HELL'S KITCHEN — The controversy over Boxers, a gay sports bar that wants to open in Hell's Kitchen, has raged for months. On Wednesday night, much of it will be settled at the full meeting of Community Board 4.

Much of the dispute is over the bar's proposed location at 776 10th Ave. The building is right up against P.S. 111 and is across the street from Sacred Heart of Jesus School. Opponents say the location is no place for a bar because of its proximity to children.

The Hell's Kitchen Boxers would be the bar's second location. The original Chelsea location, at 37 W. 20th St., offers patrons a gay-friendly sports-bar atmosphere. The new bar would be similar.

Bars typically ask community boards to recommend them to the State Liquor Authority for a liquor license, and Boxers was originally set to come before Communtiy Board 4 Business Licenses and Permits Committee early in the summer.

That meeting was delayed by both the bar's owners, who wanted more time to reach out to the community, and community board officials, who wanted to make sure the community would not be on a summer vacation.

Throughout the summer and into the fall, owners met with community groups and neighbors. They also had staff travel the neighborhood gathering signatures on a petition in favor of the new location.

At the September licensesing committee meeting, the bar's co-owners, Bob Fluet and Robert Hynds, unveiled their design for the bar. They would turn the derelict building currently at the corner of West 52nd Street and 10th Avenue into a two-story bar with a rooftop patio.

They also revealed a plan to get around the SLA's ban on liquor-serving establishments within 200 feet of a school — setting up a liquor-free taco shop on the side of the building facing 52nd Street.

According to Boxers' lawyer, Donald Bernstein, that would make Boxers exempt from the 200-foot rule with regards to Sacred Heart of Jesus School, since it only applies to a school on the same street or avenue as a bar. The entrance to P.S. 111 would be more than 200 feet to the bar.

The preliminary blueprints for the building also blocked off views of the rooftop patio from the school with high, concrete walls. According to the designs, the roof will only open up to 10^th Avenue.

At the end of that meeting, the Business Licenses and Permits committee voted to draft a letter recommending the SLA grant Boxers its liquor license — with some caveats. The bar would have to provide security, and the rooftop could not open until 4 p.m. on school days. On weekends and during the summer, the bar could open it earlier.

The bar also agreed to open its main floor at 1 p.m. on school days, though at a heated meeting of the Hell’s Kitchen 50^th-51^st Street Block Association last week, Fluet and Hynds said they would consider not opening until 4 p.m. on any school day.

In September, Principal Irma Medina of P.S. 111 sent an e-mail to parents, writing that the bar next to the school would be inappropriate.

According to community board members, the landlord of the new bar, Croman Realty, made no secret of only wanting to rent the building to some kind of nightlife establishment. Few but a successful bar would be able to afford the rents Croman has been holding out for.

Medina also referred to a now-defunct promotion that was offered last summer when the bar gave two-for-one drinks to patrons who show off their underwear at the Chelsea location. The bar's owners said the promotion was a failure, and has guaranteed a similar one wouldn't happen at the new Hell's Kitchen location.

Wednesday's full meeting of Community Board 4 is certain to be packed, with both supporters and opponents of the new bar vowing to turn out in large numbers. The community board has the opportunity to vote on whether or not a recommendation will be made to the SLA.

The board's recommendation is nonbinding, but the authority typically listens to a community board when deciding a license application.

The full board meeting happens Wed. Oct. 4 at the Roosevelt Hospital, 1000 10th Ave, at 6:30 p.m.

(The New Location of Boxers HK)
 
If Principal Irma Medina had her way, the proposed Boxers HK would not be getting its liquor license. And if you’ve followed the bar’s battle to add a 10th Avenue location, have been reading the New York Post or watching PIX 11, you probably know that the popular Chelsea wateringhole is trying to skirt a zoning law that prohibits an establishment from selling liquor within 200 feet of a school by dividing their new proposed location in two, so that the area that will be a bar is technically outside the 200 foot barrier. But Boxers attempt to slip through a loop-hole in New York zoning law isn’t what the most recent controversy is about.
 
The bar’s first meeting with Community Board 4’s Business Licenses and Permits committee—which took place on September 13—went well: the Board voted 9–3 in favor of drafting a letter recommending the New York State Liquor Authority grant Boxers HK a license. But yesterday the proposed bar got some heat from the principle of PS 111, Irma Medina, in the form of an email sent to community members. “We saw [the principal’s] comments and it confused the heck out of us as to why they would be saying that,” said Bob Fluet, co-owner of Boxers.
 
The email from Principal Medina listed facts about when children are in school and what age children attend the school, as well as several opinions about the implications of having a bar near her school. “At dismissal, additional foot traffic will create unsafe conditions for parents with young children and our Middle School age students,” Medina’s email reads. “[The] bar intends to have a pants check in (sic) leaving the patrons wearing only their boxers. This is inappropriate for school age children to be exposed to during the day while they are in a learning environment,” Medina’s note continues. (When called, Principal Medina was unavailable for comment.)
 
