 Metropolitan in October 2020 | |
 | |
| Address | 559 Lorimer Street Brooklyn, New York USA |
|---|---|
| Location | Williamsburg, Brooklyn |
| Coordinates | 40°42′49″N73°56′58″W / 40.71361°N 73.94944°W Coordinates: 40°42′49″N73°56′58″W / 40.71361°N 73.94944°W |
| Public transit |   Metropolitan Avenue |
| Type | Gay bar |
| Opened | 2002 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Metropolitan is a gay bar in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.
Metropolitan is near the intersection of Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg. It is a dive bar featuring a multi-level lounge, pool table, dancefloor, and backyard patio. [1] Since its founding, Metropolitan has hosted weekly barbecues on its back patio on Sundays from Memorial Day weekend to the end of September. Other events hosted by the bar include "Queeraoke" on Tuesday nights, Wednesday night trivia, Gender Xperts, a monthly gender queer open mic night, as well as a monthly comedy show. [2]
Metropolitan sits on a lot previously occupied by a colonial-era cemetery that was likely owned by the First Reformed Dutch Church of Williamsburgh. [3] The land was declared forlorn sometime before the mid-1800s and was developed into real estate by the end of the century. From 1927 to 2000, the building now on the lot was occupied by Milo's Restaurant, a bar that initially operated as a Prohibition-era speakeasy. Following the closure of Milo's, the site was occupied by an Irish pub before Metropolitan opened in 2002. [3]
In February 2012, Brooklyn Community Board 1 rejected Metropolitan's request for a liquor license renewal, citing complaints that the bar failed to abide by state guidelines that obligate bars to close outdoor spaces by 11 p.m. on weeknights and 1 a.m. on weekends. The board's vote was merely a recommendation, and Metropolitan's liquor license was ultimately renewed by the State Liquor Authority. [4]
In September 2018, two gay men were assaulted after leaving Metropolitan by a man who uttered homophobic slurs. [5] The accused perpetrator was arrested on a variety of assault and hate crime charges and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. [6]
Metropolitan was ranked as the best gay bar in New York by New York magazine in 2005 and 2008. [7] In 2015, New York ranked Metropolitan as the best gay bar in Brooklyn, calling it "a Grand Central Station for Brooklyn’s gay scene, with a lively roster of DJs, drag queens, and events that are always mixed and never exclusionary". [8]
The J Nassau Street Local and Z Nassau Street Express are two rapid transit services in the B Division of the New York City Subway. Their route emblems, or "bullets", are colored brown since they use the BMT Nassau Street Line in Lower Manhattan.
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Williamsburg is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant to the south; Bushwick and East Williamsburg to the east; and the East River to the west. As of the 2020 United States census, the neighborhood's population is 151,308.
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Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven to the south, and Middle Village to the north.
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The Black Cat Bar or Black Cat Café was a bar in San Francisco, California. It originally opened in 1906 and closed in 1921. The Black Cat re-opened in 1933 and operated for another 30 years. During its second run of operation, it was a hangout for Beats and bohemians but over time began attracting more and more of a gay clientele, and becoming a flashpoint for what was then known as the homophile movement, a precursor to the gay liberation movement that gained momentum in the 1960s.
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The Crosstown Line is a public transit line in Brooklyn, New York City, running along Van Brunt Street and Manhattan Avenue between Red Hook and Long Island City, Queens. Originally a streetcar line, it is now the B61 and the B62 bus routes. The northern section, the B62, is operated by MTA New York City Bus' Grand Avenue Depot in Maspeth, Queens, and the southern section is the B61, operated by MTA New York City Bus' Jackie Gleason Depot in Sunset Park. The entire route was a single line, the B61, until January 3, 2010; the B62 was previously a separate, parallel route between Downtown Brooklyn and Greenpoint, now part of the B43 route. The streetcar line, B61 and the original B62 previously operated from the now-closed Crosstown Depot in Greenpoint.
Flushing Avenue is a street running through northern Brooklyn and western Queens, beginning at Nassau Street in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and ending at Grand Avenue in Maspeth. It divides the neighborhood of Williamsburg from Clinton Hill and East Williamsburg from Bushwick. After crossing the Queens border, the avenue serves as the dividing line between Ridgewood, Queens and West Maspeth. Flushing Avenue then terminates in Maspeth. Despite its name, however, the avenue does not extend to Flushing.
Michael J. Sandy was a man from Brooklyn, New York, who died after being hit by a car while trying to escape four attackers who attempted to rob him because he was gay.
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the United States have a long history, including vibrant subcultures and advocacy battles for social and religious acceptance and legal rights.
Broadway is an avenue in the New York City borough of Brooklyn that extends from the East River in the neighborhood of Williamsburg in a southeasterly direction to East New York for a length of 4.32 miles (6.95 km). It was named for the Broadway in Manhattan. The East New York terminus is a complicated intersection with East New York Avenue, Fulton Street, Jamaica Avenue, and Alabama Avenue. The BMT Jamaica Line of the New York City Subway runs on elevated tracks over Broadway from the Williamsburg Bridge to East New York on its way to Queens. Broadway forms the boundary between the neighborhoods of Bushwick, which lies above Broadway to the northeast, and Bedford–Stuyvesant, which is to the southwest.
The Williamsburg Bridge Plaza, sometimes called Washington Plaza or the Williamsburg Bridge Transit Center, is a major bus terminal and former trolley terminal located at the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, one block west of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (I-278). It is situated by the boundaries of Broadway, Havemeyer Street, Roebling Street, and South 5th Street, south of the LaGuardia Playground. It contains five bus lanes, and serves as a terminal for numerous MTA New York City Transit Authority bus routes of Brooklyn and Queens that start and end their runs there.
New York City is home to one of the largest LGBTQ populations in the world and the most prominent. Brian Silverman, the author of Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day, wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs, high-rise buildings, and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". LGBT advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, “Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer.”
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Lit Lounge was a nightclub in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. The two-floor complex housed a concert venue, lounge, dance floor, and Fuse Gallery, an art exhibition space. Lit Lounge was noted as a major venue for New York City's hipster subculture in the mid- to late 2000s, particularly the indie rock and electroclash scene of the era.
Rise Bar, or simply Rise, is a gay bar in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 2015, it is a small establishment surrounded by a number of larger LGBT nightlife venues. The bar is most popular among gay men and some women. It features pop music and hosts weekly entertainment including drag shows, open-mic nights and karaoke. Though Rise's owners invested in soundproofing before it opened, noise concerns from nearby residents initially led the local community board and state liquor authority to require the venue to close at an earlier hour than its competitors. Following a contentious series of applications to modify Rise's operating schedule and liquor license, this requirement was overturned for weekend nights. The establishment has received praise for its welcoming, diverse atmosphere.
