New York Post
· collected 2026-09-27 · by Gabrielle Fahmy, Juliet Pennington
A Massachusetts lesbian bar, Last Ditch Bar in Greenfield, faced controversy after announcing plans for a mask-free Saturday night to boost business. On the first such night since the announcement, the owner restricted entry due to fears of being “infiltrated.” Patrons were required to hand over their IDs and identify someone inside to gain entry. Despite concerns raised by some about the decision being exclusionary, only a few dozen people attended, most without masks. The bar remains committed to promoting LGBTQ+ liberation but has maintained strict pandemic-era safety measures, including mandatory N-95 masks on other nights.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-27,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
In Greenfield, Massachusetts, a lesbian bar called Last Ditch Bar faced severe backlash after lifting its mask mandate for just one night a week starting from August 31. The decision to allow unmasked customers on Saturdays was made to boost the struggling business financially but instead triggered intense criticism and accusations of ableism from community members who felt it endangered immunocompromised individuals. Despite initial support, the bar's owner later imposed strict restrictions due to safety concerns, turning away many eager patrons who had gathered for a "goth night" event.
The controversy garnered national attention with coverage by major media outlets like The Boston Globe, and even led to commentary on HBO’s “Real Time” by comedian Bill Maher, who mocked the far-left critics for their intolerance. Meanwhile, a chapter of the Massachusetts Communist Party criticized The Boston Globe's article as "not newsworthy," accusing the newspaper of courting national outrage against their region.
Written for “Massachusetts Lesbian Bar Mask Mandat…” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.
The first mask-free Saturday since a Massachusetts lesbian bar went viral for descending into a catty culture war was nearly canceled after its last remaining owner claimed the venue was being “infiltrated.”
asserted
venue → go → war
Greenfield’s Last Ditch Bar caused an uproar when it broke the news last month to its “immunocompromised disabled divas” it was lifting its mandatory mask policy for just one night a week in a bid to boost business — six full years after the COVID-19 pandemic.
asserted
it → cause → pandemic
More than one dozen patrons gathered at the door shortly after 7 p.m. for a “goth night” with underground DJs “Hannibal Directive” and “Puppy Synthesis” were turned away and told to come back at 10 p.m. because staff was holding a last-minute emergency meeting.
asserted
staff → gather → meeting
Most hadn’t gotten the memo about theme.
asserted
Most → get → theme
When they did, the by now nearly 100 people rushing to get in were promptly informed by the financially struggling establishment that because of unspecified “safety breaches,” the mask-free dance night they’d been eagerly anticipating for the past three hours was now a private event — and that if they couldn’t name someone they knew inside, they were being 86’d.
asserted
they → do → someone
Patrons also had to hand over their ID to staff as a supposed “security measure,” and could only pick it up on the way out.
uncertain
Patrons → have → way
Despite the outcry about the decision to go mask-free one night a week by those who called it a “mass disabling event” and a “eugenicist” attack, on Saturday fewer than a dozen patrons were masked.
asserted
patrons → go → Saturday
“It just feels off-putting,” said Pete, 43, who lives in nearby Northampton, the city that’s been labeled “Lesbianville, USA,” of wearing a mask.
asserted
that → feel → mask
A woman, who goes by “they/them” pronoun, came “for the vibe” regardless, but was “happy that I didn’t have to wear a mask,” calling the controversy “ridiculous.”
asserted
I → go → controversy
The crowd danced to techno pop music on the black and white checkered dance floor that had a stripper pole in the middle, as anime cartoons played on a projector screen and neon lights flashed.
asserted
lights → dance → screen
The basement bar, which features a fluorescent lavender sign with the words “Last Ditch” outside and a sign on the door that says, “please wear a mask, it’s like a seatbelt for your face,” has countless reminders of the pandemic era most people are trying to forget inside.
asserted
people → feature → era
Pamphlets on “How to Take a Rapid Antigen Test” hang on a blue wall next to titles like “What is Queer Liberation?” and “A Worker’s Rights Guide,” N-95 masks are on offer in their free “store,” and owners boast about their “excess air purifiers” and “large exhaust fans.”
asserted
owners → take → purifiers
Regular nights — like the monthly “masked social” with speed dating — even have a virtual option.
asserted
nights → have → option
The bar, which opened last year as a place for “dykes, transsexuals, gender freaks, workers, and their friends,” required mandatory N-95 masks — “or better” — at all times.
asserted
which → open → times
When the change was announced last month, all hell broke loose with its woke clientele in the small city’s queer community.
asserted
hell → announce → community
“Just say you’re being complicit in a mass disabling event and get it over with,” on social media user wrote to the announcement.
asserted
user → say → announcement
“People like you kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience,” lambasted another.
asserted
another → kill → leisure
Last Ditch Bar was started by three housemates in their mid-20s, two of whom have since bailed — including one who ditched to go to clown school.
asserted
who → start → school
The last remaining owner, Jackie Matellian, cried through her mask during a meeting two months ago to apologize for the masking decision and talk about the bar’s financial future.
asserted
owner → remain → future
She explained she’d been left responsible for the $50,000 business loan taken out with her friends and had now been living in a car for six months.
asserted
she → explain → months
“It was not my passion project,” Matellian, 26, confessed.
asserted
Matellian → confess → ?
“I never really wanted to do this….
asserted
I → want → this
I don’t think I’m doing a very good job.”
asserted
I → think → job
The Aporia