But Bob Fluet says the principal has her facts mixed up. “It’s just silly they way they’re going about attacking us,” the gay father of two 8 year-old children says. He says concerns about the pants check are overblown—it was a promotion they gave up almost a year ago—and anything that happens inside the bar, like any other bar in New York, will be kept well away from the prying eyes of children not legally old enough to enter.
 
“[I’m] a gay dad, a parent with two kids who would never do anything to embarrass my children,” he continues. Fluet says fears about noise and increased foot traffic are unfounded. The proposed rooftop area, he says, will be completely out of sight of the school. In addition, the bar will be prohibited from ever playing music in that area.
 
Furthermore, concerns about increased foot traffic during the school’s dismissial period, which is—according to Medina’s email—at 3:10pm, seem unfounded, as the bar wont open till 4pm. “We wanted to open the downstairs for food [earlier], but we were willing to wait until 4 o’clock for the bar,” Fluet said.
 
Most concerning, though, is the implication that “gay bar” is synonymous with “sex club,” as some community members have suggested. “At the end of the day it’s a sports bar,” the co-owner, who is also a general contractor, said. “Boxers has always been a gay-friendly sports bar, but most importantly it is a sports bar.”
 
Fluet continues, “My kids are learning so much about [the negative affects of] bullying and gossiping. [The principal is] just promoting gossip. In 2011, a principal of a school in Manhattan is teaching our children this.”
 
And ultimately, what seems worse? A place where adults can gather, enjoy sports, beers and food in an open and respectful, neighborhood environment, or a principle teaching children that homophobic fear mongering is acceptable. —Alex Erikson

Score one for our side.

In a big victory, Boxers, the popular gay sports bar on West 20th Street just east of Sixth Avenue, scored a big victory on Tuesday night, Sept. 13, at a meeting of the Business Licenses & Permits Committee of the local community board. The Chelsea-based bar’s owners had been facing fierce opposition from community groups in its bid to open an outpost in Hell’s Kitchen.

The bar had originally had designs on a spot on Ninth Avenue. Already established as a popular destination for bars both gay and straight, that avenue’s siting didn’t stir much controversy.

Unfortunately, the landlord ultimately decided not to lease the space to the bar owners, which sent them scrambling for another location in the neighborhood. Hell’s Kitchen has been seeing an influx of gay men in recent years, as the High Line and high-end construction has made Chelsea increasingly pricey.

The owners found what they thought was an ideal location at 766 10th Avenue, at the southeast corner of West 52nd Street. The only catch: The isolated building, which formerly housed a wholesale Spanish-language record distribution company, is surrounded by a schoolyard.

Catch the Boxers float as it appeared on the Pride Parade segment of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart!

10 GAY HAYYngouts you must visit!

OK, there are thousands of amazing gay bars and clubs throughout the world, but here’s our list of a few that cannot be missed!  Great drinks, hot patrons and incredible atmosphere … these 10 venues have it all. 

10.  Bourbon Pub and Parade (New Orleans)

“The Pub” is the heart of the LGBT community in NOLA.  Located on Bourbon Street, the bar is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Gather around the downstairs video bars, dance upstairs or perch on the balcony.  Whenever you visit you’re certain to find friendly locals and sexy out of towners that will make for a memorable experience. 

9.   Bronx Action Bar (Cape Town)

Cape Town’s longest-running gay and lesbian bar remains solidly at the top of most gay nights out. It has a friendly, welcoming vibe, inviting people to bounce to pop music until dawn. The upstairs dance club, Navigaytion, is open Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, featuring the best electronic and house music.

8.  Club Unity (Montreal)

A staple of Montreal LGBT nightlife, Club Unity offers two dance floors, a rooftop terrace, drag shows and go-go dancers. Friday is college night on Saturday, it’s time to break out the muscles.  The best DJs from around the world perform here and the venue is smack dab in Montreal’s world-class gayborhood.

7.  Blackbird (San Francisco)

Fabulous cocktails and a crowd ranging from 20s to 40s, this is the spot to see and be seen. If you go during the day it is very chill but if you go on the weekend nights be prepared for a crowd, a very well dressed good looking crowd at that. The specialty drink menu is awesome and a great way to start a big night out in the Castro.

6.  Woody’s (Toronto)

Located in the center of Toronto’s Boystown, Woody’s and its brother bar Sailor (located next door) are Toronto’s busiest and hottest gay men’s bars.  It’s a large and cavernous complex with five bars and several nights of the week there are great events.  Woody’s features nightly DJs and men’s contests Thursday through Saturday (Best Chest, Best Ass, Best Legs).  The hot guys aren’t the only great view, Woody’s front windows open up on Church Street providing a terrific look at Canada’s busiest and friendliest gay village.

