Gay clubs in the bronx
Two South Bronx Bars Look to Attract Gay and Lesbian Clientele
PORT MORRIS — Like elsewhere in the city, the South Bronx is home to its reasonable share of gay and lesbian residents. But as for a gay and lesbian social scene — not so much.
“There really is no scene in the South Bronx,” said Jamie Jones, 41, who owns a reproduce shop in Port Morris.
“It’s non-existent,” said a Bronx college learner, 20, who asked to exploit only his last name, George.
“It’s there — but it’s not there,” said Joseph Diaz, 40, general manager of the Bruckner Bar and Grill. “We really don’t have one place to go to in The Bronx.”
The Bruckner bar and another famous Port Morris hangout, The Clock Café and Martini Bar, optimism to change that. Both recently launched new monthly parties tailored to the borough’s underserved gay crowd.
“There is no set gay bar in The Bronx, but I think there is room for one,” said Michael Brady, the Clock Bar’s general manager. “And there’s a huge LGBT p
Closed: The gay nightlife scene in the Bronx goes out of business
Every Friday evening at the Bronx’s only gay bar, a queen of the night held court.
Specializing in Whitney Houston, Kelly KaBoom also keeps Beyoncé and Ariana Grande on heavy rotation. As Identity’s resident drag performer, she danced and lip synced in 4-inch heels, shimmering costumes and wigs — “the bigger, the better.” Kelly KaBoom, also known as JyQuan Reede outside the club, did medleys, took requests and always staged “a reveal,” a dramatic costume convert 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 have a fine time.”
But in mid-February, Reede learned there would be no more “Lit Fridays with Kelly Kaboom” at Identity in Woodlawn Heights. The bar closed permanently, leaving 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 loc
From their friend Junior serving his hot pot food 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 City had lost that feeling that you had at places like Surpass Days. When the Warehouse opened I really thought of it as a Better Days for the ’90s.”
The Warehouse also became the place to listen some of the great DJs in a big room atmosphere. “We were one of the most powerful clubs in Adj York, and Mike and I thought we should invite guests to play so they could bring 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 play with Louie Vega, Kenny Carpenter, Teddy Douglas and Danny Krivit – there was a whole bunch of them,” recalls Collins. The
The Bronx
overview
This collection of sites in the Bronx highlights the borough’s diverse LGBT history through residences, public spaces, and cultural institutions associated with people of color, the childhood residence of a pioneering individual in transgender history, and the final resting place of many notable LGBT New Yorkers.
While much of New York City’s known LGBT history and life centers on Manhattan, we are currently working on adding more Bronx sites to our website. If you have a suggestion, please load out our online form.
This theme was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the aid of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York Express Legislature, and a grant from Con Edison.
Header Photo
Arthur Avilés (center left) and performers of the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD!), outside Barretto Street, part of the (former) American Bank Note Company Printing Plant complex, c. Courtesy of the BAAD! Archive.