The Russian Turkish bath are filled with “schvitzing” twunks who are taking over Instagram
played host to all types, including Russian, Italian, Irish and Jewish gangsters. They were safe spaces where mobsters could disrobe and talk business without fear of their convos leaking.
Adding to the lore, all attendants were deaf and/or mute. Subscribe to our newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.Vodka was served in the lobby, along with steaks and heavy meals.
But over time, the folkloric baths fell into disrepair, and many were shuttered during the AIDS crisis. Though the East Village baths remained, they no longer hosted the city’s powerful underbelly.
Instead, they hosted vagrants. That changed when two Russian owners, Boris Tuberman and David Shapiro, bought the fabled bathhouse in the mid 1980s.
