Anniversary

It was June 27th, 1969.

That was the day that the queers of New York City finally said "Enough!" For some historical perspective, I'm posting the story that the New York Daily News ran about the Stonewall Riots. Note how the reports drips with condescension and ridicule. We've come a long, long way in 42 years and we've still got some distance to cover, but today we should all offer up a shout, a snap, and a moment of thanks to the people who started us down this road.

HOMO NEST RAIDED - QUEEN BEES ARE STINGING MAD

-by Jerry Lisker, New York Daily News, July 6th 1969

She sat there with her legs crossed, the lashes of her mascara-coated eyes beating like the wings of a hummingbird. She was angry. She was so upset she hadn't bothered to shave. A day old stubble was beginning to push through the pancake makeup. She was a he. A queen of Christopher Street.

Last weekend the queens had turned commandos and stood bra strap to bra strap against an invasion of the helmeted Tactical Patrol Force. The elite police squad had shut down one of their private gay clubs, the Stonewall Inn at 57 Christopher St., in the heart of a three-block homosexual community in Greenwich Village. Queen Power reared its bleached blonde head in revolt. New York City experienced its first homosexual riot. "We may have lost the battle, sweets, but the war is far from over," lisped an unofficial lady-in-waiting from the court of the Queens.

"We've had all we can take from the Gestapo," the spokesman, or spokeswoman, continued. "We're putting our foot down once and for all." The foot wore a spiked heel. According to reports, the Stonewall Inn, a two-story structure with a sand painted brick and opaque glass facade, was a mecca for the homosexual element in the village who wanted nothing but a private little place where they could congregate, drink, dance and do whatever little girls do when they get together.

The thick glass shut out the outside world of the street. Inside, the Stonewall bathed in wild, bright psychedelic lights, while the patrons writhed to the sounds of a juke box on a square dance floor surrounded by booths and tables. The bar did a good business and the waiters, or waitresses, were always kept busy, as they snaked their way around the dancing customers to the booths and tables. For nearly two years, peace and tranquility reigned supreme for the Alice in Wonderland clientele.

The Raid Last Friday

Last Friday the privacy of the Stonewall was invaded by police from the First Division. It was a raid. They had a warrant. After two years, police said they had been informed that liquor was being served on the premises. Since the Stonewall was without a license, the place was being closed. It was the law.

All hell broke loose when the police entered the Stonewall. The girls instinctively reached for each other. Others stood frozen, locked in an embrace of fear.

Only a handful of police were on hand for the initial landing in the homosexual beachhead. They ushered the patrons out onto Christopher Street, just off Sheridan Square. A crowd had formed in front of the Stonewall and the customers were greeted with cheers of encouragement from the gallery.

The whole proceeding took on the aura of a homosexual Academy Awards Night. The Queens pranced out to the street blowing kisses and waving to the crowd. A beauty of a specimen named Stella wailed uncontrollably while being led to the sidewalk in front of the Stonewall by a cop. She later confessed that she didn't protest the manhandling by the officer, it was just that her hair was in curlers and she was afraid her new beau might be in the crowd and spot her. She didn't want him to see her this way, she wept.

Queen Power

The crowd began to get out of hand, eye witnesses said. Then, without warning, Queen Power exploded with all the fury of a gay atomic bomb. Queens, princesses and ladies-in-waiting began hurling anything they could get their polished, manicured fingernails on. Bobby pins, compacts, curlers, lipstick tubes and other femme fatale missiles were flying in the direction of the cops. The war was on. The lilies of the valley had become carnivorous jungle plants.

Urged on by cries of "C'mon girls, lets go get'em," the defenders of Stonewall launched an attack. The cops called for assistance. To the rescue came the Tactical Patrol Force.

Flushed with the excitement of battle, a fellow called Gloria pranced around like Wonder Woman, while several Florence Nightingales administered first aid to the fallen warriors. There were some assorted scratches and bruises, but nothing serious was suffered by the honeys turned Madwoman of Chaillot.

