A case of jocks vs. queers?

The Washington, D.C. City Council recently voted to build a new baseball stadium in the city's Southeast section, which will put nearby gay night-clubs out of business. Gay activist Frank Kameny has called the area "an historic gay block," noting that the clubs were exiled to the industrial area by police in the early 1970s. The clubs in jeopardy include Wet/Edge; La Cage; Secrets; Glorious Health and Amusements; Nation, which hosts the weekly gay party Velvet Nation Ziegfeld's, which features D.C.'s best drag shows; and the X-rated burlesque theater Follies.

Unfortunately, the city has shrugged off calls for the relocation of the clubs. "The silence in response to our concerns has been deafening," says Rick Rosendall of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington.

The stadium's construction, scheduled to begin in early 2006, and increased commercial and residential development in Southeast "make it unlikely that our city's club zone can remain intact for much longer," adds Rosendall. "So my advice to the patrons of the 'weenie wag,' as it is sometimes affectionately called, is to enjoy it while they still can,"