Nite Court - 215 N Aurora St.

In July 1976, the Gay People’s Center organized a boycott and picket of Nite Court, a bar located at 215 North Aurora Street, whose owner, Louis Cataldo, had a policy against allowing couples of the same gender to touch while dancing. On July 7, Cataldo, faced with a dance floor of primarily gay couples, abruptly cut the music, turned up the lights, and announced there would be no more “same sex touching” at his establishment. The center’s steering committee spread news of Cataldo’s activities and their planned boycott through a blistering series of informational flyers and leaflets. The standoff ended in February 1977 when the New York State Division of Human Rights found probable cause that the bar’s management had discriminated against gay people. The owners of Nite Court and six members of the Gay People’s Center signed an agreement in which the club agreed to admit all persons and allow them to engage in legally permissible activities regardless of gender.

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