Rise Bar
 Logo | |
 The bar's exterior in October 2021 | |
 | |
| Address | 859 Ninth Avenue |
|---|---|
| Location | Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°46′02″N 73°59′12″W / 40.7672°N 73.9866°W |
| Public transit | |
| Owner | Ted Arenas John Blair Beto Sutter |
| Type | Gay bar |
| Capacity | 74 |
| Opened | November 2015 |
| Website | |
| risebarnyc | |
Rise Bar, or simply Rise, is a gay bar in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 2015, it is a small establishment surrounded by a number of larger LGBT nightlife venues. The bar is most popular among gay men and some women. It features pop music and hosts weekly entertainment including drag shows, open-mic nights and karaoke. Though Rise Bar's owners invested heavily in soundproofing before it opened, the local community board initially required it to close at an earlier hour than its competitors, citing noise concerns. This requirement was eventually challenged and overturned. Critics generally praise the establishment for its laid-back, camp atmosphere.
Description
Rise Bar is located in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, a few blocks north of the neighborhood's other gay venues, including Industry Bar and Flaming Saddles Saloon. Its exterior is characterized by heavy wooden doors with large handles.[1] The interior, described by Gothamist as "sleek" and "open",[2] has a white bar, black tables, a glitter ball, a stage and television screens playing music videos.[1][3] Its capacity is 74 patrons.[4] A 2015 New York Times article categorized most of the clientele as gay men in their 30s and 40s, noting that female customers also frequent the bar early in the night.[1] A 2016 Gothamist piece classed one Saturday night crowd as "young, hot twenty-somethings".[2]
The establishment's daily happy hour runs from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Its ambient music consists predominantly of pop and top 40 artists, with Wednesday playlists being rock-themed.[1][5] According to ShermansTravel, the scene inside "turns into a thumping dance party most nights".[3] The venue regularly hosts drag shows,[1][6][5] karaoke,[6][5][7] RuPaul's Drag Race screenings,[7] open-mic nights,[5] and Broadway-themed events.[1] Prior to her 2017 appearance on Drag Race, Peppermint hosted one of the weekly shows.[8] In September 2019, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and his husband, Gauthier Destenay, visited Rise to attend a drag performance by Marti Gould Cummings.[9]
History
Ted Arenas, John Blair and Beto Sutter opened Rise Bar in November 2015.[1][10] Because noise was an ongoing concern for residents of the nightlife-saturated neighborhood, the trio invested heavily in soundproofing infrastructure ahead of the venue's debut. A 2014 DNAinfo article quoted Blair saying that the owners spent $70,000 to make sure their neighbors would have "a good quality of life".[4] The publication later reported that the bar's landlord spent $90,000 on "soundproofing throughout the building" and that Blair spent about $20,000 "hiring a sound engineer to install paneling and conduct sound checks".[10] Nevertheless, Manhattan Community Board 4 narrowly approved the bar's liquor license, and the state liquor authority (SLA) greenlit the application only on the condition that the venue close daily by 2 a.m. for its first year of operation.[10]
In late 2016, Blair—a former member of the community board—filed to change Rise's closing time to 4 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He argued that the bar was unable to compete with other LGBT venues nearby—including Industry, Therapy, Fairytail Lounge and Hardware—because they were all allowed to operate until 4 a.m.[10] He presented letters of support from more than 800[11] local residents—including 21 living above the bar—and from Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Councilman Corey Johnson and Senator Brad Hoylman.[10][11] Approximately a dozen residents attended board meetings in person to speak in favor of Rise, which some described as a "haven" for the local gay community.[11]
Opponents of the change voiced concerns about "noise, late-night crowds and unruly patrons".[12] Others said that when the owners first applied for the establishment's liquor license, they had misrepresented it as a lounge without live entertainment, and its drag shows and karaoke nights meant that it was, in reality, operating as a nightclub. Some residents of apartments above the bar stated that noise disrupted their sleep. Altogether, the board directly received 66 letters of opposition to the 4 a.m. closing time and 16 e-mails in favor of it.[11] The co-chairman of the 50–51 Block Association objected to the letters of support penned by Brewer, Johnson and Hoylman, stating that they were written without constituent input.[12] However, no "specific problematic instances", such as noise violations or incidents of unruly behavior, were submitted to the board's Business Licenses and Permits committee, which issued preliminary approval to Blair's application.[11][12]
The full board subsequently voted 20–18 to extend the bar's hours, and it issued a request that the SLA "consider asking the operators to ... modify their method of operation, in light of the [live entertainment] it hosts".[11] The bar then applied to change its liquor license to include a provision for live piano music, which again provoked opposition from neighbors who felt the owners had not been upfront about their intentions for the space. Rise's lawyer refuted this, stating that plans for drag shows and karaoke had been disclosed from the beginning and arguing that karaoke should not be classified as live music since no instruments are played on site. The board ultimately approved the proposal for piano music, "provided the bar wrap up any and all live performances before 1 a.m. and conduct sound tests in the apartments of residents with complaints". The venue agreed to compromise by requesting the SLA grant it a 4 a.m. closing time on Fridays and Saturdays, keeping its 2 a.m. Thursday curfew.[13]
Reception
Gothamist included Rise Bar on its 2016 list of "the 12 best gay bars in NYC".[2] GayMapper describes it as "the perfect combination of a laid-back and understated interior with a camp lineup of acts, where no show is complete without the glitter ball".[6] Travel Gay also characterizes the venue as laid-back and comments: "Rise Bar is proof that you can't have enough gay bars in Hell's Kitchen."[7] An nycgo.com review notes the establishment's "friendly staff, great music and ... nice neighborhood crowd".[5] ShermansTravel lists Rise Bar among "the best gay and queer bars in Manhattan".[3]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Musto, Michael (December 2, 2015). "Rise, an Unpretentious Gay Bar, Opens in Hell's Kitchen". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
- ^ a b c Hankinson, Bobby (June 23, 2016). "The 12 Best Gay Bars In NYC". Gothamist. Archived from the original on May 22, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c DeGaetano, Jaymie (June 25, 2021). "A Comprehensive List of New York City's Gay & Queer Bars". ShermansTravel. Archived from the original on October 18, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
- ^ a b Katz, Mathew (May 8, 2014). "Intimate Gay Bar Coming to Hell's Kitchen". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on November 11, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Rise Bar". nycgo.com. NYC & Company. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rise Bar". GayMapper. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Rise Bar". Travel Gay. Out4You. June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ Giannotta, Meghan (March 20, 2017). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' star from NYC hopes to be first openly transgender winner". Newsday. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ "PM Xavier Bettel and husband attend local NYC council candidate's drag show". RTL Today. RTL Luxembourg. September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Rajamani, Maya (October 13, 2016). "Gay Bar Needs 4 a.m. Closing Time to Compete in Nightlife Scene, Owner Says". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Rajamani, Maya (November 3, 2016). "Gay Bar Decried as Noisy 'Nightclub' Gets Board Approval for 4 a.m. Closing". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on December 10, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ a b c Rajamani, Maya (October 19, 2016). "Ninth Ave. Gay Bar Seeking 4 a.m. Closing Gets Initial Approval from Board". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
- ^ Rajamani, Maya (December 15, 2016). "Gay Bar Continues To Rile Neighbors As It Seeks OK For Live Piano Music". DNAinfo. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
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