Official reports listed four injured policemen with 13 arrests. The War of the Roses lasted about 2 hours from about midnight to 2 a.m. There was a return bout Wednesday night.

Two veterans recently recalled the battle and issued a warning to the cops. "If they close up all the gay joints in this area, there is going to be all out war."

Bruce and Nan

Both said they were refugees from Indiana and had come to New York where they could live together happily ever after. They were in their early 20's. They preferred to be called by their married names, Bruce and Nan.

"I don't like your paper," Nan lisped matter-of-factly. "It's anti-fag and pro-cop."

"I'll bet you didn't see what they did to the Stonewall. Did the pigs tell you that they smashed everything in sight? Did you ask them why they stole money out of the cash register and then smashed it with a sledge hammer? Did you ask them why it took them two years to discover that the Stonewall didn't have a liquor license."

Bruce nodded in agreement and reached over for Nan's trembling hands.

"Calm down, doll," he said. "Your face is getting all flushed."

Nan wiped her face with a tissue.

"This would have to happen right before the wedding. The reception was going to be held at the Stonewall, too," Nan said, tossing her ashen-tinted hair over her shoulder.

"What wedding?," the bystander asked.

Nan frowned with a how-could-anybody-be-so-stupid look. "Eric and Jack's wedding, of course. They're finally tying the knot. I thought they'd never get together."

Meet Shirley

"We'll have to find another place, that's all there is to it," Bruce sighed. "But every time we start a place, the cops break it up sooner or later."

"They let us operate just as long as the payoff is regular," Nan said bitterly. "I believe they closed up the Stonewall because there was some trouble with the payoff to the cops. I think that's the real reason. It's a shame. It was such a lovely place. We never bothered anybody. Why couldn't they leave us alone?"

Shirley Evans, a neighbor with two children, agrees that the Stonewall was not a rowdy place and the persons who frequented the club were never troublesome. She lives at 45 Christopher St.

"Up until the night of the police raid there was never any trouble there," she said. "The homosexuals minded their own business and never bothered a soul. There were never any fights or hollering, or anything like that. They just wanted to be left alone. I don't know what they did inside, but that's their business. I was never in there myself. It was just awful when the police came. It was like a swarm of hornets attacking a bunch of butterflies."

A reporter visited the now closed Stonewall and it indeed looked like a cyclone had struck the premises.

Police said there were over 200 people in the Stonewall when they entered with a warrant. The crowd outside was estimated at 500 to 1,000. According to police, the Stonewall had been under observation for some time. Being a private club, plain clothesmen were refused entrance to the inside when they periodically tried to check the place. "They had the tightest security in the Village," a First Division officer said, "We could never get near the place without a warrant."

Police Talk

The men of the First Division were unable to find any humor in the situation, despite the comical overtones of the raid.

"They were throwing more than lace hankies," one inspector said. "I was almost decapitated by a slab of thick glass. It was thrown like a discus and just missed my throat by inches. The beer can didn't miss, though, "it hit me right above the temple."

Police also believe the club was operated by Mafia connected owners. The police did confiscate the Stonewall's cash register as proceeds from an illegal operation. The receipts were counted and are on file at the division headquarters. The warrant was served and the establishment closed on the grounds it was an illegal membership club with no license, and no license to serve liquor.

The police are sure of one thing. They haven't heard the last from the Girls of Christopher Street.

They sure fucking haven't. Now get your ass up and get down to the parade.

