Park Cruising
Courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. “GAY RIGHTS” billboard at the intersection of Christopher Street and Seventh Avenue South, Photo by Bettye Lane. Courtesy of Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. Christopher Street, looking east towards Waverly Place, fall Our nonprofit newsroom relies on readers like you to power investigations like these. The surge in arrests by the Amtrak Police, a national police force who are not bound by city sanctuary protections, kicked off in June, targeting a Penn Station bathroom listed on Sniffies, a popular cruising website and app used for gay hookups. Sex & Cruising
Police in New York City have arrested nearly men since the start of June in a gay cruising crackdown at the men’s public toilets in Penn Station. The bathroom near the Eighth Avenue and 31st Street entrance has become a hotspot for users of the hookup app Sniffies. In the 17th century, the colony of New Amsterdam on the southern tip of present-day Manhattan made homosexuality a capitol offense under Dutch law, a punishment that was continued through the 17th and 18th centuries under English rule. In the 19th and 20th centuries, with homosexual acts still being punishable to varying degrees, LGBT people found various public spaces in New York City to meet each other, cruise, and have sex. Brooklyn Heights
New York City has been a gay magnet for decades. It’s home to one of the largest and most upwardly mobile gay populations on the planet. Naturally, the gays are often looking for mischief. If you’d like to try your hand at old-school cruising, there are several places to explore. From iconic parks to hidden spots, the city offers a range of places where locals and visitors alike can. The thoroughfare has also been home to a wide array of LGBT-owned or welcoming bars, bookshops, and specialty shops, several of which still operate today. Christopher right and West Streets, with the entrance to the gay bar Badlands at the corner, summer 
Amtrak Police Arrests Surge at Penn Bathroom Cruising Spot
Historic LGBT sites — including public parks, piers, and beaches, bathhouses, bars, and clubs — in this curated theme show the evolution of the city’s sex and cruising spaces from the s to the s. New York City has been a gay magnet for decades. Naturally, the gays are often looking for mischief.
Washington Square Park – NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
Gay Alliance of Brooklyn flyer, c. Courtesy of the Gay Alliance of Brooklyn records, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. The bathroom near the Eighth Avenue and 31st Street entrance has become a hotspot for users of the hookup app Sniffies. The crackdown, which began at the start of Pride Month following complaints from members of the public, shows no signs of slowing down. 
New York City police arrest nearly 200 men in cruising
The surge in arrests by the Amtrak Police, a national police force who are not bound by city sanctuary protections, kicked off in June, targeting a Penn Station bathroom listed on Sniffies, a popular cruising site and app used for gay hookups. .
Christopher Street – NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project
The GayMapper interactive gay map of New York City helps you navigate around this big city whilst you are on the move. Locate all the gay bars, gay clubs, gay events and gay cruising spots on the map which covers the gay areas of Hells Kitchen, Chelsea, Greenwich Village and Brooklyn, among others. .
New York City Gay Map 2025
According to historian George Chauncey, parks were the most popular and secure gay meeting places in New York City, and by the late 19th century, Washington Square Park was an established cruising area where gay men could find “privacy in public” by meeting friends and finding sexual partners. .