ICE Arrests at Popular NYC Gay Cruising Spots

[topblkmale]

 

Cruising crackdown in Penn Station bathroom puts at least 20 men in ICE custody

[think before following links] https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/crime/gay-cruising-arrests-new-york-city-b2836667.html

Activists slam surge in arrests of LGBTQ+ people at known cruising spot in New York City Over 200 men have been arrested at the men’s toilets in Penn Station in a police initiative branded as ‘discriminatory’

 

Edited Thursday at 03:35 PM by topblkmale

[ellentonboy]

I have  read that one individual who was arrested  was merely wearing a rainbow bracelet to celebrate Pride month.  He claims he was  using the urinal and not cruising.    Till all this nonsense is over (I suppose the next three years) I wouldn't cruise Penn Station, that's for sure.  I don't think they are merely looking for illegal immigrants, it's just a form of harassment of the gay community.  It seems as if we are moving backwards in time, not forward.

[verbalBTTM]

Penn Station is pretty much a homeless shelter, and not very safe these days. Unfortunately it's one of the few places the hot guys from long Island insist on hooking up while waiting for their trains home. There was this North Carolina BBQ joint that was across the street that had a ton of action going on. Nothing better than a beer and a BJ. Unfortunately that place closed during Covid

[Ready2DoThis]

Call it what you will but this is how WWII Germany was taken over. Here's how it works, the government gets about 30% of the population to accept what they're doing as part of the common good (restoring decency, improving the economy, making things safe, protecting our rights, promising to make things "great" (without defining what that actually means, etc.) Next, those in power point to those who are different (immigrants, homosexuals, non-christians, etc.) to create a common enemy and then place the blame for the ills of society on them.  Next, silence and force news agencies, media and reporters to comply by threatening anyone who doesn't follow government imposed protocols with lawsuits and penalties for non-compliance. Along with this, dismantle and demean institutions of education (and anyone who recognizes and informs others about what is happening)  so that their warnings are rejected and they are ridiculed for their efforts.  Finally, infiltrate and then systematically dismantle any opposition so that the ruling party controls all levels of government. This is what's happening in America. United, we could turn this around but the problem is that everyone thinks someone else is doing the work to stop this. EVERYONE needs to be marching in the streets,  writing letters of protest, and boycotting the complicit before we lose our ability to stop this. 

[BergenGuy]

2 hours ago, verbalBTTM said:

Unfortunately it's one of the few places the hot guys from long Island insist on hooking up while waiting for their trains home.

Well, maybe they'll stop insisting now.  Frankly, I don't know why anyone would cruise the men's room at Penn Station.  In the age of Grindr and Sniffies, there are better, safer ways of getting a fuck or a blowjob.

[verbalBTTM]

10 hours ago, BergenGuy said:

Well, maybe they'll stop insisting now.  Frankly, I don't know why anyone would cruise the men's room at Penn Station.  In the age of Grindr and Sniffies, there are better, safer ways of getting a fuck or a blowjob.

Exactly, plus you still have a few of those sleazy video places left a few blocks away. Cops never go in there, they already know the score.

[hntnhole]

18 hours ago, Ready2DoThis said:

Call it what you will but this is how WWII Germany was taken over

There was also a national feeling in Germany that the Treaty of Versailles, ending the First World War, had fucked the German nation over royally - and there was some merit to that notion.  Obviously, "the leader" (translated into English) worked that angle to the enth degree as well as fanning the flames of racism into a fiery hatred.  Add in the thousands of SA hooligans (whose leader, Earnst Roehm, was a ravenous gay man) enforcing the dictates of "the leader", and presto:  A once proud, liberal nation, foremost in advancing the liberal arts, the humanities so magnificently, became what it became. 

If it can happen there a century ago, it can happen anywhere.   

 

[hntnhole]

20 hours ago, verbalBTTM said:

Penn Station is pretty much a homeless shelter

So that's the hook?  There were plenty of potentially homeless "read undocumented immigrants" hanging out there?  Thus, the Gestapo arrested not only the undocumented immigrants, but took the boys in for good measure?  

What goes around, eventually comes around.  

Edited yesterday at 07:46 PM by hntnhole

[verbalBTTM]

11 minutes ago, hntnhole said:

So that's the hook?  There were plenty of potentially homeless "read undocumented immigrants" hanging out there?  Thus, the Gestapo arrested not only the undocumented immigrants, but took the boys in for good measure?  

What goes around, eventually comes around.  

Penn Station has a ton of safety concerns, like people being thrown in front of oncoming trains by MICA (Mentally Impaired, Chemically Addicted) people, and open, rampant drug use. It's a real mess down there, plus all of the construction. Because Penn has amazing access to all of Long Island, it's a major drug transport hub, which is what I suspect ICE was actually going for. 

[topblkmale]

 

I've noticed this trend being talked about a lot lately on local social media as well as arrests at other sniffies hot spots.

"The bathroom is a hot spot on “cruising” apps like Sniffies, which men use to arrange public sexual encounters."

 

[meetme]

Someone explain to me why, in major cities, Sniffies is still tracking men’s rooms.  When there were no open places to meet we had to catch a men’s attention in a public bathroom. I haven’t played that listen for the double door game in 30 years. Move on.

[tobetrained]

@meetme agreed. people do it for the titillation of risk -- but that's the issue: there's a downside to "risky", who knew?

But to @topblkmale's original post, in general, no where in the convo or in public discourse is why this is targeting gay people. As a former New Yorker, when busing of migrants was a thing (from TX, etc), that area was a dumping ground and the hotel next door used to house some of those people. But around it, for a time, were many others illegal immigrants without accommodations. Penn Station is also still cover for many here illegally given the free services (e.g., bathrooms,  public wifi, etc.).

Activists sound alarms for anything -- it's how they justify their existence, make money, and grow their social media foot print. It doesn't make it true. Gay people may have been part of the roundup, but it doesn't make them a target for that reason.