Gay Gotham Carries On Without the Roxy

It's now official... the Roxy has closed its doors after more than 15-years [and appearances from Madonna, Cher and other gay icons] as one of New York's most prominent, beloved or loathed gay club depending upon one's point of view. Life as we gay New Yorkers know it will never be the same again!

Yet, I could barely contain my queer distain, however, after reading Roxy owner John Blair's comments in Monday's New York Times [www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/nyregion/12roxy.html?em&ex=1173844800&en=746898227580043e&ei=5087%0A] about how the Roxy signified the emergence of the so-called Chelsea era. The article discussed in depth Blair's system that he used to rate clubgoers who passed through his velvet rope and told the reporter 'Four is for people we have to let in free -- either they're really hot or they're a friend of mine or somehow important in the club community.' Seriously John, on which planet do you currently live? I'm certainly no prude about the realities of gay life in the city but let's not insult the people who continue to feed the ever growing -- and diverse -- pink empire in New York and across the country. Times continue to change and people like Blair and his ilk should move past the gay nostalgia in which they continue to live. We are now in the post-Roxy, and perhaps the post-Chelsea boy era...