A Harlem gay bar has been the target of what appears to be a hate crime for the second time this summer.
A rainbow flag was set on fire just after midnight Monday morning at Alibi Lounge, the only black-owned gay bar in New York City. The casual but pointed vandalism directly mimics an incident at the bar that happened just after midnight on May 31. In both cases, the bar’s exterior flag was burned, but nobody was injured.
“It seems surreal,” said the bar’s owner, Alexi Minko. “I think, for about 10 seconds, I just stood there petrified and shocked. I thought it was a joke — it can’t be real. I have no words.”
“We really thought it was over,” he added. “It is difficult to think it would happen again so soon, or happen again period.”
The cops obtained and released footage of both incidences of arson, though arrests have yet to be made relating to either crime. Police are unsure if the crimes are related or if there really are just two different assholes setting fire to the same bar’s rainbow flag in such a short period of time.
Governor Andrew Cuomo issued harsh words over the vandalism both times, most recently saying that he is “appalled by the burning of yet another pride flag outside an LGBTQ bar in Harlem.”
“This act of hate is repugnant to our values of equality and inclusion, and we will not stand by and allow these cowardly acts to continue in New York,” he said.
The flag burned on Monday was donated to the bar after the first hateful act. No word yet on if another will take its place.
