“This was their place, their safe place to be themselves,” said Helen Buford, the owner of Julius’ Bar, “ where they weren’t accepted anywhere else.
“The gay community had nowhere else to meet publicly,” said Ken Lustbader, the co-founder of NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. 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. New York’s gay bars are still vital, especially post-COVID, owners say | Pride and Pandemic
