Tag Archives: drag

Gay vs. Straight in West Village

What is going on in the West Village?

Gay people made that neighborhood what it is, now the non gay people want us out!

From Towelroad  A restaurant in the  West Village, has begun selling a passive-aggressively flavored, “straight” ice cream seemingly in response to the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop just down the street. What makes Gallo Nero’s ice cream straighter than other ice creams is unclear, but the patrons of the restaurant are certain of Gallo Nero’s homophobia.

“They have their own way, we have our own way,” a manager who asked to remain anonymous told the Gothamist when asked whether Gallo Nero’s straight ice cream was a social statement. “What’s the issue? We can call our ice cream whatever we want.”

Gallo Nero, a NYC restaurant down the street from the West Village’s well-known Big Gay Ice Cream shop, has removed a sign from its window advertising ‘Big STRAIGHT Ice Cream’ after it was brought to the neighborhood’s and the internet’s attention.

AMNY reports that the manager at Gallo Nero, which had responded earlier this week to the controversy with the statement “No statement. We are letting New York City speak on our behalf,” is now speaking on the restaurant’s behalf.

Says the manager now: “No, no, no more straight ice cream here. It doesn’t work in the West Village. Gay and proud.”

 

SEVERAL DAYS AGO….On Sunday, September 13th the gay rights group “Night Life Activist,” in association with Boots and Saddle Bar, held a rally to oppose what they call a “gross display of bigotry” from community members that showed up to a CB 2’s hearing on Tuesday, September 9th.

Gay and drag bar Boots and Saddle is being forced to move after 40 years in the same neighborhood due to a rent hike. They are looking to stay within the same neighborhood, which is also home of the gay rights movement: The West Village.

During the hearing for the liquor license transfer for the historical bar, community members voiced their opinions by saying “What about the children walking by,” in reference to exposing children to drag performers. Other remarks included: “We would really like to see you find a home, but we believe this is not the place,” as well as, “I could not think of a worse application for this enclave”. – Why the Hell did you move into a gay neighborhood?  Oh that’s right, we made it fabulous and now you want us out!

At the rally, speakers included Bill Madison: writer and activist. Madison stated, “If it was not for the thousands of gay men who passed away in the 80’s from the AIDS epidemic, you would not have a vacant apartment to create your ‘enclave.'” Frostie Flakes, the drag queen, activist, coordinator, and speaker of the rally demanded through her megaphone, “Being told it’s not okay for a child to see a drag queen is the kind of hate that leads to high suicide and hate crime rates. You’re basically saying it’s not okay to be yourself. We’re here today to send the message that hate and bigotry toward the community that started your enclave will NOT be tolerated!”Onlooker Joseph Guman stated, “The entire city of New York is a grid of streets. Except when you get to The Village. It becomes a tangled web of paths that allow different communities and neighborhoods to come together. Why is there not enough room for you AND our LGBT community?”

After the rally all participants marched around The Village and, specifically, right by the place the desired location for Boots and Saddle Bar, chanting “We were here first,” and “1,2,3,4, bigotry has to hit the door” In response to the very words of the community member, they chanted, “Who’s enclave?! Our enclave!”

Share