Bed-Stuy Raises $5K For Vandalized Queer-Owned Bar: GoFundMe

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Neighbors in Bed-Stuy are rallying behind a queer-owned neighborhood bar that found a brick thrown through its window earlier this week.

A GoFundMe set up to help C'Mon Everybody on Franklin Avenue has raised nearly all of its $5,000 goal just a few days after it was set up.

The fundraiser, aimed at helping the bar fix the window and prevent future vandalism, was set up by a patron after the bar posted photos of the broken window on their Instagram page on Monday.

"Let’s prove that love will always win over hate," organizer Leah Smit wrote. "...This is a hate crime and that’s not what our city is about. Let’s prove that."

In the days since the fundraiser, the window at the bar was replaced, according to Smit, who is in contact with the owners.

Smit said additional money will be used at the owner's discretion to put preventative measures in place.

"Having financial security to overcome setbacks like this, after the past 18+ months of uncertainty, is an incredible gift," Smit said in an update. "Supporting integral venues to the LGBTQ performance scene, and ensuring they are kept safe spaces for those who find joy and inclusion within their walls, is 100 percent the goal of this campaign."

C'Mon Everybody is a queer-owned and operated bar and music venue that first opened in 2015 with a "desire to amplify the underserved creative voices of LGBTQ/QTPOC people (and allies) and to serve as a safe space for the queer community," according to their website.

Smit also encouraged neighbors to buy tickets to C'Mon Everybody's events as a way to support the business.

Find the GoFundMe here.