Gay clubs in bronx new york
Closed: The gay nightlife scene in the Bronx goes out of business
Every Friday evening at the Bronx’s only homosexual bar, a queen of the darkness held court.
Specializing in Whitney Houston, Kelly KaBoom also keeps Beyoncé and Ariana Grande on thick rotation. As Identity’s resident drag actor, she danced and lip synced in 4-inch heels, shimmering costumes and wigs — “the bigger, the better.” Kelly KaBoom, also famous as JyQuan Reede outside the club, did medleys, took requests and always staged “a reveal,” a dramatic costume change mid-set.
“The crowd that comes in — they’re recording, they’re screaming your name,” says Reede. “I love entertaining people; seeing people smile and acquire a good time.”
But in mid-February, Reede learned there would be no more “Lit Fridays with Kelly Kaboom” at Identity in Woodlawn Heights. The prevent closed permanently, disappearing the Bronx with no LGBTQ nightlife space — again.
“We had so many LGBTQ places in New York, but most of them got shut down,” says Reede, a North Bronx resident who’s been doing drag for 20 years. “For us to have one that was local in the Bronx, it was wonderful. When things commence to change up, it’s just prefer, ‘What i
Two South Bronx Bars Peek to Attract Gay and Lesbian Clientele
PORT MORRIS — Like elsewhere in the city, the South Bronx is home to its fair share of same-sex attracted and lesbian residents. But as for a queer and lesbian social scene — not so much.
“There really is no scene in the South Bronx,” said Jamie Jones, 41, who owns a publish shop in Port Morris.
“It’s non-existent,” said a Bronx college student, 20, who asked to use only his last name, George.
“It’s there — but it’s not there,” said Joseph Diaz, 40, general manager of the Bruckner Prevent and Grill. “We really don’t have one place to go to in The Bronx.”
The Bruckner prevent and another popular Port Morris hangout, The Clock Café and Martini Prevent, hope to change that. Both recently launched brand-new monthly parties tailored to the borough’s underserved queer crowd.
“There is no arrange gay bar in The Bronx, but I reflect there is room for one,” said Michael Brady, the Clock Bar’s general manager. “And there’s a huge LGBT population to make that happen.”
Some 2,481 same-sex couples, or about 9 percent of the city&#
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From their friend Junior serving his hot pot meal in the lounge and outdoor patio to door host and head of security St. Lawrence welcoming guests on the door, the Warehouse was built around a sense of community. “That’s the family we had right there and the love we had for each other,” adds Kevin Omni. “We really extended ourselves as family. The Warehouse not only gave us the music, the crowd and the dancing – it gave us a feeling. And New York Urban area had lost that feeling that you had at places like Better Days. When the Warehouse opened I really thought of it as a Finer Days for the ’90s.”
The Warehouse also became the place to catch some of the wonderful DJs in a giant room atmosphere. “We were one of the most powerful clubs in Novel York, and Mike and I thought we should invite guests to participate so they could transport their following to mix with our crowd,” says Jackson. During its eight years many of Andre Collins’ own DJ idols appeared at the Warehouse. “I got to act with Louie Vega, Kenny Carpenter, Teddy Douglas and Danny Krivit – there was a whole bunch of them,” recalls Collins. The club also welcomed many live acts onto its stage, including Colonel Abrams, Taana Gardner, Barbara
Bars & Nightlife
overview
While their significance is often underestimated or dismissed by heterosexual population, bars and other establishments played a pivotal role throughout the 20th century — but particularly in the pre-Stonewall era — as centers for LGBT activism and community.
These spaces, whether always gay friendly or only during certain times of the day or week, gave LGBT people the freedom to be themselves in a way they usually could not be in their personal or professional lives.
This curated collection largely reflects the bar and nightlife scene of downtown Manhattan; as we research more sites we encourage you to reach out to us with suggestions in upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs.
Header Photo
Truman Capote (center) with Liza Minnelli and Steve Rubell at Studio 54 in an undated photo. Photographer and root unknown.