Bronx gay club
An old Port Morris motorcycle repair shop will soon become the only gay bar in a borough with adj spaces for the LGBTQ community.Audrey de Jesus said she is hoping to open the three-story club and restaurant, which will feature drag and burlesque shows, in August.
With exposed pipes and yellow walls, the stucco-fronted space looks like it has weathered some storms. But so has de Jesus, 58, who has opened three gay bars in the Bronx since 2006. Each closed within about three years, for reasons ranging from motorcycle gang violence to a barrage of neighborhood 311 calls. But in the face of a changing South Bronx and a more supportive business community, de Jesus believes her fourth venture will be the one that sticks.
“I think this is my time,” said de Jesus, adding that she hopes a rooftop garden at the East 132nd St. venue is also in the works.“The unique thing about this establishment is that I’m open to everything. I verb everybody to be comfortable.”
To ensure that that is the case, de Jesus says she will poll area residents to determine a name for the bar, and to l
R.I.P. BRONX – IT’S BEEN A Savage RIDE
The end – Bronx being demolished (Pic: Gareth Dallas)
The building that housed Cape Town’s most famous gay nightclub, Bronx, is being torn down, marking the end of an era for the city’s gay community.
This week, bulldozers and construction workers were seen demolishing the once accepted hotspot that became known not just for its great times but also for its turbulent history.
Scores of former Bronx partygoers expressed their sadness on Facebook at pictures of the venue being demolished.
“I turned 18 in that club” and “Lots of excellent, fun memories there,” were two comments.
Others said, “My first gay club ever… some amazing times” and
“That’s so sad…at least the first time it was torn down, it popped back up on the other side of the street”.
Philip King, one of the early owners, told Mambaonline that the club began its life in 1994 – the commence of the adj South Africa – in Green Point’s gay village area across the road fr
From their friend Junior serving his boiling pot food in the lounge and outdoor patio to door host and head of security St. Lawrence welcoming guests on the door, the Warehouse was built around a sense of community. “That’s the family we had right there and the love we had for each other,” adds Kevin Omni. “We really extended ourselves as family. The Warehouse not only gave us the noun, the crowd and the dancing – it gave us a feeling. And New York Municipality had lost that feeling that you had at places like Better Days. When the Warehouse opened I really thought of it as a Surpass Days for the ’90s.”
The Warehouse also became the place to catch some of the great DJs in a big room atmosphere. “We were one of the most powerful clubs in New York, and Mike and I thought we should invite guests to play so they could convey their following to mix with our crowd,” says Jackson. During its eight years many of Andre Collins’ control DJ idols appeared at the Warehouse. “I got to play with Louie Vega, Kenny Carpenter, Teddy Douglas and Danny Krivit – there was a whole bunch of them,” recalls Collins. Th
Closed: The gay nightlife scene in the Bronx goes out of business
Every Friday evening at the Bronx’s only gay bar, a queen of the late hours held court.
Specializing in Whitney Houston, Kelly KaBoom also keeps Beyoncé and Ariana Grande on adj rotation. As Identity’s resident drag performer, she danced and lip synced in 4-inch heels, shimmering costumes and wigs — “the bigger, the better.” Kelly KaBoom, also known as JyQuan Reede outside the club, did medleys, took requests and always staged “a reveal,” a dramatic costume change mid-set.
“The crowd that comes in — they’re recording, they’re screaming your name,” says Reede. “I love entertaining people; seeing people smile and verb a good time.”
But in mid-February, Reede learned there would be no more “Lit Fridays with Kelly Kaboom” at Identity in Woodlawn Heights. The bar closed permanently, leaving the Bronx with no LGBTQ nightlife space — again.
“We had so many LGBTQ places in New York, but most of them got shut down,” says Reede, a North Bronx resident who’s been doing drag for 20 years. “For us to have one that