Jersey City needs gay bars!

That's all I have to say. 

And a good evening to all.

NYC is a boring deadzone, now dominated by uppity straights

This is why I'm so over NYC, my home town where I was born and bred. NYC has gone to hell in a hand basket. Places like the West Village and Chelsea, traditional gayborhoods for decades, have been taken over by uptight scummy breeders and lousy straight-laced families. They are now trying to take away our freedoms and annual gathering festivities. I'm so sick of what these people are doing. If they don't like the open and outrageous, traditional festivities that on the West Village then get the fuck out and move back to your fucking boring suburbs.


Dear Friends,

This past Tuesday night, I attended a preliminary meeting scheduled by Community Board 2 (CB2), which serves the West Village, in order to prepare for the upcoming CB2 Street Permit Committee Meeting this coming Monday, March 17 at 6:30 PM. While many members of CB2 are in support of the The West Village Leather Street Fest, Assistant Secretary of CB2 and President of the Christopher Street Business Merchants Association Elaine Goldman is spearheading a campaign to stop The West Village Leather Street Fest scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 12, as part of New York Leather Weekend 2008.

Below is a list of Ms. Goldman's grievances:
• According to Ms. Goldman and the West Village residents she has united, a Leather street fair is unwelcome on Weehawken/Christopher Streets and the immediate area.
• Ms. Goldman claims that there are no longer bars that cater to the leather community in that area.
• That the area is no place for Leather people.
• That Weehawken & Christopher Streets are not indigenous to the Leather community.
• And finally, that we, as Leather People, belong indoors, and out of the sight of children, and not on the street.

Weehawken Street is historically the first NYC street to house Leather/fetish bars and clubs before popularizing Christopher Street. The street is itself indigenous to our people, which is why we would like to continue having the street fair there, paying homage to the West Village/Christopher Street area and the businesses that have long supported our community.

The West Village Leather Street Fest is geared to promote the community's visibility, education, disseminate information and raise money for organizations of interest to our community. Last year's beneficiaries were the LGBT Community Center and the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF). Much like Folsom Street East, held annually on W. 28th street each June as part of Leather Pride Weekend, the West Village Leather Fest celebrates an important part of our culture, enabling us to gather with peers in a safe & comfortable environment, leading people to educational resources about our community, while teaching them how to have safer, consensual sex. More than 20 of these kinds of events happen in other cities around the country annually. New York City deserves their recognition and share as well.

According to the NCSF, the latest Kinsey Institute Report notes 5-10% of the population engages, at least occasionally, in BDSM sexual expression and experimentation. Of the millions of people living in NYC, more notably the West Village, that represents a very significant part of our community and CB2's jurisdiction. These are CB2's constituents and the community board has a responsibility to embrace diversity while including all of their constituents, serving the needs of everyone within the community.

The West Village, and, most especially Christopher Street, is known as a place to buy leather gear. There are stores on both sides of the street that sell BDSM clothing, gear, adult sexual aids, risque T-shirts, and the like, all prominently displaying their wares in their windows. Local newsstands have long displayed adult magazines on their stands as well.The West Village and Christopher Street are home to the annual Pride Parade and other events done all year long.

Discrimination is discrimination whether due to race, gender, sexual preference or our chosen lifestyle.

Whether you are a resident of the West Village or not, we ask that you come out in support of our community, our rights, and the West Village Leather Street Fest on Monday, March 17th at 6:30 PM (see location below). We are also looking for any historical information or documentation about Weehawken Street to support this cause. Please bring them with you to Monday's meeting or feel free to contact me with any information you may have.

Community Board 2 Meeting
Monday, March 17, (St Patrick's Day), 6:30PM
Union 32 Building, 101 Sixth Ave (bet. Watts & Grand Streets), 22nd Floor

(A,C,E,1,2,3 to Canal Street Station)

Thank you,

Robert Valin, President
New York Leather Weekend
newyorkleatherweekend.com

This message was sent by: Leather Invasion, Old Chelsea Station, New York, NY 10011

Trippin' through the gayborhood

So a few days ago I finally found the easiest route to work. I have two choices;

1. Pick the first PATH stop in Jersey City, Pavonia/Newport and walk, er I mean drudge my way through the gauntlet known as the Newport Shopping Mall to get there, and then walk through a series of looong downward winding tunnels...OR
2. Pick the second PATH stop in Jersey City, Grove Street (aka G-spot), and take a nice leisurly walk through my new neighborhood down quiet peaceful streets with trees and then decending a mere two stair cases once I arrive at the PATH station.

Hmmm, which would you pick? I HATE shopping anyway, so the nice leisurely walk down peaceful tree lined streets is my obvious pick. But quiet, peaceful, and treelined does not mean boring. Here are but a few snapshots from this morning's walk that always make this an interesting commute for me...

I spotted a Preying Mantis on the front grill of a Mini Cooper (not mine).

This wicked looking thing hanging on the side of a building is probably one of the coolest art pieces I've ever seen. It's actually an old dead tree trunk that's been carved with an unknown animal face on it and hung on it's side. Notice all the roots as the animal's main spreading out. Really cool and beautiful.



And this bit of grafitti which always cracks me up. People can be so hateful, it's pretty sad but sometimes amusing in my own sick sense.

Still a Native New Yorker

Well we finally made the jump across the river and now we're officially homo owners (home-owners for the gayngo-challenged) in Jersey City.

Both of us being native New Yorkers I wasn't sure how I'd survive the crossing over, but I actually like it. It's peacful and quiet, lots of trees (I LOVE TREES). The commute (and thats a dirty dirty word for me) is so easy. In fact it's much closer and quicker to Manhttan then Brooklyn or Queens. The 'hood we live in JC is best likened to Carrol Gardens or Boerum Hill in Brooklyn, and since I'm a Brooklyn Native, I like it. There are some really beautiful blocks with gorgeous homes. Besides, Jersey City is the newest Gayborhood in the NYC area, otherwise known as the 6th Borough of NYC. We have several friends in the 'hood already, and I can see more and more on the streets everyday.

So, so long dirty nasty NOISY congested EXPENSIVE Manhattan. Nah, I still love my home town and plan on hanging there often. But I'll obviously be spending a lot more time at home now in my new home.