There was also a bar directly across from a dancing space where folks could congregate before discovering the real party upstairs.ĭownstairs, it was a laid-back environment allowing groups of friends to talk. I was let in through the VIP entrance, which led into a somewhat empty bar space with red leather booths on one wall, along with some hi-top tables. Still, I decided not to get too in my head about it and went inside. Having worked in the New York City restaurant industry for five years, I'm used to going out to a bar after a night of work.Īs I checked in with the bouncers, I was slightly unnerved by the absence of vaccination record checks, though that's not a common custom at New York bars. I arrived at the Q after a night of work as a host at a restaurant in Manhattan. Men look in the mirror at the bathroom at the Q.
New York City favorites in the queer bar scene, like Therapy, Bedlam NYC, Boxers in Hell's Kitchen, and 9th Avenue Saloon, are some of the many that fell victim to the virus' economic impact. Unfortunately, some of the city's most beloved gay bars were also forced to shutter their dance floors and party spaces. The New York Times reported that 2,800 small businesses closed in New York City since March 1, 2020, and estimated that bars and restaurants accounted for one-third of that total. Unfortunately, once the pandemic forced bars to shut down, I was left feeling disconnected from a community of people I felt so comfortable around. the next morning.Īs a gay man, gay bars are where I have my best nights out - and where I tend to enjoy the music the most. My friends and I would usually end up having a blast, and we'd dance until 3 or 4 a.m. Usually, we would end up somewhere in Hell's Kitchen, which is known as one of New York's most thriving gay neighborhoods because of its many gay bars and clubs. “I feel like No Parking was the ‘Cheers’ of Uptown,” says Cash Carter, a photographer that took nightlife shots at the bar.“It can never be replaced.Before the coronavirus pandemic upended any semblance of a going-out lifestyle, I would exclusively recommend gay bars to my friends looking for fun nights out in New York City. Before its closure, the bar can be credited to inviting the opening of other gay Uptown hangouts, like El Morocco and recently opened Castro, where locals can find refuge after No Parking is gone. Over the years it was opened, No Parking was known for its long lines, its cozy atmosphere and circular bar-which was always topped with flowing cocktails and, of course, hot and chiseled go-go dancers.
We didn’t have to trek all the way down to the Village to have a good time.”
“For the first time, the LGBT community of color had a place of their own in their own neighborhood. “No Parking really broke new ground,” said Juan Rosa, an uptown LGBT advocate, to the NY Daily News. When it opened eight years ago, No Parking became a haven for the local LGBTQ community. Owner Brian Washington Palmer says that the landlord made a deal with the fitness mega chain that they couldn’t fight. Pioneering Washington Heights gay bar No Parking has met a similar fate- this time making way for a brand new Planet Fitness. In February, it was announced that San Francisco’s famous and only Latino gay bar, Esta Noche, would shutter its doors for a “New York style lounge,” breaking locals’ hearts in the process. Twitter: catering to the gay Latino/black communities have been taking heavy hits so far this year.