NEW YORK CITY: West Village Locals Block Attempts To Relocate Gay Bar

In the face of soaring rent, Boots & Saddle is soon leaving its Christopher Street location after almost 40 years. The owners have found another location in the neighborhood, but the local community board has blocked their move.

Community Board 2's State Liquor Authority committee unanimously rejected Boots & Saddle's bid to transfer its liquor license to the new location. More than half a dozen unhappy neighbors turned out to the packed meeting to say that the bar, which hosts daily drag shows and twice-weekly karaoke nights, would disrupt their quiet block. “I cannot imagine anything less appropriate for this part of our enclave than this particular application,” said Greg Jackson, president of the Morton Street Block Association. Boots & Saddle co-owners Ron Silver and Rob Ziegler bristled at Jackson's use of the word "enclave," which they saw as discriminatory against the four-decade-old bar's clientele. "When they say 'enclave,' you know what that means," Ziegler said after the meeting. "They don't want our kind."

One member of the committee worried that children might see drag queens. In the West Village.