When news first broke in February 2024 of the impending closure of Village Cigars, a rundown smoke shop on an undeniably recognizable street corner in Greenwich Village, I briefly deliberated as to whether it could be considered a queer space. I ultimately made the decision that although it was not an LGBTQ+ venue outright, Village Cigars was nevertheless an iconic neighborhood institution that had served as a visual landmark and meetup place for the queer community across numerous decades, and had served as a literal backdrop for and witness to so much of New York City's queer history. According to Paul H. Lewis (@paul.h.lewis.888): “Village Cigars qualifies [as a queer landmark], if only because countless [LGBTQ+] couples met ‘at the corner cigar store,’ either by appointment, or by chance!”
Located at 110 Seventh Avenue South and Christopher Street, Village Cigars first opened in 1922 and had occupied its uniquely triangular 373-square-foot-space for more than a century. When it opened, the store was originally called Union Cigars, and despite the eventual name change, continued to sell tobacco products, lottery tickets, candy, and other various sundries without fail. The cigar shop was also uniquely erected on a historic piece of property that contains the Hess Triangle, a mosaic set into the storefront’s sidewalk that reads: “PROPERTY OF THE HESS ESTATE, WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN DEDICATED FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES.” The triangle was the result of an iconic dispute between the city government and the estate of David Hess, a deliciously petty drama worth reading about on its own.
For the last twenty-six years, Village Cigars had been owned by Andy Singh, who also owned Andy's Deli next door. According to Singh in Curbed, the closure was the result of a disagreement about the lease term. “They stopped paying rent last summer,” building owner Jon Posner, a lifelong resident of Greenwich Village reported. And considering Village Cigars was a single-tenant building, Posner added, “You can imagine that’s quite painful.” Singh mentioned that in fact, the City had stopped approving his license to sell tobacco several years ago, and he had consequently requested a ten-year lease renewal, which would allow him to pivot to a different sort of business like a wine shop, but that ultimately Posner said no.
For numerous decades, Village Cigars has been an eye witness to countless historic LGBTQ+ moments. It is featured as a backdrop in many Pride celebrations, including behind trans pioneer Marsha P. Johnson on more than one occasion. It has also been host to several iconic LGBTQ+ ads and billboards that have hung above it, including one ad for the gay bathhouse Man's Country, which cheekily read in massive letters "COME! to Man's Country." Another year, Man's Country paid for the billboards to read "Gay Rights" and "Register and Vote." Later on, a gay billboard from the early ‘90s featured two shirtless men in embrace in an ad for "RSVP Gay Cruises" to the Caribbean, Mexican Riviera, Alaska, and the Greek Isles.
Perhaps most notably, queer artist Félix González-Torres incorporated the billboards into a piece (presented by the Public Art Fund) in 1989, on the 20th anniversary of Stonewall. The billboard artwork featured two minimalist lines that read: "People With AIDS Coalition 1985 Police Harassment 1969 Oscar Wilde 1895 Supreme Court 1986 Harvey Milk 1977 March on Washington 1987 Stonewall Rebellion 1969." González-Torres would pass away in 1996 from AIDS-related illness. The Art Fund reinstalled his billboards in 2019 for Stonewall 50 – WorldPride.
When Village Cigars announced it would be closing, Andrew Berman, executive director of Village Preservation, remarked on its significance: “It’s not every day a 100-year-old business known the world over closes in your neighborhood. It’s sad to think of that iconic intersection without Village Cigars. Their presence was an element of continuity in a city and a neighborhood that’s undergone a tremendous amount of ongoing change.” Many locals were also shocked, including Teddy Pecora (@teddypecora) who wondered: “So sad. What else could the landlord possibly rent to!”
Posner did in fact remark that he was looking for a new, suitable tenant who would be willing to preserve the building’s rich history and, most importantly, maintain the iconic red signs which flank the building’s exterior. “I take that pretty seriously. This is a unique property; I’m going to treat it as such.” he said. Also of note is the fact that the building itself is situated within the Greenwich Village historic district, which means its exterior could not be altered without first going through a long and arduous delegation with the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Though according to Village Preservation: “This does not, however, typically mean that the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), which regulates and oversees these sites, will necessarily require that signage from a no-longer extant business is maintained. More typically, when such signage is considered significant in some way, the LPC may require that if a new store wants to replace the signage to reflect the new name, the sign must emulate the style of the old sign.”
What will eventually replace Village Cigars remains to be seen, but many LGBTQ+ folk have long considered the building’s iconic exterior to be a visual landmark, using it as focal point in order to meet up with friends, lovers, and anyone in between. As Dax Chancery (@daxchancery) remarked upon hearing of its closure: “Oh no. Such a recognizable icon in my queer life…”