Cubbyhole is one of only three remaining lesbian bars in all of New York City, and Brooklyn’s only lesbian bar, Ginger’s, is still closed indefinitely. The scene hinted at normalcy and hope, but the buoyant night hid a precarious truth. Greenberg, who shouted, “I love you!” right back. The crowd cheered, many hollering, “I love you!” to Ms. Phase 4 of the city’s reopening plan allows for restaurants to operate at 50 percent capacity with a curfew - the 90-minute limit on each customer’s stay didn’t put a damper on the festivities. And though the bar had to close by 11 p.m. Blankenship was among the hundreds of people who stopped by to celebrate. When Cubbyhole reopened for the first time this year on April 8, Mx. “But it’s better than Olive Garden because there’s great drinks and queers everywhere.” Blankenship, a nonbinary lesbian, said from a perch with three friends outside of Cubbyhole, which had been closed since December. A bubbly bartender ran up and down the block to collect orders, promising she’d be back with drinks en masse, so everyone could drink together for the first time in five months. Outside Cubbyhole, a tiny bar in the West Village, the street was as packed as it could be these days, with dozens of friends, couples and exes mingling in the early spring evening. After a long and brutal pandemic winter, all Han Blankenship wanted to do was get a drink with a few friends at their favorite bar.