NYPD Issues Warning: Muggers Are Stalking Gay Men In West Village

The New York Post reports that the NYPD has issued a warning that teams of muggers are targeting gay men leaving bars in the West Village area. Some of the recent attacks:

Between April 11 and 27 at least five men were mugged in five separate incidents in the area around Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street typically in the early hours of the morning. Many of the victims, who were all alone when attacked, hail from New Jersey. They were coming from bars including Kettle of Fish, Ty’s Bar and Hangar Bar, according to police sources. On April 11, a 27-year-old man from New Jersey was surrounded by five men who restrained him and rifled through his pockets, fleeing with his phone and drivers license, police sources said. On April 15, a 69-year-old man from Trenton was attacked from behind by two men, knocked to the ground and had his wallet stolen. Another attack occurred April 25 at 4 a.m. on the corner Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street when a 32-year-old man was mugged by three men after he left the Kettle of Fish bar. The next day a 27-year-old male from Jersey City was mugged by a lone assailant who made off with his wallet.

That many of the victims are from New Jersey tells us that the muggers may be focused on those heading for the PATH train.

NEW YORK: Activists Call On NYPD To Boycott St. Patrick's Day Parade

The world's largest St. Patrick's Day Parade takes place in Manhattan tomorrow and as always, gay groups are barred from participation. This year a coalition of LGBT groups are calling on the city's cops to boycott the parade. Via press release from Irish Queers:

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists today announced plans to protest NYPD participation in the New York City St. Patrick's Parade, which takes place this Thursday. The parade is touted by organizers as an explicitly “anti-gay, Catholic” event, and has been defined in court as a “private, religious procession” in order to preserve the right to exclude LGBT marchers. Protesters, organized by the group Irish Queers, contend that NYPD participation in such a parade is a violation of New York City's human rights code. "Year after year, we watch thousands of uniformed NYPD participate in this anti-gay march. It reinforces everything LGBT people already fear about police: we're not safe with them, they haven't rejected discrimination, and they won't object when someone else discriminates,” said J.F. Mulligan, who plans to protest with Irish Queers.

A letter demanding that the NYPD not participate has been sent to Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, who has thus far ignored the message. Irish Queers and their allies will be protesting the parade from their annual position across from St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.

NEW YORK CITY: Charges Dropped Against Three In Bronx Hate Crime

The Bronx DA has dropped the charges against three of the eleven gang members accused in the brutal anti-gay hate crime that took place in the Bronx earlier this month.

A total of 11 people were charged in connection with the crime. Today, the Bronx District Attorney's office dropped charges against three of those people. Their names are not immediately known. Those arrested are allegedly members of a gang which calls itself the Latin King Goonies, and suspects ranged in age from 16 to 23. The men faced charges that include unlawful imprisonment, assault and robbery, all as hate crimes. The gang was accused of targeting a 30-year-old gay man after he apparently had a sexual encounter with one of their recruits, authorities said. The 17-year-old was beaten and sodomized until he confessed to his involvement with the older man, authorities said. The mob later went after the 30-year-old, luring him to an abandoned apartment they used for partying, where they tied him to a chair and assaulted him, police said.

Can we hope that the three have decided to turn state's evidence?

NEW YORK: Ninth Suspect Arrested In Bronx Gay-Bashing Incident

The NYPD have arrested the ninth and final suspect in last week's brutal gay-bashing in the Bronx.

Ruddy Vargas-Perez had been sought since shortly after he and eight other gang members allegedly attacked a 30-year-old man and two teenage boys on Oct. 3-4 in the Morris Heights section of The Bronx. Vargas-Perez, 22, was the target of a citywide dragnet after he failed to surrender on Friday. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday he again promised to turn himself in today. But Vargas-Perez was picked up yesterday afternoon at a Richman Plaza address and charged with assault, robbery and burglary as hate crimes and aggravated sex abuse and unlawful imprisonment. Cops went to his Bronx hideout after receiving a tip.

On Sunday the eight other suspects were arraigned on charges of hate crimes, sexual abuse, robbery and other crimes.

NYPD Braces For 9/11 Protests

Atlas Shrugged blogger Pamela Geller, also the founder of Stop The Islamization Of America, will be staging a massive rally tomorrow at Ground Zero. And the NYPD is gearing up for an ugly situation.

