It has been very sad to see the Joiners’ Arms, an iconic LGBT bar/venue on Hackney road, being picked apart to make way for its demolition. Property developers purchased the building to make way for a new block of flats, and the pub, which has been there since 1997, could not afford to stay.This This seems to be an increasingly common occurrence in the area, and is also part of a pattern of independent LGBT venues across London being forced out by the whim of property developers. David Pollard, the owner of the pub, was quoted in a an article in Vice:

“I think London will end up destroying itself…London depends on people moving here that can afford to live here. It’s a big city, but London has always been more than a playground for the super-rich. We mustn’t forget that.”