The Heterosexualization of Christopher Street

Last night I had a disturbing experience.

It started when I went to see a show called Broad Strokes at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, which starred a 35-year-old actress and comedian named Cat Cohen. I noticed that I was nearly twice as old as everyone in the audience. While I have to admit there were some clever lines, the audience around me was lapping it up. (Maybe young people have a different sense of humor?)

But the real shock happened when I left the theater. I was suddenly surrounded by straight people!

Next door to the theater, in the space that was previously occupied by gay bar The Hangar was something called Dandelion. Was it a bar? Was it a restaurant? All I could tell was that there was a vaguely exclusionary vibe. Think Studio 54, but, unlike Studio 54, it appeared they were trying to keep out gay people!

Now I realize this is partly a story about gentrification. After all, I’m sure the cocktails they were selling were more expensive than the beer that was The Hangar’s stock in trade.

Also across the street from the theater was L’Industrie Pizza in the space formerly occupied by the gay Factory Café (I used to call it the Fag-tory Café), an establishment that usually has a long line in front. (I thought this obnoxious habit only happened in my neighborhood!)

Around the corner on Bleecker Street, in the space formerly occupied by record store Rebel Rebel, there’s yet another pizza place called Mama’s Too, which also has a line in front of it!

Even the landmark Village Cigars is now a bar! What in the name of Stonewall is happening?!

I’m old enough to remember when the West Village was synonymous with gay pride. The Stonewall, which still exists on Christopher Street, was the site of the Stonewall riots, the unofficial start of the gay pride movement.

In the ’90s, the gay population gravitated to Chelsea, because the rents were cheaper and the gay population of the West Village had been decimated by AIDS. The rise of Chelsea as a gay neighborhood coincided with the opening of the upscale bar Splash and the building of the Grand Chelsea apartment building. Eighth Avenue became the new gay Champs Elysees with numerous gay bars and restaurants such as Food, Big Cup, Viceroy, Gym Bar, The Break, G Lounge and Barracuda.

Then, in the 2000s, the gays migrated again (also because of rising rents) to Hell’s Kitchen. In the meantime, the West Village was going from upscale to super luxury.

Hudson River Park was developed, launching a Starchitect’s Row of co-ops and condos along the West Side Highway. (Why the creators of the West Village Historic District didn’t extend the boundaries to the Hudson River has to be one of the worst mistakes in New York history.) As gentrification crept from the Hudson River all the way to Sixth Avenue, it took a number of gay bars, restaurants and retail establishments with it, among them Badlands, All American Boy and now The Hangar.

After the show, I crossed the street and walked into Ty’s. the venerable gay bar where my late partner was the doorman for 20 years. Some of the old familiar faces were still there: bartenders Julian and Gary, as well as a new barback who looked surprisingly like my late partner.

It’s nice to know that some things never change.