Cruising for gay men

A gay elected official is sounding the alarm that a string of arrests at a New York City cruising site revives "the dark days" of queer entrapment. And as he was being escorted out of the bathroom in handcuffs, he says he told the officer that the cuffs were tight and asked for them to be loosened a bit.

A gay elected official is sounding the alarm that a string of arrests at a New York City cruising site revives "the dark days" of queer entrapment. Historically, cruising offered gay men a means of connection in a world that denied them safe spaces, and today, it persists as both a cultural practice and a rebellious reminder of queer resilience.

Be safe!! The bathroom was listed as a "hotspot" on Sniffiesa map-based digital platform for queer hookups.

Amtrak officers are using Sniffies and otherwise approaching people in the men's Amtrak bathroom at Penn Statuon and charging them with lewdness sniffies NYC civilrightawyer amtrak pennstation. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

The Amtrak Police Department's targeting of a Penn Station cruising site has prompted outcry from the New York region's out elected leaders. New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal tells Out that these arrests "harken back to the dark days of trapping gay men and other members of the community in public spaces like restrooms.

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39 Dark days 39 : Here's our guide to some of America's finest gay cruise clubs and adult entertainment venues

Hoylman, a gay elected official living in NYC and the Democratic nominee in the race for Manhattan's borough president, confirmed to Out that Harris agreed to meet, and they are in the process of setting up that meeting. The charge was later dropped after he participated in Project Reset, a diversion program, which required him to take an online course.

Last week, The City broke the news that the Amtrak Police Department — a federal police force that operates outside New York City's sanctuary city laws — had targeted a Penn Station bathroom in arrests for public lewdness.

Sign up today for our free newsletter. In response, the officer tightened them even more. David was booked and charged with public lewdness. These enforcement efforts have led to over arrests since June 1, an Amtrak representative confirmed to Out.

And The Gothamist reports that at least 20 men have been taken into ICE custody as a result of the crackdown. One of the arrested, David who prefers to not have his name included in this storytells Out about his harrowing experience being handcuffed and arrested while trying to use the Penn Station restroom in June.

Out reached out to Mamdani's team but did not immediately hear back. He says he stopped into the bathroom after returning from visiting a friend in New Jersey. He covers internet culture and entertainment, including television, movies, music, and more.

PrideSpots the best LGBTQ+ search engine in USA. Discover cruising, bars, saunas, nightclubs and more near you, explore your city to the fullest. Last week, The City broke the news that the. See on Instagram. All Rights reserved. It was a rather frightening callback to a period that we thought had long passed in queer American history.

Senator Hoylman and his colleagues, U. Representative Jerrold Nadler, State Senator Liz Krueger, and Assembly Member Tony Simone, co-authored a letter Friday to Roger Harris, the president of Amtrak, demanding that the sting operations cease and that he meet with the elected officials to discuss a plan moving forward.