Letters

Emli Bendixen
London, England

LOHO LOCO

I recently received an e-mail regarding a free party at a bar on the Lower East Side. The e-mail boasted underground hip-hop music within a relaxed, no-dress-code environment. I couldn't make it so I encouraged two of my male friends, Latino and black, to attend. My friends were having a quiet conversation before they were approached and told very politely by the bouncer, a black man, that at his manager's request, they had been asked to leave because they were not "attracting the type of crowd he desired." The bouncer told them they could return in a couple hours when the bar became crowded so they would have a better chance of "blending in." They returned later to find an all-white crowd enjoying the sounds of "authentic" hip-hop.

I have no problem with white people listening to hip-hop, but this bar had the nerve to reject two minorities because they didn't fit in? They wanted the white, artsy folks who frequent the myriad bars on the Lower East Side and patronize the "locals." The ones who refer to the neighborhood I have lived in my whole life as "Loho." I hope the Voice examines this phenomenon before it's too late and my whole neighborhood is gentrified into condos, trendy bars, and pretentious talk.

Jahan S. Mantin
Manhattan

CORRECTION

Wayne Barrett's article "Rudy's Gift to Mike" (December 18) reported that New York City budget director Adam Barsky stated that Mayor Giuliani had been to the White House many times "for friendly meetings" about post-September 11 federal aid. It was Barsky who went to the White House, an error caused by a confusing pronoun changed to refer to Giuliani in the editing process.