How to Meet Gay Men in New York City?

New York City figures on the list of gay-friendly cities on account of the sheer strength of the LGBT population. With around almost three hundred thousand people identifying themselves as LGBT, the community makes up around 4.5% of the city’s population. Consequently NYC has the largest number of LGTBs among all the cities in the country and thus a powerful factor in determining policies for their benefit so if you are gay and looking to for a partner in the Big Apple, here are a few places where you can look.

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Chelsea

This place is a favorite for gays not only because of the supposedly gym-toned “Chelsea boys” but also because Chelsea is New York City’s premier Art District and also a favorite hangout of the bohemian crowd. Here you are sure to run into a potential partner as you admire paintings at any of Chelsea 200 art galleries or live it up at one of its rocking nightspots. One of the most famous of these is Splash which is known as Chelsea's only exclusively gay dance club. In essence, it's a two-floor affair where the ground floor has two large square bars - one up front and one in the back and small tables and giant video screens. However if you have a thing for country music or western theme, check out the Big Apple Ranch located at Dance Manhattan dance studio at 39 West 19th Street. Here on a sprawling 2,000 square foot loft space, the average attendance exceeds 120 people a day. Eighth Avenue in Chelsea is a center for LGBT-oriented shopping and dining and if you patronize the restaurants long enough, you are sure to bump into someone who shares your interests.

Hell’s Kitchen

This area of New York City has a pretty and diverse gay crowd. One of the hippest gay hangouts in Hell’s Kitchen is Therapy. Formerly a warehouse, it is now a huge lounge sprawling over two floors. You can sample cocktails named after your favorite disorders, like Delusions and Psychotic Episodes or enjoy free entertainment which ranges from an open-mike night, a comedy hour featuring queer-friendly comedians and DJs every night.

Hang out at Harlem

A more subdued gay culture exists in this uptown area where gays are not known to congregate in massive numbers. Here Locals hang out at LGBT-owned and friendly businesses but visitors are also welcome in these wine shops and cafes which sport small rainbow flag stickers. Harlem's Mount Morris Park Historic District is a thriving gay neighborhood and was the site for Harlem’s first Gay Pride in 2010. However as you explore this part of New York City, you can also come across several special places dispersed within the community. The advantage of such nooks is that you can share sophisticated spaces with like-minded and friendly people.

Work it out at GYM

Gay sports bars are a great place to meet a potential partner, particularly if you have a thing for beefy, well-built types. While there are many sports bars for the gay community in New York City though the first and still most famous openly sports bar for gays is GYM. Located at 167 8th Ave at 18th Street, this is a relaxed converted-loft space with comfortable couches, pool tables, and nine flat screen TVs for viewing sports ranging from football games to rodeo events. Apart from offering a laid-back atmosphere, the GYM also sponsors leagues for sports including soccer, softball, volleyball, hockey, wrestling, and cheerleading.

Explore ‘the Village’

The Greenwich Village in New York City is largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Better known as just “the Village”, this has long been the center for alternative culture and counter-cultural activities in the city. Earlier the hangout of bohemian writers, avant garde artists, anti-war protestors, the Village eventually became the central point of activities that challenged mainstream American culture. As part of these leanings, the Village has long welcomed gays and members of the LGBT community too. The Village not only contains important venues in the history of gay movement such Christopher Street and the Stonewall Inn but also significant cultural landmarks like Oscar Wilde Bookshop which, founded in 1967, is the world's oldest gay and lesbian bookstore. Then there is the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual & Transgender Community Center – best known as simply “The Center” which has continued to occupy the former Food & Maritime Trades High School at 208 West 13th Street since 1984. As you explore these significant places you may just meet a potential partner with the same cultural leanings as yours.

Take a historic tour

If you have had your fill of gay club-hopping in New York City, how about taking a history lesson next. Visit the historic Stonewall Inn, an unassuming little bar in Manhattan’s West Village that has become a true landmark in gay history. In June 1969, Stonewall was the site of massive riots in when a group of gay men stood up to raiding police officers, a common form of harassment in those times. After two successive nights of protests and  marches in the following week, the importance of Stonewall came to be embedded in the mind of the New York gay community in particular and of the country as a whole. It united the gay community not only in the city but across the country in the fight against discrimination and its legacy is evident in the way many gay pride celebrations are held around the world during the month of June in honor of Stonewall. Today, the Stonewall bar is once again a popular gay night spot in New York City. Occupying part of the original Stonewall Inn, the bar attracts plenty of locals and visitor; so if lucky you can catch the attention of a guy who like you has come to pay tribute to a gay New York landmark.