Local
Baltimore Eagle loses liquor license
‘Our patrons are out of a bar’
The Baltimore Eagle has been closed since 2012. (Photo by A. Currell; courtesy CreativeCommons)
The three-member Baltimore City Liquor Board on April 9 unanimously denied the Baltimore Eagle’s ownership group a requested liquor license transfer claiming that the work on renovations was not completed within the requisite 180 days, deeming the license dead.
The bar, located at 2022 N. Charles St., closed in December 2012 following its sale, leaving many in the community uncertain as to the bar’s fate. Charles Parrish and Ian Parrish purchased the property for $300,000 and vowed to re-open it as the Baltimore Eagle after renovations are completed.
However, unanticipated problems with the structure, an excessive amount of trash, delays in an electrical line installation and other impediments prevented the renovations from being completed on time. Melvin Kodenski, an attorney for the group, argued at a March 12 hearing that there was precedent to waive the rule under certain circumstances and that he would present legal documents to the board.
The ownership group presented its evidence, but the board, led by former judge Tom Ward, dismissed it citing a seething 2013 audit of the liquor board that revealed corruption and other irregularities. The new board was given the charge to crack down on “zombie” licenses as well as other improprieties.
According to BaltimoreBrew.com, Ward said at the April 9 hearing, “It is very clear to us…that the 180-day rule in this case has been violated. You’re out of time. The license is gone.”
Ian Parrish and his supporters consider the decision to be an injustice.
“We’ve done everything we were advised to do by the Liquor Board itself,” Parrish, a Baltimore-area developer, told the Blade. “We met the board regularly to keep them informed of our progress, and they were happy with our work; we were told that our license was secure as long as we continued our pace, and we held up our end of the that agreement; we paid our fees, and they took our money. And now these three new commissioners show up out of nowhere, disrespect the city officials who were moving the project forward, and kill our project with their arbitrary decision. From all the way up on their bench it must be hard for them to see that their decision has real consequences here in our neighborhood.”
Parrish added, “I don’t know what their agenda is, but we know that a building in Baltimore is sitting vacant right now because of the Baltimore City Liquor Board, and a business that has been in operation for 20 years has been told to go away. My men are out of work and our patrons are out of a bar.”
He had hoped that the rebirth of the Baltimore Eagle as a gay bar was not the reason for opposition from nearby community groups but suspicions have arisen.
“The most upsetting thing is that the handful of people in opposition who were running around saying that ‘a gay bar could bring gay prostitution’ was allowed to get away with it,” Parrish said. “That’s what we were told when we attended the meeting of the Charles Village Land Use Committee—the organization where Commissioner [Dana] Moore used to serve as president. And most of these people don’t even live in the neighborhood. I am disgusted.”
Though the liquor board declared the license dead, Parrish and his supporters believe the project is not and will explore all legal channels available to make it happen.
“For better than 20 years, the Eagle has been a judgment-free environment, a place where people could go and just be themselves,” said Parrish. “The patrons and staff have always been good neighbors to me; and I may be just one guy, but as long as friends of the Eagle will stand with me, I will fight to re-open this landmark tavern.”
He urges friends of the Eagle to send letters of support to [email protected]. All letters will be forwarded to the Baltimore City Liquor Board, Council member Carl Stokes, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Gov. Larry Hogan.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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