New York's gay bars are still vital, especially post-COVID, owners say | Pride and Pandemic
Recovery of gay bars [Pride and Pandemic]
The pandemic devastated New York's bars and restaurants. Many have shuttered permanently. But the owners of so-called gay bars are fighting back and looking to be as important and vital as ever as the pandemic eases.
NEW YORK - For many, a place colloquially known as a "gay bar" was the only place you could go where you weren't compelled to lie about who you were.
"The gay community had nowhere else to meet publicly," said Ken Lustbader, the co-founder of