CLOSED

THE NEW ST. MARKS

SIX ST. MARKS

PLACE

CLOSED

Entrance to the New St. Marks Baths. Graffiti on closing order reads: "Finally" and "Fuck Fags."

News

St. Marks Baths Closed City Arguments For Closure Could Be Dangerous

by John A. Fall

State Supreme Court Justice Stanley Parness accepted City Chief Assistant Corporation Counsel Doron Gopstein's recommendations and closed the New St. Marks Baths on December 6.

Gopstein's recommendation rests mainly on the affidavits of nine undercover inspectors, about which Gopstien stated, the "facts are stark and simple." The Corporation Counsel's papers cite a total of 49 separate acts of "high risk" sexual activity, involving 86 individuals, were recorded in 35 visits to St. Marks by inspectors from the city's Department of Consumer Affairs, making an average of 1.2 such acts witnessed during each undercover excursion. In some instances, the same incidents were reported twice. This "evidence" of "high risk" sexual activity, according to Gopstein, is "even more extensive than what was before the court in regards to the Mine Shaft." Much of the investigators' testimony, however, only implies violations of the state's "high risk" sex regulations.

Subjective Evidence Inspector Stephen Healy observed an instance of anal intercourse in which "no condom could be observed," yet failed to explain how he could detect the absence of a condom when the penis was inside a person's anus. Elsewhere in Healy's affidavit, he states, "I saw many men nude or semi-nude with their. buttocks in the air or legs spread, inviting patrons to join them," leaving the readerwhether an attorney, judge, or a lay person--to imagine what the invitations involved.

"When I canvassed the 100 level, I heard a loud voice saying 'fuck me hard' and 'come in my ass' accompanied by grunting and groaning," Healy says in his affidavit. "A few moments later I heard a loud sigh and a

voice say 'it feels so warm.' I narrowed the sound down to cubicle 106. I could not observe any activity as the door was closed."

The other inspectors were no less ambiguous. One noticed "several used condoms on the floor," while others reported seeing very few used rubbers. One observed "two men who appeared to have just completed anal intercourse" (emphasis added). The various affidavtis mention sounds of

"rhythmic groaning," buttocks raised "as if inviting sex," men "lying in sexually suggestive positions," and men masturbating, "who seemed to be soliciting sexual partners" (all emphasis added). Such subjective perceptions of individual behavior appears throughout the reports. When asked if the investigators' opinions belong in a document of

Donna Binder

"facts." Gopstein defended their presence. "We consider what was put in entirely relevant to the high risk issue," he told the Native, despite the fact that none of the above examples mentions "high risk" sex.

While the inspectors report having viewed fellatio and anal intercourse taking place without the use of condoms, many of the inspectors admit repeatedly observing these activities without having been able to discern the presence or absence of condoms.

Based on the alleged incidents of prohibited sexual activity, Gopstein assumed in the court papers that such activity occurs in private cubicles at St. Marks. "One can reasonably conclude that far more high risk sexual activity took place behind the many closed doors and, publicly, at other times and places when the city inspectors were not present," Gopstein concluded. The Assistant Counsel would not tell the Native why these assumptions were included in the court

Donna Binder

The Saint, a private disco in Manhattan's East Village, held a benefit for the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Defamation League. Speakers at the Saint party and rally were (from left) steering committee members Darrell Yates Rist and Peg Byron, and chairperson Gregory Kolovakos. Future activites of the League include leafletting in front of advertisers who purchase space in the New York Post on December 21. The League has run a campaign against the Post for its reportage of gay issues. For further information concerning the action, call the Gay Switchboard at 212-777-1800 for referral. The leafletting will be conducted by the "Swift and Terrible Retribution Committee" headed by veteran activists Marty Robinson and Bruce Michael Gelbert. To contact the League, call 212-765-0548.

12 NEW YORK NATIVE/DECEMBER 23-29, 1985 SF 2801 08--ES HEMBOSSVITAW AROY WES

papers when the inspectors had already supplied factual examples of alleged "high risk” activity. "The one thing I will not do is start explaining the rationale behind each letter and word, Gopstein said. "This [the court papers] is a very conservative statement based on the facts."

Plato's Retreat Comparison Gopstein said similar assumptions about the occurrence of "high risk" sex had not been made about private rooms at Plato's Retreat because inspectors had witnessed no incidence of fellatio or anal intercourse at that swingers' club. However, Plato's Retreat patrons agreed to perform fellatio when asked by city inspectors, according to the city's court papers filed in that case (Native 138).

In his court testimony, Gopstein said the inspectors' affidavits "make clear that whatever precautions the New St. Marks says it has instituted against the dangers posed by high risk sexual activity are either ineffective or disingenous." But according to Virginia Apuzzo, Deputy Executive Director of the the State Consumer Protection Board, from her discussion with representatives of St. Marks, she thought these people, and particularly Stoddard, had been cooperative in promoting "safe sex" education.

The managers of the New St. Marks Baths are angry about the inspectors' reports and the closure of the bathhouse. Jack Staddord told the Native that the papers filed in court by the Corporation Counsel are "full of inaccuracies," and St. Marks plans to sue. "We're going to fight it," manager Bruce Mailman said.

Anaylsis

The city's arguments against St. Marks could have negative effects when the Public Health Council meets December 20 to review the state's "high risk" sex regulations. Gopstein did not need to mention condoms in his court papers, since the PHC regulations define all anal intercourse as dangerous. Gopstein has labeled useless the St. Marks precautions against "high risk” sex, which include the free distribution of "safe sex" educational materials and condoms. Thanks to the "evidence" of anal intercourse without condoms presented by the city, the PHC will have an excuse for not differentiating between unprotected anal intercourse and safe anal intercourse with a condom. Why bother to change the regula-. tions if gays, as Gopstein's court papers indicate, are seldom bothering to use condoms anyway?

Mayor Koch has indicated his view of the closure of St. Marks and recent reopening of Plato's Retreat (see Darrell Yates Rist's esssay in this issue): "These matters are now in the hands of the court. We hope we will prevail. This is a government of laws, not of men and women." It was our impression the U.S. Constitution guarantees a government by, for, and of the people.

Human Rights Campaign Fund Merges with Gay Lobby New Group Hopes To Unify Civil

Rights and AIDS Issues

by John A. Fall

The highly successful Human Rights Campaign Fund, a national political action committee representing the lesbian and gay community, has absorbed the debt-ridden Gay Rights National Lobby (GRNL) into its organization.

"We welcome GRNL as equal partners in our ongoing effort to continue furthering the