Dec 31, 2004  |  By: JOE CREA  | COMMENTS     

In response to the slated displacement of six gay clubs in southeast Washington, local gay activist Frank Kameny plans to write a letter to the D.C. Council telling them they have a “moral obligation” to relocate the gay establishments that are scheduled to be put out of business to make room for the city’s new baseball stadium.

Kameny argues that the D.C. Council “exiled” gay clubs to the O Street SE area of Washington during the 1970s and are now obliged to relocate the businesses, possibly at the site of the recently demolished Washington Convention Center, 900 Ninth St. NW.

“They exiled us there [O Street] in an out of sight, out of mind philosophy and they have a moral obligation, regardless of whatever zoning officials say, to relocate the businesses,” said the longtime gay-rights activist who said he will send his letter to the Council next week.

The likely displacement of the O Street gay clubs, Ziegfeld’s and Secrets, the Follies Theater, the Glorious Health & Amusements, Club Bath and Heat, which opened this week and was previously named La Cage Aux Follies Bar & Nightclub, represents an extreme example of what some say is a crackdown by the District Council and others on D.C. nightlife.

District targeting gay businesses?
Earlier this month, the Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission voted to oppose a request from the gay club Cobalt to change its license from a restaurant to a tavern.

However the ANC chair, Darren Bowie, who is gay, claimed the commission is likely to approve the license change as long as the bar agrees not to convert their restaurant into an outdoor saloon. Under Cobalt’s present license, they are required to obtain 45 percent of their income from the sale of food.

And the prospects for a new gay bar, Fab Lounge — located just three blocks north of Dupont Circle — remains in limbo. The chief of staff for gay D.C. Councilmember David Catania [I-At-Large] for months was a primary opponent of the new bar.

However, Linda Bumbalo, who has worked for Catania since he won election to the Council in 1997, sent a two-sentence letter to the head of the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, Charles Burger, noting that she was dropping her protest against the Fab Lounge’s liquor license application. In news reports, Bumbalo maintained that she was not opposed to Fab Lounge because it was a gay establishment but was concerned that too many bars and restaurants were opening in the vicinity of Connecticut and Florida Avenues, NW.

She had also expressed concern that a small school for youths with learning disabilities was operating within 400 feet of the proposed lounge. The Fab Lounge, spearheaded by D.C. businessman Frez Teame, is to be housed in the second floor at 1805 Connecticut Ave., NW, directly above the Royal Palace nightclub, which features nude female dancers.

Kameny and others say there is a trend amongst the Council via elaborate ABC regulations and zoning rules in limiting D.C. nightlife for both gay and straight clientele.

While it appears that gay clubs are being hit much harder, leaders say whatever crackdown is underway is not specifically due to animus toward gay citizens or businesses.

“I don’t see it is a gay-directed trend … you will find NIMBY-ism all over the city,” Kameny said, referring to an attitude of residents who support controversial venues, but “Not In My Back Yard.”

The Council’s two openly gay members, David Catania (I-At-Large) and Jim Graham (D-Ward 4), did not return Blade inquiries.

Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance, said those moving to the heart of D.C. from suburbs expect the tranquil life to follow them.

“You have people moving to the center city and what they really want is to live in a quiet suburb but somehow they expect the suburb to move where they are,” Rosendall said. “Having a vibrant nightlife should be expected to go along with city living. It is certainly a reasonable thing for people to expect that there will be a nightlife.”

Speaking on behalf of the Dupont Circle neighborhood, Bowie said that nightlife has and continues to thrive in Dupont adding he does not see any shift in perception about nightlife being ...