"We want to keep everyone in their corners. You don't want the opposing sides to clash," an NYPD official told The Post. "All eyes are going to be on New York City that day. No one wants to see a fight on Sept. 11." With as many as 4,000 riled-up demonstrators expected to pack into two blocks of Park Place between West Broadway and Broadway -- the site of the proposed mosque -- the department is sparing no expense to keep the peace, the official said. "There'll be an army of cops down there," the official said, estimating the number of officers at several hundred. The dueling rallies -- to be held tomorrow, on the ninth anniversary of the terror attacks -- will pit mosque supporters against those who believe that the site shouldn't be so close to Ground Zero. The demonstrators will square off on opposite sides of Park Place, the site of the controversial Park51 center, after 9/11 commemorations conclude at noon in nearby Zuccotti Park, off Liberty Street. But no matter where they stand on the mosque issue, some people questioned the appropriateness of protesting on Sept. 11. "My own view -- irrespective how you feel about the mosque -- I don't think you have it that day. It's totally disrespectful," said Tom Acquaviva, 70, of Wayne, NJ, who lost his son, Paul, 29, an employee of Cantor Fitzgerald, in the attack.

Geller has asked her supporters to bring American flags rather than the signs such as the ones in the photo above.

Afternoon View - Times Square Cops

Such a look that man gave me.

Rap Riot At South Street Seaport

Last night a free concert by Canadian rapper Drake drew several times the capacity at Manhattan's South Street Seaport, prompting the NYPD to cancel the show over safety concerns. You can guess what happened next. Lots more videos at Gothamist.

NYC Pride Cuts Parade Route By A Mile

As I told you back in February, as a cost-cutting measure the NYPD has mandated that parade routes be significantly shorter in 2010. Accordingly, today NYC's Heritage of Pride announced that they were reducing the length of this years parade by 16 blocks. Via press release:

Although the March used to begin at 52nd St. & 5th Ave., this year, it will step off at 36th St. & 5th Ave. The result is a parade that is shorter than usual by 0.8 miles. Consequently, the judges and reviewing stand had to be relocated to a new location at 9th St. & 5th Ave. Nevertheless, the parade will still begin at noon on Sunday, June 27, 2010. Also, it will still end at Christopher St. & Greenwich St., meaning that it continues to pass the site of the Stonewall riots. "Some people running NYC Pride are disappointed by the announcement," says Arthur Finn, Co-chair of Heritage of Pride, Inc., the non-profit organization that plans the events, "but, we understand the city's need for the change this year." Furthermore, "we aren't alone," says Finn, "as the city says it is requiring that every parade make the same sort of reduction as we did for this year." At the same time, “the shortened March route will not diminish the importance of the March,” announced Fran Rolan, the Senior Co-chair and counterpart to Finn. “We are more excited than ever to celebrate the fortieth anniversary of the first LGBT Pride March.”

To my mind, a shorter route means denser, most festive crowds and a quicker finish. Win-win.

Gay Activist Wayne Mahlke Busted In Ugly Confrontation With NYPD

Wayne Mahlke, the former vice president and co-founder of the Lesbian & Gay Democratic Club of Queens, faces seven years in prison over a nasty and seemingly unprovoked confrontation with a female NYC cop.

A foul-mouthed former aide to disgraced ex-Sen. Hiram Monserrate cussed out a city cop and tried to bully his way out of an arrest by flashing a fake police placard, prosecutors said Tuesday. Wayne Mahlke, 48, was stopped at a red light near the Queensboro Bridge just after 9 a.m. when he saw NYPD Officer Denise McDonald on patrol. "Why don't you do your job, you fat bitch!" Mahlke shouted in what prosecutors said was an unprovoked verbal onslaught Sunday. When the 19-year NYPD veteran asked for his license, Mahlke tried to maneuver his 2009 Honda Civic past her but she stopped him by stepping in front of his car, prosecutors said. Mahlke then pulled out an official state Senate business placard and a forged police placard, trying to pull rank, they said. "You don't know who I am," Mahlke reportedly told her. "I'm higher ranking than you. I work for Mayor Bloomberg." She was having none of it. Mahlke was charged with criminal possession of a forged instrument, obstructing governmental administration, disorderly conduct, failing to obey directions of a police officer, and not producing a valid license.

