NYC Bar Raids About Crime and Not Homophobia

Posted on | April 4, 2006

In the wake of weekend raids on several gay establishments in New York City, the cry "Homophobia!" has apparently started to be heard. Acting on information provided by undercover officers, police obtained warrants to execute raids on Splash, Avalon, Deep, Spirit, View, Speed and Steel Gym. Six of the seven establishments, which included night clubs and a gym, are located in Chelsea which is New York City’s gay district. Several individuals, some of whom had been previously identified by police, were arrested on drug charges. All establishments were closed by judicial order. The establishments were also served with an order to shutdown which the city normally gets to halt the illegal activity and force the establishments to tighten their security and to clean up their act. The owner of Splash, one of the gay bars raided, obtained a stay on the shutdown order while the other establishments have hearings in court today and tomorrow to determine the status of theirs.

According to some articles on the raids, the word "Stonewall" has been mentioned in regards to those raids. This of course refers to the "Stonewall Uprising" where, after having had enough of police harassment, patrons at the Stonewall Inn gay bar in New York City back in 1969. Officers arrived there to raid the bar ostensibly to look for violations of liquor control laws but ended up harassing the patrons. Instead of going home or to other establishments, the ejected patrons instead gathered outside and rioted. The event was seen as the birth of the Gay Rights movement. I fail to see parallels with Stonewall however. First of all, establishments with majority gay clientele were not singled out. Avalon, Spirit, and Deep are not gay clubs according to the New York Times. Second, this was not some random raid like Stonewall apparently was. These officers, under the city’s Nuisance Abatement Law, took their evidence to a judge and obtained signed orders so everything was by the book. I have not seen any reports on personal misconduct on the part of the officers either. Invoking "Stonewall" seems to be a little overly dramatic at this point.

The subject hits a little close to home for me as I have first-hand experience of being in a drug raid. Back in 2001 I happened to be at the former Detroit-area bar Cobalt the night Oakland County Sheriff deputies executed a search order for drugs. I was at the bar chatting with some acquaintances when the music went dead. We laughed about what a great segue the DJ was doing and then I looked over to see a steady stream of flashlights come rushing into the bar. The lights went up and it was wall-to-wall cops. We were ordered up against the walls with our hands above our heads and searched. When it was my turn the officer asked to see my ID, where I was from, and if I had anything on my I should not have (referring to drugs or a weapon) before he patted me down and dismissed me with a "have a good night". Outside I met with an officer who had a drug-sniffing dog who was checking the cars. I indicated my vehicle and and politely asked if he had already had the dog sniff my car. When he answered that he had, I wished him a good evening and headed back to my dorm. Upon my return I hopped online to find out what the buzz about the raid was and heard stories about who got arrested and that apparently undercover officers were able to buy drugs in the women’s bathroom there or something like that.

I do however feel that night club and bar owners are somewhat expected to be omniscient and omnipresent about their establishments by municipal authorities. No business person, especially in the crowded environment of a bar/club, can know exactly what is going on at all times in every inch of the place. In my opinion it is unreasonable to expect that of them. If the police can prove that staff knew about the illegal activity and did nothing about it, then there is a problem.

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