reside in Corona. I don't think Hell's Kitchen is a residential neighborhood at all, although there is a project nearby.
I see transvestites on trains going to the Bronx if I take the train later at night, but I don't see them often. I know there's a few gay bars in Elmhurst, but am not sure where they are and I've seen trans people in that area as well. I don't know if there is a gay bar in the Bronx at all.
Last edited by fatsquirrel; 07-02-2019 at 10:44 AM..
Am not that old, but grew up in this city, and am here to tell you *again*, you don't know what you're talking about.
Yes, the center of "gay life" such as it was during 1970's or so before HIV/AIDs hit was the West Village per se, but gays lived and or had clubs all over Manhattan. From Harlem right on down to the Village and beyond.
For your information the UWS long was home to large gay community (especially the area known as Lincoln Square), going back to the 1970's or before. Part of this was due to UWS being so close in proximity to the performing arts/theatre district where many gays worked or whatever.
Along those lines Hells Kitchen to some extent had a gay population going back decades for the same reasons; it is close to if not actually in the theater district. The fact area was not so highly desirable made for relatively cheap real estate/apartments.
That last bit is more of what you must be describing than anything else.
Gays long have moved into areas that were marginal to down right busted. Because no one else wanted to live there gays and lesbians often found more acceptance and or built up their own communities. This is not just true for NYC, but San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, etc....
Center of gay clubs/life began moving out of the Village thanks in large part due to the HIV/AIDs epidemic. Besides patrons/customers of gay owned businesses, many owners (gay themselves) died themselves. In short an entire demographic on various levels was dead, dying or otherwise gone. Those who survived and or the younger generation of gays that came up wanted to get away from the ghosts of Christoper Street, and moved up 8th Avenue to Chelsea.
Chelsea from Seventh to Meatpacking District (West Side Highway), long had a gay scene/population so it was a natural extension. Again cheap real estate (relatively) because many didn't want to live down there for various reasons.
The cleaning up of Washington Street (as in getting rid of the trannie hookers), and Meatpacking area along with effects of Sex and the City began to gentrify Chelsea. Other nail in the coffin came when Bill de Boob "saved" the High Line from demolition and poured gasoline on a fire that transformed Chelsea/Meatpacking District, Far West Side into one of the most desirable areas of Manhattan.
Am down in Chelsea for business and other reasons all the time. There are still plenty of gays living and working down there, along with plenty of gay businesses. You see gays of all ages and sorts walking around holding hands and or pushing strollers.
Thing is to live down in Chelsea now you either have to have bank, and or scored a cheap rent regulated apartment years ago. That or be living in the remaining SRO hotels, getting some sort of rental voucher/subsidy,or in a NYCHA apartment.
As myself and others have already told you; young gays and or whatever today don't feel the need to live in a ghetto. I see gay couples on the UES all the time be it going into a Park Avenue white glove building, or pushing a stroller through Second Avenue Subway stations. No one gives an eff, or bats and eye on the UES or elsewhere when two guys or females walk down the street holding hand or whatever.
Also as have told you the gay bar/club scene while of course still active pales in comparison to what it once was. There are scores of apps or whatever for gays to hook-up; they don't have to go to a bar or club anymore unless they want to.
The gay scene you seem to be describing or seeing is one that was mostly white centric which is nearly alien to any gay < 40 or even < 30. Again there are large gay "areas" in the Bronx and parts of Queens, but they are mostly AA and Latino Hispanic. Two groups that historically hardly registered in the gay "scene" of old.
Bronx in fact (IIRC) has the largest population of gay families in NYC. But again were talking about largely AA and or Latino/Hispanic gays and lesbians (and the white guys/girls who love them), so that story hardly gets much traction in mainstream gay media.
Go down to the Village and Chelsea, there are plenty of "power gays" like Lance Bass and Andy Cohen, along with others who are wealthy enough to afford living down there, but many of them are boring and straight laced as their hetro neighbors. They don't want clubs, bars, drag queens, trannies, leather gays, or anything else that upsets their peaceful and tranquil tree lined streets of multi-million dollar townhouses or apartments.
Where are the gay bars in the Bronx? I'm interested in seeing drag / vogue shows but am not sure where they occur in my area.
"They" aren't "focusing" on any neighborhood, that's what people are saying. You seem to think all gay people do one huge group text and say "Hey, let's focus on ____ now!"
People generally make their decisions about where to live around what is best for THEM, personally. In previous decades, part of that meant living in an area with lots of other gay people, for safety and a sense of community. Now, especially in NYC, being gay hardly generates a second look, so gay people feel pretty safe in any part of the city and choose where to live based on other factors (work, etc).
Your entire premise that all the gays get together and "focus on" a particular area is ridiculous. market forces, especially rising costs in what were previously "gay" neighborhoods, runs people out of an area. The creep of the "gay neighborhood" moving north over the past 30-40 years just means The Village got expensive, pushing it to Chelsea and then HK. With each decade, there is less 'need' to live in a "gay ghetto", where up through the 1970s and into the 1980s, it was much more a necessity socially.
Gurl...do you need me to add you to the group text? How do you think we all know who's sleeping with who and who's out where on a Friday night and obviously we all have to know when Jessica's boyfriend cheats on her with Antonio who lives on 49/9.
But no, seriously, HK was just the natural progression from the WV. LGBT community got priced out of WV so it moved into Chelsea then same and moved into HK. The UWS has expensive rents already so it's not like it's the next frontier for us, but it's already pretty gay and I could see it getting more gay bars to cater to the neighbors since it's again just the natural progression up the A/C/1/2/3.
As someone else mentioned, Bushwick is getting pretty gay. There are quite a few gay bars out there now. Some parts of Williamsburg that haven't been overtaken by the stroller moms and tech bros in the new luxury housing closer to the river. The communities tend to just overflow from one neighborhood to the next, though, as the gays move in and make a neighborhood nicer and then the stroller moms and tech bros follow us and price us out. So the obvious natural progression from Bushwick is Ridgewood, but I could also see Greenpoint developing a big LGBT population. As for Manhattan, Wash Heights already has a Boxers and I would not be surprised to see Harlem become a natural progression as we get priced out of HK too and we'd have to skip the UWS since it's already too expensive.
FWIW, I live in Jersey City and there's a huge gay population in JC even. Like everywhere you go there are gay couples. Basically every store and restaurant and bar has a rainbow flag or sticker on the windows regardless of it being gay or straight. One of the best pizza restaurants in the downtown area even has a trans pride flag hanging alongside the gay pride flag sometimes IIRC, but definitely a gay flag every time I walk by and I'm pretty sure at least one hanging inside the restaurant also. A brand new large underground gay nightclub just opened, so the owners of it must know their crowd. And I guess if anything, that's also the natural progression from the WV just the other way as the entire west side of Manhattan becomes prohibitively expensive?
Tl;dr gays are everywhere in NYC, it's just our gay bars tend to be in HK right now. The WV and Chelsea don't have the more fun ones catering to a young crowd, but Williamsburg and Bushwick are rivaling HK for its LGBT nightlife lately.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