Mahlke has never worked for Mayor Bloomberg.

Times Square Car Bomb Suspect Video

The NYPD has released surveillance video of a "balding white man in his 40's" leaving the vicinity of the SUV left in Times Square on Saturday night.

In a chilling surveillance video released late last night, the man is seen at the end of Shubert Alley peeling off a sweatshirt he'd been wearing over a short-sleeved red shirt, furtively glancing over his shoulder, then stuffing the sweatshirt into a bag. Abandoned "in close proximity" was the dark-green,1993 Nissan Pathfinder loaded with explosives meant to blow a hole through the heart of New York, a source said. The footage was the most dramatic to emerge from a series of frightening images released by the NYPD yesterday, showing the SUV snaking through thousands of unsuspecting bystanders at the corner of 45th and Broadway at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Moments later, its driver leaped out -- leaving the motor running and the hazard lights on. And within minutes, two vendors heard the pop-pop-pop of M88s and saw smoke seeping out of the SUV.

Police say that had the bomb exploded, the carnage could have been "unimaginable." There were eight bags of fertilizer in the vehicle, but it was not "explosive grade" such as used in the Oklahoma City bombing. Nevertheless, the resultant fireball would be been large enough to kill hundreds and cause serious structural damage to nearby buildings.

Undercover NYPD Cop Rants Outside Of West Village Gay Bar: This Fag Establishment Needs To Be Closed!

Well known NYC gay activists Allen Roskoff and Corey Johnson say they were harassed outside a West Village gay bar by a man later identified as an undercover NYPD detective. Chi Chiz, a Christopher Street bar favored by black gay men, has been the subject of a recent raid over allegations of drug dealing inside the club. Club owners are claiming harassment and overzealous prosecution. The day after the raid, Roskoff and Johnson went to the club where the following is alleged to have occurred.

According to Roskoff — who was with Corey Johnson, also a gay activist and the 1st vice chair of Chelsea’s Community Board 4 (which does not encompass Christopher Street) — as they arrived at the club, the young white man was standing outside yelling, “This fag establishment should be closed.” When Roskoff and Johnson confronted the man, he responded to each of them, “You’re a faggot.” Roskoff said he called 911, at which point the man headed east on Christopher until he arrived at the cigar store at Sheridan Square, where he went inside and changed his clothes, before hailing a cab. At that point, a squad car pulled up and the man was asked to step out of the taxi. The officer at the scene said “Oh, no” when he saw the man, whom he recognized as an undercover in his precinct, according to Roskoff, who said he was interviewed by telephone at 2 a.m. by an NYPD Internal Affairs investigator who had arrived at the Sixth.

Thomas Shanahan, who is representing McKenzie and Ray, said that he was told by Laura Mulle, the NYPD legal unit attorney in the Chi Chiz case, that the man who confronted and then fled from Roskoff and Johnson was, in fact, an undercover Sixth Precinct cop, but that he had been put on desk assignment. Mulle would not divulge the name of the officer to Shanahan — she advised him to file a Freedom of Information Act request. Mulle also declined comment to Gay City News, directing the newspaper to the NYPD’s public information office, which did not respond to a request for information about the undercover officer or his desk reassignment. Shanahan said he has served a subpoena naming Joe Doe targeted at the undercover officer, as well as a notice that he seeks to depose him.

A judge is seeking to broker an agreement between the club and the NYPD in which club owners will "guarantee" that no drugs will be sold amongst the customers. One owner responded, "We can’t guarantee that. When the city figures out how to keep drugs off Rikers Island, they can hold us to the same standard."

(Via Paul Schindler @ Gay City News)