Did Politics Poison the Pines?

"How could he have been so stupid?"

So asked a Fire Island Pines homeowner in late April of Ian Reisner, the co-proprietor of 80 percent of the famed gay resort's commercial area as well as the Out NYC hotel complex. This comment came after Reisner and his former romantic but current out business partner, Mati Weiderpass, hosted a private reception on April 23 for GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz in their spacious apartment on Central Park South.

If Weiderpass had not bannered a photo of Cruz and himself looking chummy, and had the two men not contacted the New York Times, it's possible the meeting would have flown under the radar.

But once the story ran in the Times, a Facebook page appeared advocating a boycott of Reisner's businesses in both New York City and Fire Island Pines and receiving international media attention. Caught off guard, Reisner and Weiderpass began a campaign in damage control that veered between apologizing to and attacking critics.

Initially taking to his new Fire Island business partner P.J. McAteer's Facebook page, Reisner attempted to justify the meeting as "a candid conversation" on Cruz's positions on Israel and national security - one that could be characterized as "an open dialogue" about marriage equality. Rather than quelling the controversy, however, Reisner only threw oil onto the flame. Pundits - including those on the right - pointed out that it is hardly a secret where Cruz stands. (A Google search of "Ted Cruz and Marriage" yields 4.8 million hits.)

As for "dialogue," Cruz's spokeswoman told the Times that Cruz "stated directly and unambiguously what everyone in the room already knew, that he opposes same-sex marriage and supports traditional marriage." Cruz, in fact, is not only the most outspoken marriage-equality opponent in the Senate, but also has made it a cornerstone of his presidential campaign. As the conservative National Journal reported back in October, Cruz is using the issue to break out of the pack and place a lock with white Evangelicals, who made up half of GOP primary voters in 2012 according to a CBS News poll.

When Damage Control Does More Damage Than Control

Only a day after the Times story broke, Reisner and Weiderpass retained public relations consultant R. Couri Hay - himself a gay man best known as a former gossip columnist for the National Enquirer and a nightlife habitu� who hobnobs with high society in New York and the Hamptons. A Times profile last year titled "The 'R' Is for Ruthless" noted that he "accepts payment in Champagne, caviar, jewelry and, until recent years, furs."

In Hay's initial (and thus far only) press release, Reisner pointed out his support for various LGBT organizations, the Democratic Party and candidates, and a Hillary Clinton campaign party at the Out NYC. Boycott supporters questioned whether Reisner hosted the Clinton campaign party or merely rented Out NYC's facilities.

On April 27, Reisner wrote in Facebook that he was "shaken to my bones" by the firestorm. In an about-face, he admitted to having made a mistake hosting Cruz. But he only infuriated activists by insisting that he had no idea of Cruz's virulent opposition to gay marriage.

Even the National Review, the voice of the ultra-conservative wing of the GOP, called Reisner's apology "craven" in a headline. "Are we really expected to believe that he did not know Ted Cruz's position on the matter?" asked Charles Cooke. "Everybody in the country knows what Ted Cruz thinks about gay marriage - especially those people who care so much about the issue."

Things took a truly bizarre turn when Ian's brother Brad Reisner entered the fray. He sent a disparaging message to the Boycott page. Then photo grabs of text messages appeared on Facebook in which Brad Reisner called a local DJ a "scumbag" and "faggot."

"CALL ME A BITCH ON ANY SITE AND U WILL DISAPPEAR," read one text from Reisner.

Mati Problems Fuel The Cyber Cries To Boycott

Nor did Weiderpass help Reisner's backtracking when he wrote a scorched-earth op-ed in the New York Observer attacking "gay extremists," calling his gay adversaries "small and intolerant."

Maintaining that in the past, dialogue with opponents resulted in the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and the passing of same-sex marriage in the New York Legislature, Weiderpass asked if the event in his home was akin to Jews boycotting a "business leader who hosted a private discussion with an important Muslim politician?"

Weiderpass implied that Obama, by "embracing Iran at the expense of Israel," was therefore endangering a nation with the most progressive policies toward LGBT rights in the Mideast while enabling one of the most virulently homophobic ones.

"Should the treatment of gays in the Arab world not be discussed with candidates who oppose same-sex marriage?" he asked, thereby explicitly suggesting that he discussed LGBT rights in Arab nations with Cruz.

