Starlite, New York City's Oldest Black Gay Bar, to Close July 31

Last November, Rod 2.0 reported the disheartening story of the Starlite Lounge, New York City's first black-owned gay bar which was threatened with closure following the sale of its building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The Starlite has been a fixture in Crown Heights since the 1960s and became a rite of passage for many black LGBT New Yorkers.

After the building was sold in late 2009, many feared the lounge was doomed and a neighborhood group applied for landmark status to avoid closure. The application was denied.

The bar is closing this weekend. "We recently received an email that said the Starlite Lounge is closing its doors for good on July 31st," reports Brownstoner.

When I first moved to New York City in 2000 and lived in Fort Greene, the bar was a few train stops away.  The drinks were strong, the music was killer and there was no telling who you 'd see there.  Martha Wash and fashion models rubbed shoulders with neighborhood drag dolls and fierce local trade. In the late 1990s to mid 2000s, a trio of sisters tended bar at the Starlite. The Lenear Sisters opened their spacious Bed-Stuy brownstone to black LGBT youth who needed a place to crash. Their weekend-long New Year's Eve parties were legendary and Madonna even popped her head in once.

A letter on its website mentions "plans for a fresh, new beginning for The Starlite Lounge" and a "pajama party finale." Let's hope this is just the disco nap for a fabulous second act.

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Comments

[AJ Terrel]

i sure hope so too, I haven't gone there yet! I wanna go there and be among the ranks of great black lgbt peoples to undergo this rite of passage

[Doug Cooper Spencer]

The Starlight is one of me and hubby's favorite neighborhood hangouts whenever we're in Brooklyn. I use a scene 'based' on it in my upcoming novel, 'Leaving Gomorrah'. This so sad. Like my husband said. "And there's no one to respect the history of the Starlight".

[Procrastination_Xtravaganza]

Wish I got to comment on this earlier so more people see it,.I haven't kept up with the blog since I'm at the Gay Games, (Rod you should be here!)

I'm gonna miss Starlite, I'll check them out in the future in their new version, whatever that may be, new space, party, etc, but it will never be the same.

Though in all of this, I hope the take home message is "Own your sh*t." Upon hearing of this news my good friend NateHomieCambell said, "wow. that's sad, but they've been there since the 60's and never thought to buy the building?"

It's a really rough lesson for people, but one we as a community need to learn. Renting is not the answer. I understand buying a building can be difficult and intimidating, but really, in 40 years, if they saved 1 dollar a day, they would have had enough for a down payment on the place, having been in business for that long, they could have gotten a mortgage, ya know?

Hopefully other businesses like these who have been renting, begin to turn their efforts and profits, however slim, toward owning their sh*t.