“Dallas is still recording 200-plus new cases and 20 or so deaths each day,” Meissner said in a statement. They just intend to do so in the safest possible manner. That does not mean, however, that Meissner and Hidden Door staff are not working toward re-opening the bar.
Harvey Meissner, left, and Christopher Turman from AIDS Services Of DallasĪlthough the Hidden Door has been shuttered since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Meissner said this week that the bar and the trust are “legally separate entities,” and that the trust is “well-funded and able to continue its donations without Hidden Door revenues.” When Bobrow died in February 2018, the bar and the rest of his estate went to the Bobrow Trust, with Meissner as president and general manager of The Hidden Door and as co-trustee of the Bobrow Trust.įollowing Bobrow’s wishes, Meissner and his co-trustee then closed out the Jim Roberts Trust by donating its assets and developed a plan to make ongoing donations to LGBTQ and HIV/AIDS community organizations from the assets of the Bobrow Trust. Anthony “Tony” Bobrow, a longtime employee, took over as owner of the bar then and as manager of the Jim Roberts Trust. Jim “Polock” Roberts opened the bar in 1979 and owned it until his death in 1988. The Anthony Bobrow Trust owns and is funded in part by proceeds from The Hidden Door, of which Meissner is president and general manager. The trust has already made smaller donations this year totalling about $10,000.īeneficiary organizations in this round of donations are Legacy Counseling Center, AIDS Services of Dallas, Dallas Hope Charities and AIN.Įach agency received a check for $62,500. Harvey Meissner and Evie Scrivner from Dallas Hope Charities
The airperfect system at the hidden door runs 24/7, there’s never a time that surfaces and air are not 99.9% free of Covid 19 and other viruses. If they prevent even one case of Covid, it’s worth our efforts.” They’re optional on our patio, largest in the Oak Lawn area. We view masks as a minor, temporary inconvenience. “That’s what County Judge Clay Jenkins says will stop the spread. Meissner says even with the sophisticated air treatment the Hidden Door still requests that customers wear masks when not drinking inside the bar. Giving our customers the best protection we found, along with the suggested vaccinations and common sense about masking, gives us confidence that the Hidden Door staff and our family of customers are as safe as we can make them.” It’s been tested by highly-ranked labs, each of which got the same great results. “We looked at a variety of equipment before choosing ActivePure. It rapidly and continuously fills a room with virus-neutralizing particles that instantly break viruses down to their component parts, rendering them harmless. “The manufacturer tells us that unlike conventional, passive, filtration-based air purifiers, ActivePure works immediately and does not require capture or exposure time. “We installed over twice what we were told were necessary, three in the overhead air ducts, three stand-alones for the sides of the bar, and one in each of the rest rooms.”
Harvey Meissner, President and General Manager, says “Over one million ActivePure systems are currently in use to help safeguard front-line workers in hospitals such as the Cleveland Clinic and in government buildings, including the Texas State Capitol.
"When pushed on the fact that such an increase has been spotty and largely invisible, DPD has pointed to officer shortages and has now even suggested that the protection provided by our tax dollars is not enough and that we should pay for expanded patrols by off-duty officers."Īccording to the National Center for Victims of Crime, LGBTQ people throughout the United States are at disproportionate risk of becoming the victims of violent crime.The Hidden Door has installed ActivePure Technology that the manufacturer claims eliminates over 99.9% of the airborne virus that causes COVID 19. "For weeks DPD has promised an increased presence in the neighborhood," advocacy group Rally for Change said in a statement published in LGBTQ Nation. "The LBGT community of Dallas and of the United States are not weak, and we will stand up for ourselves and make sure our community is safe," he added. "The offenses were committed by one black male, by two black males, by three black males, by three Latin males, by two white males, by unknown description males, by a black male and Latin female," Dallas Police Department Assistant Chief Randall Blankenbaker told WFAA.īut amid the initial wave of attacks, local LGBT activist Daniel Cates told NBC DFW, "We think these attackers are trying to send a message, and we want them to know that message has been received."