Health Department Closure (November 7, 1985)

New York City Department of Health closed the Mineshaft under new anti-AIDS regulations added to the State Sanitary Code in October 1985 — the first forced closure of a gay venue by city health authorities under these policies. Two days later, the Anvil closed voluntarily. Community response contested the health framing as a sexualized targeting of gay men's spaces, while public-health authorities cited documented unsafe-sex practices on-site.