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“It’s a safe-haven for anyone in need, and while it does have a large gay clientele, we say hi to people from all walks on a daily basis.” “There are very few American black-owned bars left in the community, and even fewer places that cater to an alternative lifestyle,” she said. Gay or not, customers don’t have too many options in the neighborhood, added Debbie Griffin, a cousin of Parrott-King and someone who’s been a part of the impromptu family for some 42 years. “It’s a family - no, it’s a home to a variety of characters around here,” said La’Viticus. Plenty of old-timers still show up, as they have since the Starlite Lounge opened in the 1960s. Some of its patrons who filtered in on Wednesday night - after being buzzed-in by the transgender diva at the door - have been using the place as a community hub for 30 years. If the bar isn’t officially the oldest gay bar in the borough, it’s certainly an icon. In the meantime, La’Viticus and Parrott-King are plotting their next move: either taking the new owner to court or moving to get the Starlite Lounge protected as a historic venue. Next, he got the letter telling him to get out by next Friday. And though La’Viticus admits having been late on the rent once or twice, he is frustrated that he was not offered a chance to buy the building, or offered a new lease.
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La’Viticus and owner Dennis Parrott-King received a letter late last year stating that the building had been sold for about $455,000, a figure confirmed by the Department of Finance. “They’d be scattered, and there’s nothing like your neighborhood bar.” “If we lose this, I don’t know where these people would go,” he said. 15, though bar manager Tim La’Viticus says he’ll fight in court for a lease renewal. The watering hole - at the corner of Bergen Street and Nostrand Avenue in Crown Heights - has been ordered to close shop by Jan. Longtime regulars of the Starlite Lounge, the self-proclaimed oldest gay-friendly, black-owned watering hole in Brooklyn, are rallying to keep their establishment alive after the building was sold and the new owners signaled that they don’t want the bar on the ground floor.