Nassau County’s only gay nightclub closes less than 2 years after opening

Nassau County’s only gay night club, which also operated as one of just a few full-time gay bars on Long Island, shut down for good last month, less than two years after opening its doors.

Halo Nightclub's abrupt ending comes after it was plagued by financial issues even before it officially opened for business in Oceanside.

Co-owner Kyle Savage said Halo had been hindered by issues with filing the proper paperwork with the State Liquor Authority, or SLA. That stymied the bar's ability to start making money, he said.

Despite renting the property in May 2023, Halo did not get its full liquor license from the SLA until January 2024. The owners were stuck paying rent for months before Halo could generate any revenue because it could not serve alcohol — or even open its doors to the public — until then.

Patrick Garrett, a spokesperson for the SLA, confirmed the original filing in November 2023 was incomplete and that approximately 45 days lapsed between when the bar first applied for a temporary liquor license and when it was granted one.

“Ever since opening, it was always playing a game of catch-up,” Savage said.

Despite the rough start, Halo served as one of the few establishments specifically for Long Island's LGBTQ+ community.

Matt Sciorsci, a queer 25-year-old Long Island resident, quickly became a regular at Halo. One of the bartenders made an apple martini just the way Sciorsci liked it, and it soon became one of Sciorsci's go-to hangouts.

“To just know that I had a place to go to where I was safe? That was really important to me,” Sciorsci said.

During the 18 months that Halo operated, it hosted drag shows, karaoke and themed nights for locals who did not want to commute to New York City to be around other LGBTQ+ people, according to Savage.

But the good times were cut short in January when Savage said he received the first notice of eviction.

Halo seemingly got a second chance after going to court to set up a payment plan for the back rent with the company that owned the property, which declined to comment when contacted by Gothamist.

But within four months, Halo’s owners were once again behind on payments and were told to close if they could not cobble together roughly $18,000, according to Savage.

A GoFundMe for Halo generated $3,145 in donations, a fraction of what was owed. Savage said he even “depleted” his retirement savings to cover the costs of vendors, liquor and drag queens during Halo’s last two months of operation.

The nightclub’s final event, a 12-hour Pride marathon that was also a farewell to its loyal patrons, took place on June 14. The event featured aerialists, drag performers and was among the biggest LGBTQ+ festivities in the area that month.

Savage said he and others returned to the property the following day, collected whatever belongings they could and said goodbye for good.

While Halo Nightclub is no more, Savage said he's still throwing pop-up events in the area. The next event, billed as a “luxury nightlife party” at a local hotel, is scheduled for Saturday.

“I don’t look at it as a failure,” Savage said. “I look at it as an awakening of the state of our world and the state of Long Island. There is still so much hatred and homophobia that a space like this wasn’t supported.”