Boycotters quickly retaliated that considering Cruz might invite a more apt comparison to a private discussion with Hitler. Rather than supporting "dialogue" with Cruz, Log Cabin Republicans leader Gregory T. Angelo, calling Reisner a "scumbag," expressed support for the boycott.

Several groups including Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and the New York City Gay Men's Chorus canceled previously scheduled events at the Out NYC. In the most visible action to date, on April 27, demonstrators unfurled a huge banner that read "Boycott homophobia." The New York City Council's LGBT Caucus added its voice to a call for a boycott, especially significant as it is extraordinary for elected officials to advocate against a local business.

Acting in the opposite direction of the City Councilmembers, the LGBT-dominated Fire Island Pines Property Owners Association (FIPPOA) has cautiously supported Reisner.

A Community In Conflict

As reported in the Fire Island News, at a meeting in the Pines on May 2, one homeowner asked, "What would be the good of driving innocent people out of business?" Most people reportedly are uncomfortable at how a boycott would affect Reisner's partner, P.J. McAteer, and his landlady, Nicole LaFountaine, whose family has deep roots in the community.

"Conspicuously absent were those who were pro-boycott," the Fire Island News reported.

The next day, homeowner Hal Rubenstein, in a long Facebook posting, cited a friend who is canceling a planned a trip to the Pines this summer as proof that the boycott has enough teeth to make a major dent in the local economy. On the Facebook boycott page, several people claimed they also were altering their plans to avoid the community.

Meanwhile, conspiracy theories abound about the identity of the organizers of the boycott, who have chosen to remain anonymous although they have handed the reigns to named successors.

Noted gay journalist and Sirius XM radio host Michelangelo Signorile calls this boycott a "watershed moment." But he wisely leaves it up in the air whether that moment will prove positive or negative for the LGBT rights movement.

As of this writing, the success of the boycott is still debatable as Reisner's Fire Island properties have been open only a short time this season. Reports from the island are that Low Tea, the afternoon event at a Reisner bar-restaurant that is the Pines' equivalent of a daily town meeting, doesn't appear to be substantially less crowded than in the past. And social media is notorious for people making grand gestures that all too often are a reality only in the "virtual" realm.

Since the boycott was announced, there has been a small but significant and growing backlash against it.

Like the Pines' homeowners, some of the commenters on Facebook defend McAteer. They point to all of the LGBT employees whose livelihoods will be affected. This argument neatly avoids considering whether these employees should be called to account for enabling Reisner.

A DJ proudly posted his opening at Reisner's nightclub the Pavilion, and there was nary a sound of protest. The Boycott page noted another DJ's happiness at spinning at an event the same weekend.

James Kirchik, Steve Friess and a few other outliers who have carved a journalistic niche going against what they perceive as the gay mob in such matters agree that Weiderpass breaking bread with enemies like Cruz is engaging in productive dialogue.

Will Money Talk - And Will It Matter?

As for the homeowners, when FIPPOA President Jay Pagano read an open letter from Reisner at a follow-up meeting, it was received with rapturous applause. The most substantive points Reisner made were the hiring of a "director of community affairs" and a $20,000 donation to FIPPOA's PAC. Additionally, the embattled gay hotelier has pledged to donate his share of the profits from his inaugural season on Fire Island to benefit New York City's LGBT Community Center and Equality Texas.

If money talks in the end, however, there's a question mark about the long-term viability of Reisner's enterprises.

The Pines property was sold at what was essentially a foreclosure sale after the previous owners became saddled with high debt; a devastating fire at one of the two major structures, the other one sinking after a bulkhead restoration undermined its ancient pilings; Hurricane Sandy; and allegations of mismanagement and strife among the three co-owners.

But many question whether Reisner can make the businesses profitable. Granted, he paid only a fraction of the initial asking price. But only a few summer months have to pay for a year's worth of overhead that includes debt service, insurance, taxes, maintenance and repairs.

Reisner had revealed that the Out NYC had never been profitable before his now-infamous New York magazine interview (another attempt at damage control that backfired) in which he blamed gay men for being "cheap." But the gay boutique hotel concept had been tried in South Beach at Lords, which barely survived four years before going belly up. Reisner has spent two years fruitlessly attempting to open an Out in Chicago's Boystown.

The next few weeks will show whether this boycott has legs or, like so much else that initiates on social media, is merely just another opportunity to vent in front of a computer screen.