January 16, 2008

Bye-Bye, Bathhouses?

Though the New York City health department has said that it has not determined how or if it will regulate the city’s sex clubs and bathhouses, a senior official at the agency said the goal is to shut them down, reports Gay City News (gaycitynews.com, 1/10).

“They are very much looking at this from a medical model, and the medical model says shut them down,” said Joshua Volle, former director of community HIV prevention planning and programs, at a January 7 meeting at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Center. Gay City News reports that Volle’s last day in the position was January 11.

In a memo sent to Gay City News in November 2007, Dr. Thomas Farley, advisor to the city health commissioner Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, said that New York City is experiencing an increase in HIV and syphilis infections in men who have sex with men, and that the city should reevaluate its policies on bathhouses and sex clubs in order to curb the epidemic.

Gay City News reports that Volle said he had not heard directly from Farley or Frieden about plans to shut down bathhouses, but that he said he’d talked to other colleagues who’d met with them.

According to Sara Markt, a deputy press secretary in the health department, the city doesn’t “have any plans to change the policy at this point,” and that the “current position is that [the health department needs] more information.”

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Previous Comments:

maths1979, Bulawayo, 2008-05-05 04:05:51
i think you have to let people express their feelings and enjoy sex. time will come were they will get tired and retre from sex. i am one of those who would like to joing those clubs and participate live and direct if there is any organiser who can organise that for me. thanx

Jose, Miami, FL, 2008-02-06 15:02:23
Shutting them down is pointless and more money wasted. Hookups are now on-line just check out gay.com, craigslist, etc. and you will find tons of sex ads. The problem is that AIDS/HIV is no longer "visible" you do not see people dying daily or people walking around with lesions or wasting away. Ads for HIV meds. show hunky guys running on a beach. This disease is not taken seriously anymore. The mentalitynow is "I get sick and I take a pill and things will be fine."

Passionatelover, Houston, 2008-02-06 12:58:33
I have never been to a bathhouse, but it seems like they would be a good place for out reach programs, information and advertiseing for safe sex. Closing bath houses is NOT going to stop people from having sex, but out reach might leed to safer sex. Food, water, shelter and sex are things that make life go on.

rob, usa, 2008-02-05 12:10:12
Come on bath houses are dead, what about those hooking up on manhunt, gay.com and the like, those are the bath houses of the new millenium, quick, to the point. There is not a bath house in every city in the US or abroad, but everyone practically has the internet and that is where most men hook up in this day and age. Many dont even waste time on bars especially guys on the down low.

Daniel, Montréal, 2008-01-21 13:58:30
How about putting all energies in finding a cure for the bloody diseases instead? Does anyone believe that they are actually interested in that anymore or are they not just using HIV and syphilis to control our behaviour?

eric, , 2008-01-21 10:53:37
Then close all bars, social clubs, parks, gyms,health clubs,chat rooms,dating services et al. whats next? our bedrooms? this is a free society supposedly and more governmental controls in our sexual behaviour is not the answer.

Andrew, San Jose, 2008-01-18 18:01:22
(REV)Yes poor choices & bad behavior cause all kinds of unfortunate problems. I have AIDS & genital Herpes all because I wanted to be close to another man. Yes, my own fault and I wish neither happened...esp. herpes but it's a choice I have to live with because of my own actions--no I didn't know I was being exposed to such things either. Guys please use protection & take care of yourselves. We're better than this & deserve love just as anyone else. Please make good choices for your lives.

Raymond, EL Paso, 2008-01-18 16:47:52
Even if you were to shut down the bath houses, individuals are still going to have sex in the bars,in cars,in the alleys or where they want to. Having AIDS for 12 yrs. has been hard.To really slow this thing, everybody needs to use condoms and practice safe sex but when your under the influence of the drugs and alcohol we make dumb choices. Educate yourselfs and others and if possible stay in a monogamous relationship. This is an ugly disease where you suffer terrible infections and diseases.

Stephan, , 2008-01-18 07:07:14
I agree with Michael in Los Angeles. This sounds like homophobia to me, and not sound prevention thinking. Just another heterosexist man who is poorly informed, but has some power to advance his unchallenged thinking.

Kraigie, Orlando, 2008-01-18 06:01:32
Well I do not agree with any health dept. or any one whom says that bath houses/sex clubs/ or even the roaming sex parties that go on thru out every major city in the country. The rise(hiv/aids) is do to the fact that we the people have not done our job as to educate and show that this is not anything like VD and such! There is no cure and we do know how it is transfered.So why do I run into guys whom run as welll as do not even want to kiss cause they might get it. Get a clue, PLEASE

Roch, El Paso, 2008-01-17 19:24:08
Please... shut up all of you .. close places is stupid most gay people are SEX SICK and cheaters and love sex. even my last ex boyfriend used to go a lot to video places and have sex there like.. even during my relationship with him. What i think is that u need to take care of yourself if u dont. its because u like it that way ... but dont claim. and then people of this country are so weak i mean .. they love to be controlled by goverment they forget that in a democrat country people control gob

RWG, New York, 2008-01-17 16:56:30
Perhaps you should have checked the original statement and that the part that was published in Gay City News was taken out of context before you posed this article.

Matt, Los Angeles, 2008-01-17 16:24:17
Shutting down bathhouses will not stop anonynous sex. It will continue and even more underground clubs will open up. These will have NO health standards and be far more unsafe than the current ones.

DENNY PAUL, SF, 2008-01-17 14:59:32
I feel the times are changing more people are out and not ashamed to be gay, like it was in the 50,60 and 70's. There for we need to be role models for our young gay sisters and brothers. We live in a time where we do not need to hide in dark places to have sex and be secret and ashamed of it. We need more outreach for our young so they can know they can grow up in a world, be gay date, have sex be safe and have good life"s. Just my view.

Richard, Piedmont, 2008-01-17 14:35:30
I feel that if bath house close it will still have an increase in HIV and syphilis infections in New York . What is next you will stop the internet from New Yorkers. I feel that bath house give a lot to testing awareiness on HIV .