5.  Twist (Miami)

Twist South Beach is Miami’s largest and oldest gay club.  It is globally known for playing fantastic music, serving up drinks and fun! The “complex” is two-stories and has 7 bars, all of a different decor. The tiki hut in the tropical courtyard is always packed due to the high gage of entertainment and strippers. Many celebrities party here and if you come on the right night, Lady Bunny might stop in to do a show.  If you encounter Pussila the drag queen, be prepared to laugh all night!

4.  Boxers NYC (New York City)

If you love sports and drinking with the guys then Boxers NYC is the place to be. With two levels, pool tables, brick oven pizza, beer on tap, a full bar and plasma screens … after work or after the game… it’s a great hotspot in Chelsea.  Boxers NYC offers the best happy hour in Chelsea—the perfect place to go after work and before Splash!  Come check out the outdoor space or chill out around the pool table.

3.  Heaven (London)

The name says it all!  Heaven is London’s biggest gay club and attracts a mixed crowd of gays and lesbians for its regular club nights every week.  The venue is a series of interconnecting rooms and there’s plenty of space to chill out along with two large dance floors.  Heaven is very popular and has some impressive guest DJs playing the best and latest European dance music.

2.  The Week (Rio de Janeiro)

The Week  Club is Brazil’s most world-renowned gay venue.  It completely changed the landscape of the country’s nightlife.  The Week Rio is located in the Historical Center of Rio de Janeiro, set in an old palace style built in the beginning of XIX century.  There are two other clubs in São Paulo and Florianopolis but they all basically have the same layout ... two incredible dance floors, a lush garden, spacious pool, VIP area and fully-stocked bars. 

1.  The Abbey (West Hollywood)

The Abbey Food and Bar, has grown from a small, West Hollywood coffeehouse to one of the most popular hotspots in the country.  This is the premiere SoCal gay destination - the food is exceptional but the drinks (and men who serve them) are phenomenal! Make sure you try LA WATER! From nice cushioned cabanas to outside seating and cozy fireplaces - The Abbey embodies everything a gay venue should be … cocktails to die for, good looking men and irresistible music.

SCENE + HEARD: Boxers Scores a Knockout With It's One-Year Anniversary Blowout

(Rob Hynds & bartenders @ Boxers)

We can’t believe it’s been a year already since Boxers NYC opened its dorrs. The upscale gay sports bar celebrated their first anniversary in Wednesday night with an open bar, bunches of black-and-red balloons and hotties galore—and we don't just mean the sexy shirtless bartenders. And what goes best with hot, shirtless guy pouring you a cold beer? Free pizza squares & pig-in-blankets!

The East Chelsea establishment is bringing in the jocks night after night.  “Boxers means an awesome time with friends—and they have great pizza!!” beamed Drew Wingert, a strapping, young guard with the New York City Gay Basketball League. For Kris Burrell, a stud from Metro Gay Wrestling Alliance its all about the elbow room: “I love that there’s room to move around, and lots of TVs.”  And Jamarl Wilson, captain of Team Boxers with the New York Gay Football League bragged that his team was in first place. Yet another reason to celebrate!

There weren't any teetotalers in sight: The bar backs flew by carrying three-foot stacks of beer glasses and the hunky bartenders were slinking around each other behind the bar as manager Steven Wright observed the almost-comical mayhem with a confident smile.   Director of Marketing Ray Geerlof confided that, “It’s nice, after a year, to see what we’ve grown into—to see what we’ve developed here. It’s actually quite a good feeling.  The best thing about Boxers NYC is the diversity. We have a little bit of everybody."

No one could be happier though than the bar's owners, Rob Hynds and Bob Fluet. “I’m proud of my partner and all of our associates and friends.  Everybody has helped to make Boxers great!” said Fluet. Hynds followed-up, “It’s all about the customers. The guys love the place and we love them. Its awesome.” And with the bar now open till 4am on weekends, and rumors of a second location uptown, its just gonna get better and better. —Jeff Kagan.

Bloomberg News: Makes Boxers NYC world news!

Kathy Griffin is taking New York City by storm this week, and on Tuesday night she headed to Boxers NYC to watch her show, “My Life on the D-List” with her gays.

While there, Griffin was evidently touched by one of the gays… Well, I’m sure she got ‘touched’ and even ‘fondled’ by a few guys, but one of them went straight for her heart.

Griffin tweeted, “Ok, so I go 2 a gay bar in NYC ‘Boxers’ 2 see D List & a guy says ‘My Mom died of cervical cancer. She would’ve laughed & cheered @ u 2nite.’”

