A device shaped like a World War II-era bomb unearthed by Manhattan construction workers on Wednesday turned out to be a time capsule from a popular 1980s dance club.
The NYPD’s Emergency Services and bomb squad units were called to the scene in Manhattan’s Flatiron District for a “suspicious package.” Construction workers dug up the fake bomb while working at the site.
After a brief evacuation, officials determined the item wasn’t a threat, and the story of how the item ended up there began to surface.
the “bomb” was actually a time capsule that clubgoers and bartenders from Danceteria buried in 1985, the club’s former owner John Argento told the New York Daily News.
He said he bought the item for $200 at an Army Navy store on Canal Street.
“I kind of mentioned it as a joke back then,” Argento told The Daily News. “Someone’s going to dig this up and think it’s an unexploded bomb.”
“We forgot about it and went on to the next party.”
“I am happy to see such passion and energy in support of gay rights. We just need to channel that passion and energy to those who would deny us those rights. The dinner with Ted Cruz happened only because IT WAS NOT A FUNDRAISER. It was about security for Israel, but it also gave me a rare opportunity to address the gay issues for which Ted Cruz has championed against. THREE FACTS WILL MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR TED CRUZ TO BE THE CHAMPION AGAINST GAY RIGHTS: 1) he had a private dinner (not a fund raiser) at a gay couples home, 2) he is in several pictures at that gay household, and 3) he stated he would love his daughter the same if she were gay. Those facts are difficult to reconcile with his stance on gay issues — Ted’s far right anti-gay supporters are screaming now. We need to be persistent with our message and it will slowly seep thru even to those most vehemently against gay rights.
“Ken Mehlman was the Chair of the Republican National Committee whose platform included several anti-gay positions. Later in life Ken was instrumental in the passage of Gay Marriage in NY State. People’s views can be changed over time. I worked 6 years for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, which required many unpleasant conversations with people who opposed Gays in the Military. And it worked! THE GAY MOVEMENT NEEDS YOUR HELP. Tell those people that are against us or just neutral, that gay people have families, friends, some worship in church and we don’t want to be demonized. Light up social media with calls for the SUPREME COURT TO RULE IN FAVOR OF GAY MARRIAGE! #SUPREMESFORMARRIAGE – Mati Weiderpass,
Translation: I got caught being a Kapo, quick backpedal before I lose too much business. After all it’s about the money.
Some of the most historical gay property in America next to The Stonewall Inn, namely the business strip of the Fire Island Pines home to The Pavillion Nightclub, The Blue Whale, and the harbor-front which became a destination for millions of gay men since it was founded in 1952 have been sold at auction for $10.1 Million dollars to Manhattan Hotelier Ian Reisner
A strip of commercial real estate along the harbor in Fire Island Pines sold for $10.1 million at auction on Thursday to developers with plans to continue the revival of a former mecca for closeted gay men. The sale price was well below the $25 million the previous owners sought when they placed it on the market last fall, and below the $17 million they paid for it in 2010. In a deal hammered out over more than six hours, the property was bought by Ian Reisner, who also owns the Out NYC, a hotel on West 42nd Street in Manhattan that focuses on a gay clientele. The deal is expected to close in February.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Reisner said he, his business partner and a small team of investors planned to spend $4 million over the next 18 months to “renovate and rejuvenate” the property, which includes a hotel, a nightclub, a restaurant, a bar and retail space. The Pavilion nightclub in Fire Island Pines was rebuilt after a 2011 fire and reopened, but in the interim the crowd moved on. “My idea for the Out was to have a place for L.G.B.T., because we didn’t have that at the time,” said Mr. Reisner, who said he has been visiting Fire Island Pines since he came out as gay in 1989. “The Pines is the Out.”
Hopefully Mr. Reisner will see the historical value to the community and spotlight some of it in the rebuilding.
As for the writer of the New York Times article that this is quoted from, Ashley Southhall (@assouthall) who starts her article with:
“A strip of commercial real estate along the harbor in Fire Island Pines sold for $10.1 million at auction on Thursday to developers with plans to continue the revival of a former mecca for closeted gay men.”
“Meccaa for CLOSETED GAY MEN”?
Ms Southall you need to learn how to do research before you write a story.
Fire Island was a mecca for ALL GAY MEN, LESBIANS, BISEXUALS, DRAG QUEENS, and TRANSGENDERED people and their straight allies and friends for more decades than you have been alive. What you wrote Ms. Southall is not only insulting to the entire gay community and insulting New York Times readers who know more history than you. To which it seems there are many.
The Pavilion, (originally named The Sandpiper back in the 1970’s) was destroyed last night as a fire roared through the commercial district of Fire Island Pines, the popular gay resort village on a barrier island was one of the most famous gay clubs in the world spanning over 40 years. Famous for its “high tea dances“, “low teas“, and “middle teas” it was the major destination for gay men and hosted a Who’s Who of NYC’s gay elite and men on the make during the summertime.
Initial reports indicate the blaze broke out around 9:15 p.m. It quickly engulfed the Pavilion, C.F. LaFountaine, Sip N’ Twirl, the Pines Bistro and a bay front home. Walter Boss of the Fire Island Pines Fire Department confirmed to The News around 11:20 p.m. that the fire destroyed the Pavilion, La Fountaine, the Sip N’ Twirl complex that includes the Bistro and a bay front home
An unprepossessing wooden building, it hosted some of the most memorable DJs on some of their most memorable evenings. It became an incubator of what has since been dubbed “the Fire Island Sound,” and nurtured the careers of several beginning DJs.
The Pavilion was destroyed at the end of the summer of 2006 and replaced at great cost with the New Pavilion in 2007.
