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Welcome to the new New York Jacks Blog. Please join the conversation and come to our parties.
Since we often get questions about the history of the New York Jacks, I will be adding some fun facts from time to time and would welcome any additions by any longtime members. Some of the following information was taken from an original Jacks member's article in the New York Native going by the pen name Peter Palmer.
The first JO club to be organized in New York was born on a February night in 1980 in a brand new West Village bar called J's. When a 35 year old advertising manager from Kansas leapt on the pool table in response to shouts of "Show it off!" to exhibit his eight inches to the 16 naked men who gathered that first night, cries of ecstasy echoed in counterpoint to the sleaze music of the reel-to-reel, as one by one, like uncapped fire hydrants, the group reached orgasm. Word swiftly got out that every Tuesday night there was a party at J's. The rules were simple: arrive between 9 and 9:30, check clothes by 9:45, grease up with the lubricant of one's choice, (unscented Albolene quickly became the favorite) beat one's meat to a funky disco beat (Marianne Faithfull's "Why'd Ya Do It" also a favorite), solo or with other strokers. When the party ended the front door opened once again to the public. All for 5 bucks-one of Manhattan's great bargains, even in 1980.
"Tuesday Night at J's" became so popular that within two months, 150 to 200 men would enter the Triangle building at Ninth Avenue and 14th street before the door was locked. The major porn stars showed up to join in the action, fulfilling many a man's fantasy. Admission cards, with "Inner Circle" printed on white stock (the hankie color code for JO) were distributed to the regulars who never missed a Tuesday. A lean, bearded 40 year old from Brooklyn Heights volunteered to tend bar, performing outrageously from the moment he shed his paratrooper's gear. Rock hard, stroking with one hand while fliipping open cans of Budweiser and Diet Pepsi with the other, he often perched on the oak bar or liquor shelf, mixing business with pleasure. His antics were surpassed only by a 31 year old airline mechanic from New Jersey who, week after week, shot his load at least six times, never without the dirty-talking crowd urging him to try for a seventh.
Over the summer, the attendance at J's parties grew, but with the arrival of fall, the sexual climate changed. Newcomers often treated the event as a night at the Mineshaft, ignoring the admonitions of the regulars who registered their protests with the manager. He soon acquiesced and switched JO night to Mondays. During this period, several of the hard-core were invited to perform in Joe Gage's HANDsome, sometimes regarded as the ultimate JO porn film. One man remembers: Joe instructed us to shout "I'm cumming!" when it was close, so the camera could zoom in for a close-up.
With it's discovery by the denizens of other Village and Chelsea bars, J's achieved status equal to that of the most popular, the Spike and the Eagle. J's decided to open to the public seven nights a week, which meant no more private parties. The Inner Circle of JOers was offered the use of the basement, which functions on weekends as Hellfire, a straight/gay S&M club. After the inevitable issues developed, heating problems, plumbing breakdowns, rude personnel who at times mocked the JO activity attendance dropped. Twenty five of the regulars decided to organize and to set their own standards, not subject to the wims of a landlord. They called themselves the New York Jacks.
This began years of migration from one venue to another with the building of a strong, loyal group of men who valued the act of communal JO as their personal choice of sexual expression. Through the ups and downs of the next 35 years, the Jacks are currently in a period of growth and stability. There turns out to be a very strong appeal to men from all over the world and New York is the perfect city for them to meet and enjoy each others naked company.