More: Pride: 50 years after Stonewall, LGBTQ community and allies stand together in June Using the language of the day, the ABC deemed the congregation of homosexuals in “inordinate numbers” was against “public morals.” The New Jersey State Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) attempted to suspend the Den’s alcohol license in 1963 when the bar was at 111 Albany St. “Apparently, homosexuals can go into a men’s store or a drug store or restaurant, but they can’t go into a place that sells alcohol?
Mack passed away in 2013 at the age of 79. “I said, this is silly,” said Richard Mack, former owner of the Den, of the pre-1967 anti-gay laws to the Home News Tribune in 1998. The former Den of New Brunswick played an integral part in the legalization of the state’s gay bars in the ‘60s.
