Brooklyn’s oldest lesbian bar is canceling most of its popular DJ events for Pride Month after racking up a series of noise complaints this year from its neighbors.
Ginger’s, nestled in Park Slope, is one of a small handful of lesbian bars in New York City. When customers aren’t lining up to play pool against one another or crowd its outdoor patio, the Irish dive bar hosts a swath of events throughout the year, from drag king shows to DJ nights.
This includes a full schedule of events for Pride Month — up until this year. Ginger’s shared in a May 18 Instagram post that it plans to cancel “the majority of our DJ events during Pride.”
The bar received 20 noise complaints between Jan. 1 and May 21 of this year, according to police data. And New York City’s 311 system received 49 noise complaints at the address associated with Ginger’s during the same period last year, a Gothamist review of public data shows.
The announcement generated concern from the bar's customers and some local elected officials, including Brooklyn Borough president Antonio Reynoso.
Reynoso said in a statement to Gothamist that the cancellation of events at Ginger’s is “representative of a bigger problem we’re seeing across Brooklyn.” He cited similar noise complaints aimed at the West Indian Day Parade and Puerto Rican Day celebrations.
“Ginger’s isn’t the bad neighbor — it’s the people demanding that communities and cultures take up less space who are not being neighborly,” Reynoso said.
The same sentiment was reiterated by the New York Hospitality Alliance, which represents more than 24,000 restaurants and nightlife establishments.
“When the oldest lesbian bar in Brooklyn cancels Pride events because of some neighbor complaints, it harms that community and underscores a larger problem, which can erode the cultural spaces that have long made New York City so special,” said its executive director, Andrew Rigie.
Nonetheless, the Park Slope establishment said it does plan to keep some events — like its annual Brooklyn Pride celebration.
“We know how much these nights mean to the community, and we’re deeply grateful for every DJ, organizer and guest who planned to dance the night away with us,” the post reads. “As 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, and our space that has been a neighborhood bar for 100 years.”
The owners of Ginger’s bar, Sheila Frayne and Brendan Donohoe, did not return a request for comment from Gothamist.
Millions of people — both locals and visitors — celebrate Pride Month in New York City, where the movement began with the Stonewall uprising.
But the monthlong celebration faces some new obstacles this year as corporations nix sponsorships for the Pride March and pull back more broadly on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. NYC Pride said recently it is more than half a million dollars under budget for the annual event.
