NIGHTLIFE
East Village’s Pyramid Club Closes for Good
Longtime queer hotspot had been closed since beginnning of pandemic
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Pyramid Club, an iconic
queer venue that helped
escalate legendary drag
performers like RuPaul
and Lady Bunny, is shuttering due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more than 41 years, the venue
at 101 Avenue A in Manhattan’s
East Village served as a historical
mecca for drag culture, including
the start of Wigstock, an annual
outdoor drag festival that began
in the 1980s. Since the start of
the pandemic, the club has been
closed, and it will not resume operations,
the venue’s managers,
Maria Narciso and Quirino Perez,
or house DJ TM.8, announced earlier
this month.
“We are another sad consequence
of Covid-19,” the club’s
managers wrote in an Instagram
post April 1. “Our number one priority
Pyramid Club, known for its drag and queer scene, is closing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
has always been to provide a
safe environment for everyone to
be who they truly are.”
The club’s closing is still shocking
for the venue’s managers.
“We’ve patiently waited for over
GOOGLE MAPS
a year, and we never thought that
we’d permanently close,” the club
added. “Our hearts go to YOU, our
community, who’ve kept us going
over these past 41 years, as well as
other nightclubs, live music venues,
and theaters, businesses that,
like us, have suffered the most
from this “Pause” and are facing
our very same predicament.”
Since opening in 1979, the club
has become a popular and even
historic fi xture within New York’s
LGBTQ nightlife scene. In October
2007, the Greenwich Village Society
for Historic Preservation proposed
that the venue become the
city’s fi rst drag landmark.
“Historically, the Pyramid Club
was one of the great LGBTQ gathering
spots,” Andrew Berman, an
out gay executive director at the
Greenwich Village Society for Historic
Preservation, told Gay City
News. “That’s the heyday of New
York City nightlife. The Pyramid
Club somehow, in some form, hung
on. Its loss is noteworthy.”
While the New York City Land-
➤ PYRAMID CLUB, continued on p.23
Yankees-Stonewall Scholarship Program Returns
One public school student from every borough gets $10,000 for college
BY MATT TRACY
The Yankees, the Stonewall
Inn, and the New
York City Department
of Education are welcoming
applications for the third
annual Yankees-Stonewall Scholarship
program for college-bound
high school seniors.
The $10,000 college scholarships
are awarded to public school
seniors who have maintained high
academic standing and made a difference
in the LGBTQ community.
Students from across the city are
encouraged to apply — and one individual
from each borough will be
selected. The application deadline
is April 30.
The scholarships were fi rst
awarded in 2019 — in the midst
of WorldPride and Stonewall 50 in
New York City — at a time when
the Yankees were facing pressure
The Yankees, the Stonewall Inn, and the Department of Education are teaming up for a third year to
distribute fi ve $10,000 scholarships.
to take action in support of the
LGBTQ community in light of the
team’s reluctance to host an annual
Pride night. The closest the Yankees
USA TODAY SPORTS/ WENDELL CRUZ
came to a Pride night was when the
team held a pre-game ceremony at
Yankee Stadium that year.
“We could not be more proud
as we continue our support of the
Yankees-Stonewall Scholarship,
which empowers the next generation
of LGBTQ leaders to reach
their educational goals and achieve
their dreams for the future,” Yankees
senior vice president and general
manager Brian Cashman said
in a written statement.
City Schools Chancellor Meisha
Porter praised the Yankees for doing
their part in continuing the
program for another year.
“This year has been unique and
challenging in so many ways — I
encourage our seniors to apply
for this opportunity, share it with
your classmates, and prepare to
celebrate your graduation and all
that life has in store for you,” Porter
said in a written statement.
The Department of Education
will lead the review of applications
and winners will be announced at
some point during the spring.
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