"It's not targeted at anybody. I have to grow this community that is missing out on millions of dollars of revenue," she said. "We have thousands of cars driving by this great opportunity neighborhood, and we have nothing for them."

Longtime Hershee regulars, who have been wearing white T-shirts that declare "I Am Hershee Bar," say they are distraught.

They have packed City Council meetings since June. Some asked that the city continue to lease the property to the bar while council members and the Hershee Action Coalition figure out a compromise. Others have asked the city to offer incentives to Stone to help the bar relocate.

Despite several emotional meetings — including a council hearing last week in which Councilwoman Andria McClellan cried and Mayor Kenny Alexander shared a personal story about his mother, a lesbian — little has changed.

LGBTQ activists said that city council members have refused to meet with them to discuss other options and that the mayor has not returned their calls. Alexander and McClellan did not respond to multiple requests for comment for this article.

For many, moving the bar isn't good enough. They said there is history in its walls. They blame the city for miscalculating its significance to the LGBTQ community and the neighborhood at large.