On Tuesday night’s, “My Life on the D-list”, Griffin did a televised pap smear to draw attention to cancer in women.

While in New York, Kathy is doing what she does best and working the media circuit.  On Thursday, she’ll make a visit to “The Wendy Williams Show.”

The Twitter-sphere blew up last night when Kathy Griffin tweeted that she was looking for a Flatiron District gay bar to watch last night’s episode of Bravo's My Life On The D List. With suggestions of Xes thwarted—the bar was debuting Tina Burner’s dragtastic new show, Tranimal—Griffin headed on over to Boxers with assistant/co-star Tiffany Rinehart in tow. While the sports bar's 13 flat-screen TVs are usually glued to a baseball game or tennis match, manager Steve Wright put a temporary moratorium on sports to appease the flaming-haired comedy diva. (Ironically, the episode had Kathy discussing pap schmears, er, smears.) Taking full advantage of each 90-second commercial break, Griffin sprung out of her seat to grab adoring fans for photo-ops and to cozy up to some of Boxers' fine-looking bartenders. (Levi Who?!) “The New York gays are better dressed. I’m sorry to the L.A. gays but, damn it, they know it [too],” she exclaimed while iPhones and Blackberries jockeyed to capture her image.  “However, the L.A. gays may be a little less into carbs because of the weather. They’re more likely to be shirtless year-round."
 
It's no secret we love Kathy's fearless attitude, her celebrity gossip tidbits and her box-wine drinking mama, but what does the gay icon love about us ?“What I envy most about the gay community is ...that you guys are good at coming together and getting things done—really working together and sticking together in a way that I think women should and don’t do as well,” she told us. (You listening, Elisabeth Hassel-hack?!) “I [also] admire that you mobilize like the gay army that you are!” she added. With an army of fans crowding around her, Griffin stuck around to chat and get photographed with each and every adoring gay (including Next Magazine creative director Charlie Piazza, seen here). We all salute the queen of the queens! – Christopher Dilley

“It’s comfortably the best thing I’ve ever been a part of. It’s been the hardest but most enjoyable three days you could ever wish to be a part of,” said Gotham captain Joe Hunt. “I’ve been playing rugby a long, long time, and I’ve just never been part of something so challenging and so rewarding as that.”

Sydney entered the title match the prohibitive favorite, having won the previous two Bingham Cups and knocked out the San Francisco Fog, winners of the first two titles, in the semifinal. However, Gotham proved to be a worthy opponent, and the two contenders put on a thrilling show from start to finish.

“It was a very hard fought game, two very finely-tuned backlines, very large packs of forwards. The lead swapped four times, it was played in a very intense spirit, great running rugby,” said Convicts founder Andrew Purchas. “It was played in the great spirit of football.”

“They were awesome…They gave the biggest battle ever,” said Hunt. “The last three years this team has been through so many ups and downs, and we’ve just got good. We’re getting really good, since we’ve been sticking together, and that’s what we did. Sydney had so much talent, we just stuck together, and we managed to sneak it in there at the end. They were an awesome team, Sydney. Very nice to come out on top.”

For Hunt and Gotham, winning the Bingham Cup is more than just gaining a trophy and a title. It's validation of all the hard work they’ve put in and everything they’ve had to sacrifice on a daily basis.

"People live for things like the Olympics every four years, but for these guys, for amateur sportsmen, this is their Olympics. We’ve been building for this for two years. For those guys at the top of our club, this is a 10, 12 year process every time they try and build toward something like this, and this is their effort, big time. It really is the pinnacle of our sport, and it just means everything for so many people,” said Hunt.

“It’s everything, absolutely everything. We’ve trained in the snow, in the rain and lightning. We have to work so hard; it’s so expensive to play rugby in New York. It’s the most expensive place to play rugby in the world; paying for facilities, traveling. It’s not an easy thing.”

Hunt is hopeful that taking the Cup back to New York will not only provide the local gay community with a shot of pride, but also inspire others to get off the sideline.

“It’s huge. Trying to get people to take gay sports seriously is very, very difficult, but we’ve got a big gay field, and this should help take it off,” he said. “There are certainly talented sportsmen, and hopefully this kind of gives them an avenue to show what they can do on a world stage, and the fact that we’re taking the cup home now is really hopefully going to inspire people to come and play some sports.”

While the Bingham Cup is the top prize, it wasn’t the only hardware handed out in Minneapolis Sunday, with five other clubs going home trophy in tow.

“There are probably three levels of teams. There are those which are pretty serious, like we are, there are guys which have been around a while and are developing skills and getting better, and there are those which are just beginning,” said Purchas, who also serves as IGRAB vice chairman.

“What IGRAB (International Gay Rugby Association and Board) attempts is to provide a competitive environment for all those different teams to be able to grow and nurture rugby in addition to supporting inclusiveness.”