New Gay York, the trendy gay neighborhoods in New York

Apr. 26 2014

by Laurence Ogiela / TÊTU

New York City continues to attract visitors from around the world and remains one of the most gay-friendly travel destinations. Every day a new trendy neighborhood emerges, often inaugurated by the gay community, and immediately taken over by New Yorkers and tourists alike. If the West Village and Christopher Street are emblematic of the origins of the LGBT movement, the gay community has since expanded to other playgrounds such as Meatpacking, Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen or Williamsburg in Brooklyn.

Chelsea
For the last 15 years, Chelsea has become the new gay mecca of New York. Nicknamed The Strip, Boy Block or Queerical Mile, the neighborhood stretches along 8th Avenue, between 14th and 23rd Streets. Here, you can pick up women at the Starbucks on the corner, in the numerous art galleries, in the alleys of the covered market, or in line at the Kiehl's pharmacy and the Gourmet Garage.

Where to stay?
The Maritime Hotel: the former National Maritime Museum has become one of New York's trendiest hotels. Its porthole-shaped windows offer a magnificent view of the Hudson River, and the lobby and terrace make for great meetings. Double room: from 225 euros TTC per night.
363 West 16th Street. www.themaritimehotel.com

Where to eat?
Cafeteria: crowded even at 3 am, this restaurant is open 24/7 and is the HQ of the party people. On the way to a clubbing party or between two bars, we stop there to get our strength back and taste a good burger.
119 7th Avenue.

Chelsea Market : this old market hall on the border between Chelsea and Meatpacking is home to stores and many restaurants where you can eat at the table or on the go. You can choose from organic sandwiches, lobster galore or delicious cakes. On weekends, the gays who live in the neighborhood come here to shop.
75 9th Avenue.

Photo: Party at Splash Bar, a Chelsea institution © Splashbar.com and hansfahrmeyer.com

Where to go out?
XES: a pleasant bar-lounge, with a smoking terrace, where all styles of guys mix. Ideal for a beforehand.
157 West 24th Street.

G Lounge: on week-ends, it's not easy to reach the oval bar at the back of the room : bare-chested waiters and gym-queens out.
225 West 19th Street.

Splash: one of Manhattan's historic gay clubs, still nice, even if it no longer has the showers that made it famous. Two levels, three bars and two styles of music: shampoo dance on the first floor and house in the basement.
50 West 17th Street.

Hell's Kitchen
The latest neighborhood to be taken over by boys, trannies and bears of all kinds, Hell's Kitchen is the original dilapidated setting of the musical West Side Story. From 8th Avenue to the Hudson River, and from 34th to 59th Street, this neighborhood has long been the most dangerous in the city. After an unprecedented facelift, Hell's Kitchen has become the new New York Swamp. Eighth and Ninth Avenues are still littered with filthy ethnic restaurants, but huge, modern, chic gay bars have sprung up all around the Lincoln Tunnel. The streets are still not totally safe at night, so it's better to take a cab to get back to your hotel. But you have to admit that the new bars on 51st and 52nd streets welcome the most beautiful males of the whole city.

Where do we sleep?
Ink 48: one of the latest design hotels in Manhattan. Located on the eastern edge of Hell's Kitchen, its panoramic terrace is becoming one of the most popular in the city. Double room: from 210 euros TTC per night.
653 11th Avenue. www.ink48.com

Where to eat?
Bamboo 52: a Japanese restaurant that serves excellent sushi and good cocktails in the lounge area. Frequented by the boys before they go to the bars in the adjacent streets.
344 West 52nd Street.

Vynl: one of the favorite addresses of the gay community. American fusion cuisine and... toilets that are worth the detour.
754 9th Avenue.

Therapy is one of the most popular bars in Hell's Kitchen

Where do we go out?
Therapy: huge design lounge on two floors with benches and dance-floor upstairs, bar and big common table downstairs, and nice looking guys everywhere.
348 West 52nd Street.

Vlada: for a vodka on the rocks or a screwdriver in the only ice bar in New York.
331 West 51st Street.

Posh: good atmosphere in this small neighborhood bar frequented by the boys in before.
405 West 51st Street.

Ritz: one of the most popular clubs in the neighborhood with full house, dance and techno music on all three floors.
369 West 46th Street.

Meatpacking and West Village
Today, no more transvestites, but hotels, art galleries, and trendy restaurants where you have to show up and be seen. Even the Gay and Lesbian Center has moved in. But, lately, it is for its brand new green corridor, the High Line Park, that the whole of New York is flocking to the neighborhood. This hanging garden is built more than ten meters above the streets of the West Side, on the ruins of a railroad line that dates back to 1930. eventually, with the installation of the Whitney Museum of American Art, designed by architect Renzo Piano, at the southern end of the High Line, Meatpacking will become a true cultural district, in addition to being simply trendy. In general, we dine and show off in Meatpacking, before joining the exclusively gay bars of the West Village, a few blocks away.

Where do we sleep?
The Standard: frequented by all the beautiful people of New York, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Bret Easton Ellis, The Standard is the most hype hotel of the moment. You can't get into the Boom Boom club on the top floor without being on The List! Double room from 247 euros TTC per night.
848 Washington Street. www.standardhotels.com

Where to eat?
Spice Market: Asian and zen decor, lounge music and fusion cuisine make it one of our favorite addresses.
403 West 13th Street.

The Standard Grill: the restaurant of the hotel of the same name has not been empty since it opened. Oyster bar, typical American sandwiches, a room worthy of a French brasserie and a pretty terrace make it a best-of.
848 Washington Street.

Photo: The High Line, the green corridor in the heart of the West Village © DR

Where do we go out?
The Duplex: because you have to pay your tribute to a historical place where you can meet old drag-queens and cabaret dancers on an eighties music.
61 Christopher Street.

After a warm up at Griffin (50 Gansevoort Street), head to Vandam Sundays @ Greenhouse, for the best Sunday night clubbing in New York's first "eco-chic" establishment! Recommended by the kings of New York nightlife, Cazwell and Amanda Lepore.
150 Varick Street

Williamsburg in Brooklyn
One of the trendiest boroughs in the Big Apple. Young people and artists who have fled the prohibitive rents of downtown have breathed new energy into this historically popular neighborhood. Over the past decade, Bedford Avenue has become the hub of Williamsburg with its succession of trendy restaurants, crowded bars and cheap boutiques. The half-grunge, half-vintage look is de rigueur everywhere. If the neighborhood is not especially gay, it is definitely gay-friendly.

Where do we sleep?
Hotel Le Bleu: Brooklyn's first ultra-modern boutique hotel, in the bohemian neighborhood of Park Slope, east of Williamsburg. Double room: from 175 euros TTC per night.
370 4th Avenue. www.hotellebleu.com

Where to eat?
Peter Luger Steak House: a restaurant more than 100 years old, with a wood-paneled decor, located in Williamsburg. It serves the best steak in New York since 1897.
178 Broadway Street.

The Bagel Store: a restaurant specializing in bagels, those round rolls that are eaten with cream cheese, ideal for weekend brunch.
247 Bedford Avenue.

Gay pride in Brooklyn © brooklynpride.org

Where to go out?
Metropolitan: a gay and lesbian bar frequented by an arty and trendy crowd and which offers a BBQ party on Sundays.
559 Lorimer Street.

Hotel Delmano: a cocktail bar that seems to date back to prohibition and where hype and beautiful tribes meet. 82 Berry Street.