{"id":6239,"date":"2026-08-05T21:42:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6239"},"modified":"2026-08-05T21:42:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:42:01","slug":"ny-lawmakers-want-to-bring-back-sex-fueled-bathhouses-40-years-after-ban-during-aids-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6239","title":{"rendered":"NY lawmakers want to bring back sex-fueled bathhouses \u2014 40 years after ban during AIDS crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

They\u2019re bringing back true hookup \u201chotspots.\u201d<\/p>\n

A steamy new proposal would legalize sex in saunas and bathhouses citywide \u2014\u00a0repealing a 1980s law that blamed the wet-and-wild romps for spreading AIDS among gay folks.<\/p>\n

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State Sen. Erik Bottcher and Assemblymember Tony Simone, who represent Manhattan\u2019s LGBT- friendly west side, said it was time to replace the dusty old ban on \u201cadult-saunas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should bring it out\u00a0of the shadows,\u201d\u00a0Simone said during an interview Wednesday, arguing bathhouses would be healthier and safer if they were regulated.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was part of gay culture. These people are adults. Sex is consensual,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The current law states, \u201cNo establishment shall make facilities available for the purpose of sexual activities where anal intercourse, vaginal intercourse or fellatio take place. Such facilities shall constitute a threat to the public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the new legislation to repeal it recognizes that saunas have served for decades as important gathering places for gay folks \u2014 before they were shuttered during the height of the HIV\/AIDS epidemic to curb infections and deaths.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe year is 2026, not 1986: evidence-based practices informed by the past 30 years of public health research make it clear we should repeal the ban on adult-use bathhouses and saunas,\u201d Simone said in a statement announcing the bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cQueer New Yorkers are being forced into the shadows \u2026 we all know these places exist,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Indeed, several spas and bathhouses in the Big Apple are already rumored hotbeds for sex \u2014\u00a0with reports of public hookups at Spa Castle in Queens and the East Side Club, a 24-hour sauna in Midtown.<\/p>\n

Veteran LGBT activist Allen Roskoff, who lost loved ones to AIDS, said the ban on bathhouses was a divisive issue in the gay community in the 1980s, with many gays for and against the shutdown.<\/p>\n

But said it\u2019s time for bathhouses to return.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York\u2019s bathhouses were an integral part of gay life for decades,\u201d said Roskoff, president of the Jim Owles Liberal LGBT Democratic Club.<\/p>\n

He said the bathhouses were places to socialize and have sex, but they were more than that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were symbols of our community, our culture, and our fight for civil rights and sexual liberation. I spent much of my youth in them,\u201d Roskoff said.<\/p>\n

He said political leaders campaigned in the establishments and entertainers including Bette Midler and Barry Manilow performed there.<\/p>\n

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Roskoff argued that they were tourist attractions, with gays from across the globe frequenting bathhouses.<\/p>\n

\u201cGay men traveled from around the world to experience this uniquely New York institution. It\u2019s time to shake off the fear and stigma of the past and let them reopen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also now effective treatment for HIV\/AIDS through PrEP, PEP, routine HIV testing, and other prevention strategies, Bottcher and Simone noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmergency measures from another era should not become permanent public policy,\u201d said Bottcher, chair of the state Senate\u2019s Cities Committee, in the joint statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cActions taken at the height of the AIDS crisis are out of step with modern reality. The science has changed. Prevention has changed. Treatment has changed. It\u2019s time for our laws to change too.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the LGBT lobby backs the repeal, conservatives oppose encouraging state-licensed facilities that promote anonymous and promiscuous sex.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese bathhouses are a thing of the past. They were awful,\u201d said Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Queens).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an open door. They would be ten times worse today.\u201d<\/p>\n

More than 100,000 New Yorkers have died from AIDS-related illnesses since the start of the AIDS epidemic.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The proposed legislation comes on the heels of the more contagious COVID-19 outbreak that killed more than 47,000 New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

Minnesota recently repealed its law barring bathhouses that promote sex among patrons.<\/p>\n

Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and their respective health departments, had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n

A former top public health official endorsed the legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy own work in these venues has shown that they can also be powerful environments for health outreach and prevention,\u201d said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, a former New York City deputy health commissioner of disease control and top official in the US Centers for Disease Control, who is now chief medical officer at Callen-Lorde LGBT health care.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy bringing people together rather than pushing them into less visible settings, we create opportunities to build trust and deliver services that improve health outcomes. Callen-Lorde is looking forward to working with our community and government partners to plan clinical prevention services in these venues and to further strengthen the connection between community wellness and public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2013<\/em>\u2013 Additional reporting by Natalie O\u2019Neill<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two New York State lawmakers introduced legislation to repeal the 1980s AIDS-era law banning “adult-saunas” or bathhouses where promiscuous sex was blamed for fueling the AIDS epidemic in the gay community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6238,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metro"],"yoast_head":"\nNY lawmakers want to bring back sex-fueled bathhouses \u2014 40 years after ban during AIDS crisis - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=6239\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NY lawmakers want to bring back sex-fueled bathhouses \u2014 40 years after ban during AIDS crisis - 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