PARK SLOPE \u2014 Ginger\u2019s Bar, the oldest lesbian bar in Brooklyn, canceled some of its Pride Month programming due to recurring noise complaints, which are rumored to be from a neighbor.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Monday, Ginger\u2019s posted a statement<\/a> on Instagram. \u201cDue to ongoing noise concerns in the neighborhood, we\u2019ve made the difficult decision to cancel the majority of our DJ events during Pride this year,\u201d the bar said. \u201cAs much as we love turning up the music and creating space for queer joy, we also want to remain respectful of the neighborhood we have called home for the past 26 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso denounced<\/a> the complaints on X. \u201cIf you\u2019re filing noise complaints against Brooklyn\u2019s oldest lesbian bar during Pride, you might be in the wrong neighborhood,\u201d he said. \u201cThis has been a home for queer Brooklynites for 26 years. Ginger\u2019s deserves better.\u201d<\/p>\n Community members, including DJs and performers who frequent the bar, commented on the Instagram announcement, with many accusing Park Slope\u2019s continued gentrification<\/a> of dampening the Pride celebration. Ginger\u2019s turned off commenting on its post.<\/p>\n The announcement stirred up frustration in Brooklyn\u2019s queer community, with many expressing that the noise complaints signify a greater issue facing queer spaces. In Park Slope, Ginger\u2019s, on Fifth Avenue and Fifth Street, is one of two queer bars, with Good Judy 10 blocks down the avenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI went to a Pride event of theirs last year. They do a great job of closing the backyard at 12 a.m. in order to be respectful of neighbors and the DJ\/music was completely indoors,\u201d said one patron on a Reddit thread<\/a> discussing the announcement. \u201cThere obviously will be some noise filtering in and out, but it is Pride Month, and I think it\u2019s important for us to have spaces to be able to celebrate with our community.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Ginger\u2019s opened in 2000 and is one of only a handful<\/a> of lesbian bars left in the city. The space has been serving the Park Slope community as a bar for over a century, including as a gay bar in the 1990s. Ginger\u2019s features female-owned and locally sourced beers and brews, along with cocktails and Irish snacks.\u00a0<\/p>\n New York City Community Emergency Response Team volunteer Tania Tavira told The Park Slope Walk, a newsletter<\/a> covering the neighborhood, \u201cI help manage traffic and parade safety during the Brooklyn Pride Fair and Twilight Parade. The crowds outside Ginger\u2019s get so rowdy that barricades were introduced last year and will return this year to keep everyone safe. All of this is to say, we at CERT love Ginger\u2019s. We brace for the massive crowds, but we absolutely love the community.\u201d<\/p>\n The conversation has moved beyond the Instagram post, as many patrons feel the complaints signify a larger theme of gentrification and a negative neighborhood culture. Some patrons also feel the noise complaints are dangerous for small businesses and community events, referencing the closures of beloved subculture spaces like Williamsburg\u2019s punk bar St. Vitus, Greenpoint metal venue The Kingsland<\/a> and Club Lambda<\/a>, a nightlife spot beloved by queer people of color.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we had one request, please be considerate of our neighbors while out on the street or in the backyard. It takes a village,\u201d Ginger\u2019s team said.<\/p>\n