West Street Massacre

The building at three hundred ninety-four West Street stands as a somber reminder of a pivotal moment in Greenwich Village history. On the night of November 19, 1980, this address was home to the Ramrod, a popular gay leather bar that sat near the Hudson River waterfront. It was the site of a targeted hate crime when a gunman armed with an Uzi submachine gun opened fire on patrons, killing two men and injuring several others. The event, which became known as the West Street Massacre, deeply traumatized the local community and forced a reckoning with the hostility and violence faced by LGBTQ+ individuals during that era.