New non-profit looks to help pave the way for gay bathhouses to return to New York

A former operator of a venue for adult events for gay and bisexual men and a longtime political professional in New York state and local politics has launched a non-profit that will press the state health department to change a 1985 code that barred businesses from allowing oral and anal sex on their premises and was used to shutter dozens of sex clubs, porn shops and theaters, and bathhouses in New York City since then. “Bathhouses in general are really having a boom in New York City,” said Joe Hickerson, the founder of Modern Health Code, referring to bathhouses that do not specifically attract gay and bisexual men and require modest dress, such as bathing suits, from their customers. “They’re really nice.” The 1985 code was created at the start of New York City’s response to the spread of HIV among gay and bisexual men in the city and state. It originally barred oral and anal sex in businesses. The code was amended nine years later to include vaginal sex, though it is not clear that that provision was ever used to close any business. State Senator Erik Bottcher and state Assemblymember Tony Simone, who are both gay, have drafted legislation that would require the state Department of Health, which wrote the 1985 code and its later version, to undo the code and draft rules that would regulate the operation of bathhouses in New York. “There is growing momentum for the Department of Health to replace a 40-year old relic in the code with new regulations based on current science, and I’m thrilled to have an ally in this effort who can help advocate for this change from all angles,” Bottcher said in a statement released by Modern Health Code. Some press reports have incorrectly said that all bathhouses in New York City were closed soon after the code was made official. The West Side Club, the East Side Club, the Wall Street Sauna, and the Northern Men’s Sauna in Queens continued to operate for years. Only the East Side Club is still open. The process for closing a business that violated the code required that a city health department inspector first observe violations of the code in a specific business, then the city had to file a nuisance abatement lawsuit against the business seeking to close it. The bathhouses that stayed open did so by requiring their customers to have sex solely in private rooms where it could not be seen. The city’s bathhouses that had already closed or were initially closed by the city were among the most fabulous and were known for having a less controlled environment. The Continental Baths, which became a sex club for heterosexuals before 1985, was housed in the Ansonia Hotel on West 74^th Street. That bathhouse featured performances by Bette Midler with Barry Manilow as her pianist. Activist Allen Roskoff famously took Bella Abzug, who was running for Congress, to meet voters dressed in towels at the Continental. Other notable bathhouses included St. Mark’s Baths, which was run by Bruce Mailman, who also ran The Saint, which was the city’s most extraordinary dance venue and allowed sex; Man’s Country on 15^th Street; and the Club Baths at 1^st Avenue and 1^st Street. Mailman unsuccessfully sued the city to stop it from closing St. Mark’s Baths. “New York’s public health rules should reflect scientific advancements and the realities of 2026,” Hickerson said in a statement. “We will make the case for modern regulations that protect both public health and the civil liberties of consenting adults rather than rely on the thinking and assumptions of 1985.” The Modern Health Code maintains a focus on requiring any new bathhouses to offer customers health services on their premises that should include “onsite prevention, testing, and referrals,” its website says. “The real value is in having a central location,” Hickerson said. Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who now works at the Callen Lorde Community Health Center and previously worked for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and GMHC, is known for using sex venues to deliver health services to gay and bisexual men. “My own work in these venues has shown that they can also be powerful environments for health outreach and prevention,” Daskalakis said in a statement issued by Bottcher and Simone. “By bringing people together rather than pushing them into less visible settings, we create opportunities to build trust and deliver services that improve health outcomes. Callen-Lorde is looking forward to working with our community and government partners to plan clinical prevention services in these venues and to further strengthen the connection between community wellness and public health.” Hickerson sees new bathhouses as holding appeal for a wide range of ages and for tourists. In this role, they would provide an “economic benefit” for the city, he said. Hickerson operated the Malebox, a venue for adult events for gay and bisexual men that closed in December of 2025.