The following site contains a detailed history on gay bars in New York City from 1900 to the present: http://www.bitterqueen.typepad.com/

Some of these gay bars were controlled by organized crime -- the Genovese and Gambino crime families in particular -- and I'm wondering to what extent does organized crime have any interest today in gay bars and clubs. Anyone with any ideas?

I *love* that site!

From my experience, so-called organized crime has very little interest in gay bars and clubs in NYC these days. There is something much more lucrative out there-- real estate. From the 1940s through the 1980s, the "crime families" acquired huge swaths of real estate, often for partial payment of "cash under the table," to launder their profits from drugs, gambling, gay bars & underground clubs. Now that their property is worth hundreds of millions, they have legitimized themselves-- at least in Manhattan.

Furthermore, the only reason the "Mafia" had any interest in gay bars was that they were operating illegally. Now that those laws have been eliminated, and indeed no one really gives a hoot whether you are gay or not, the systematic corruption surrounding those laws has vanished, and any Mob interest has waned.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hatches,

But those were the days Hat.. I remember Matty the horse coming into the gilded grape to collect the money and to flirt with the young drag queens. That site is major in terms of gay history.

Matty The Horse was Gennaro's uncle!

Wow, What a site!
I need at least a week to read it but I am gasping at the pictures alone.
That site is a labor of love and beautiful.

Anyway, I agree with Hattie but in the "There is something out there much more lucrative" deptartment.
I'd have to add Liquor distribution.
Years back, there were like 2 liquor distributors in New York that you had to use. One wass Gambino and the other was (is it Colombo?, I forget).
And is it just a coincidence that everyone at the New York State Liquor Authority used to work for one of these distributors in the past?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chi Chi,

Gen's uncle?? I am gagging.

"Uncle Matty".
He loved Gennaro.

The Gambino one bought out the Columbo one years ago, daddy. Now there is another one from Miami with mob ties that go as far back as Meyer Lansky. Open Svedka bar anyone?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: hatches,

Gambino, Bonanno, Colombo, Genovese, Luchese...
They is all good people.

I knew you would know Hattie.

quote:

Some of these gay bars were controlled by organized crime -- the Genovese and Gambino crime families in particular

interesting...I wonder if J Edgar Hoover frequented any such clubs back in the day

Apparently some current gay bars and sex clubs in NYC still have ties to individuals associated with organized crime: http://bitterqueen.typepad.com/history_of_gay_bars_in_n...current-gay-bar.html

I love that site as well. The information contained there is staggering. Preserving the memories and images of that era is so important. The person who created the site has made a royal contribution to those who want to learn more about that time (like me).

I think it is through that site that I found out about the book book I'm reading called 'Beyond Shame: Reclaiming the Abandoned History of Radical Gay Sexuality (Patrick Moore).' If you have not seen it, you might want to take a look. I am enjoying it and learning from it, anyway.