The Heyday of Chelsea's 8th Avenue

[TotallyOz]

Fascinating look at the old 8th Avenue area. I have more than 500 visits to The Big Cup.

http://www.kennethinthe212.com/2015/06/the-heyday-of-chelseas-8th-avenue.html

 

 

[Lucky]

I saw the video the other day. It's an enjoyable look at Chelsea past. But, past what?

[TotallyOz]

Did you ever make it to the Big Cup?

[Latbear4blk]

  On 4/22/2020 at 1:36 AM, TotallyOz said:

Fascinating look at the old 8th Avenue area. I have more than 500 visits to The Big Cup.

http://www.kennethinthe212.com/2015/06/the-heyday-of-chelseas-8th-avenue.html

 

 

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The Big Cup! Ah, the Golden Nineties!

[Lucky]

I lived a block away from the Big Cup. I went there many times without being fanatic about it. Don't you remember seeing me, Oz? You used to constantly beg me to join Campus Escorts!

Well, maybe that wasn't you!

[RockHardNYC]

Chelsea had its charms, but I was never interested in living there. Gay ghettos are not my thing, although I understand why many gay men are attracted to them.

I have early history in this hood, it's where I stayed before my settlement here was permanent. In those days, the gay hood was Greenwich Village, which is far more charming than Chelsea.

In my opinion, I always thought The Big Cup was cliché. I was taken once, and thought never again. I'm a coffee snob, and their coffee was terrible. Plus, gay posers and prancers bore me. If you enjoy sex with your coffee, maybe that works for some. The last thing I think about when I'm horny is coffee or the smell of coffee, so I see no point in crossing coffee culture with cruising behavior. I find the concept a turn-off.

For me, drinking superb coffee is a pleasure ritual, and peace, quiet, and tranquility must be part of the mix. I welcome handsome men to join me, and they can be naked, but I won't tolerate noisy distractions or yapping voices that are synonymous with RuPaul's Drag Race.

Edited April 22, 2020 by RockHardNYC

[TotallyOz]

RockHard, you crack me up. But, I'd always rather had an OK cup of coffee (does the deed) and a lot of hot guys cruising than tranquility any day of the week. I'm a guy snob and love to look at as many as possible.

Lucky, you would have made a mint!

[AdamSmith]

  On 4/22/2020 at 1:28 PM, RockHardNYC said:

I have early history in this hood, it's where I stayed before my settlement here was permanent. In those days, the gay hood was Greenwich Village, which is far more charming than Chelsea.

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This was the God’s truth, from my time living there (edge of Hell’s Kitchen, by the Javits Ctr) 2010-2012.

[RockHardNYC]

  On 4/22/2020 at 11:26 PM, TotallyOz said:

RockHard, you crack me up.

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Putting a smile on someone's face always brings me pleasure.

  On 4/22/2020 at 11:26 PM, TotallyOz said:

I'd always rather ha(ve) an OK cup of coffee (does the deed)

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Nope! Not for me. I can never just "do the deed." No McDonald's. No Dunkin' Donuts. I've spent way too much time in the grandest coffee houses of Europe. I tried very hard to invest in my favorite cafe in Rome, and I'm sorry to say the owners turned me down and that very special business creation eventually went under. Like I said, drinking exquisite coffee for me is a ritual. Only once a day at breakfast. If I have to travel to dreadful fly-over states on business, I always take my own beans.

  On 4/22/2020 at 11:26 PM, TotallyOz said:

and a lot of hot guys cruising

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For me, cruising has its place. It's a question of manners and respect. And I'm pretty strict about this. If I am alone, I feel free to cruise at any moment, if I trust the man I'm cruising is also alone. If I share company with another man and our intention is to engage in conversation, my eyes are on his, and I prefer no wandering, no distractions. I will not share my table with someone on the prowl, or with someone's gaze stuck on his cell phone Grindr pages. That is not gay behavior I tolerate. Ever.

I get that some guys are horny all the time. They're always on the prowl no matter the time or the place. I do what I can to avoid gay men like that.

Back in my youthful days as a tall, blond twink in West Hollywood, I did the gay coffee shop Queen cruising scene at breakfast. I was young, selfish, and tacky. I have since grown up.

  On 4/22/2020 at 11:26 PM, TotallyOz said:

I'm a guy snob

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I sincerely doubt you have me beat in this department. I have a long career interviewing professional male models, and that career has not ended.

  On 4/22/2020 at 11:26 PM, TotallyOz said:

love to look at as many (men) as possible

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I, too, am a voyeur. But I prefer to respect manners and boundaries, especially if I'm sharing a coffee moment with a friend or companion.

[Buddy2]

  On 4/23/2020 at 1:57 PM, RockHardNYC said:

Putting a smile on someone's face always brings me pleasure.

Nope! Not for me. I can never just "do the deed." No McDonald's. No Dunkin' Donuts. I've spent way too much time in the grandest coffee houses of Europe. I tried very hard to invest in my favorite cafe in Rome, and I'm sorry to say the owners turned me down and that very special business creation eventually went under. Like I said, drinking exquisite coffee for me is a ritual. Only once a day at breakfast. If I have to travel to dreadful fly-over states on business, I always take my own beans.

For me, cruising has its place. It's a question of manners and respect. And I'm pretty strict about this. If I am alone, I feel free to cruise at any moment, if I trust the man I'm cruising is also alone. If I share company with another man and our intention is to engage in conversation, my eyes are on his, and I prefer no wandering, no distractions. I will not share my table with someone on the prowl, or with someone's gaze stuck on his cell phone Grindr pages. That is not gay behavior I tolerate. Ever.

I get that some guys are horny all the time. They're always on the prowl no matter the time or the place. I do what I can to avoid gay men like that.

Back in my youthful days as a tall, blond twink in West Hollywood, I did the gay coffee shop Queen cruising scene at breakfast. I was young, selfish, and tacky. I have since grown up.

I sincerely doubt you have me beat in this department. I have a long career interviewing professional male models, and that career has not ended.

I, too, am a voyeur. But I prefer to respect manners and boundaries, especially if I'm sharing a coffee moment with a friend or companion.

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This is hilarious.

[TotallyOz]

  On 4/23/2020 at 1:57 PM, RockHardNYC said:

For me, cruising has its place.

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Yes, I call that place anywhere.

[lookin]

  On 4/23/2020 at 1:57 PM, RockHardNYC said:

If I have to travel to dreadful fly-over states on business, I always take my own beans.

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What the hell??  I sure hope those are coffee beans!

[RockHardNYC]

  On 4/25/2020 at 7:05 AM, lookin said:

What the hell??  I sure hope those are coffee beans!

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[hungry4dark]

As a Chelsea resident for over 20 years I can definitely attest to the dramatic changes that have come with the gentrification of the neighborhood.  Oh how I miss Blue Moon for the best bottomless brunch ever!  I was never really cruising in Chelsea tho - there were always far better places for that to me probably because I'm not into the typical Chelsea boy type.  Almost all those guys have moved to Brooklyn, Jersey or Hell's Kitchen so the neighborhood is now far less interesting but prior to covid there was still a very active cruising scene on 8th ave mostly surrounding the booth shops and the few remaining gay bars. 

Its been fascinating to see... glad I got my rent regulated apt in the 90s otherwise I would never be able to afford to stay here.