David Burbach
‪@dburbach.bsky.social‬

Follow
From the MAGA perspective of course, this hit to the DC economy is a *win*: ruin LGBT owned business, throw immigrants out of their hospitality jobs, make life unpleasant for young educated professionals

‪Emily Farris‬
‪@emayfarris.bsky.social‬
· 6h
I’m teaching Jane Jacobs next week and one of my favorite claims of hers to get students to debate is whether bars actually can do a better job than police at safety with eyes on the street.

https://www.advocate.com/news/dc-business-struggle-trump-crackdown

D.C. bar owners say Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown is killing their business
“This is not sustainable,” Dave Peruzza, a gay business owner in D.C., told The Advocate.
www.advocate.com
August 17, 2025 at 10:27 AM

Emily Farris
‪@emayfarris.bsky.social‬

Follow
I’m teaching Jane Jacobs next week and one of my favorite claims of hers to get students to debate is whether bars actually can do a better job than police at safety with eyes on the street.

https://www.advocate.com/news/dc-business-struggle-trump-crackdown

D.C. bar owners say Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown is killing their business
“This is not sustainable,” Dave Peruzza, a gay business owner in D.C., told The Advocate.
www.advocate.com
August 17, 2025 at 10:22 AM

D.C. bar owners say Trump’s federal law enforcement crackdown is killing their business


Federal agents patrol the U Street corridor, an area known for its bars and clubs, on orders from President Donald Trump, in Washington, D.C., on August 15, 2025 DOMINIC GWINN/MIDDLE EAST IMAGES/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

“This is not sustainable,” Dave Perruzza, a gay business owner in D.C., told The Advocate.

CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS
AUGUST 16 2025 5:40 PM EST

President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C. policing, billed as a crackdown on violent crime, has quickly turned into an economic and cultural crisis for the capital’s LGBTQ+ nightlife. In the most LGBTQ+ city in America, bar owners say sales have collapsed, patrons are staying home, and workers are carrying passports and legal documents just to walk the streets. … “This whole thing is being billed as a violent crime crackdown, but it’s just an immigration sweep,” Mark Rutstein, co-owner of Crush Dance Bar, told The Advocate on Saturday.

A deserted corridor

Rutstein said that on Wednesday evening, federal and local agencies staged checkpoints on 14th Street that led to 45 arrests, 29 of them immigration-related. He said that Homeland Security agents in vests were seen pulling a Latino man into an unmarked vehicle. … Rutstein said the visible presence of law enforcement for blocks sparked protests and “customer flight.” Thursday sales at Crush, which is at 14th and U Northwest, dropped 75 percent, and Friday, typically one of their busiest nights, was down by more than half. “Washingtonians leaving the city to avoid the chaos on top of a reduction of tourism is crippling small businesses,” he said.

Dave Perruzza, who owns Pitchers and A League of Her Own in Adams Morgan, said Friday night felt “like a desert.” “Thursdays are all local, but Fridays and Saturdays we get people from out of town, and we just had none of them. It was awful,” he said. He estimated a loss of $7,000 in a single night. “That’s not sustainable.”

Safe inside, fear outside

A viral video of a man later identified as Sean Charles Dunn throwing a Subway sandwich at federal agents circulated widely after the crackdown began. The incident happened on Sunday above Bunker, a popular LGBTQ+ underground nightclub on 14th Street, after bystanders said Dunn, who is gay, was denied entry.

{snip}