They were invented in the prison system. They flocked to Chelsea and the Village much later.

All kidding aside. Re The gentrification of Manhattan:

The gays have actually been priced out of those neighborhoods lately, and that's really telling because historically they've been good money managers and good spenders. But between the Hollyweird types flocking here and Der Fuhrer Bloomberg's branding of the city, you can't rent a one bedroom in the Village today for less than $2500 a month (and that's honestly on the low side).

To be honest, Lower Manhattan had a lot more character when there were more of them around.