Gay beach new york
New York’s beaches have lengthy been a gathering place for the LGBTQ+ group, but Jacob Riis Park, a stretch of Atlantic coastline in Queens, is the most popular of them all. Originally opened in 1914, the beach is not just a popular sunbathing spot; it also has played an instrumental part in local, cultural and world history as the launching indicate for the first trans-Atlantic flight, a hub of activism following the Stonewall Uprising, and a site on the National Register of Historic Places.
Part of Riis’ explicit goal when it reopened in 1937 was to be “democratic”—a space that could be easily accessed through widespread transport—and from the 1940s to 1960s, it grew in both popularity and diversity as a territory for queer community. In the ’60s, new rules made clothing optional.
Today, a technicolored patchwork of towels blankets the sand for miles as beachgoers change Jacob Riis into a place to gather, be seen, dance and guzzle. To get a instinct of how the beach was coming alive this season, I spent Memorial Day walking along the boardwalk—toward the sounds of reggaeton and dembow and the smells of salt and suntan lotion—to survey the drinking scene at “the gay beach of New York.” Here’
Saving The People’s Beach
Jacob Riis Park Beach is known for its history, part of which is being named after Jacob Riis, a journalist, and photographer who was among the first to use his writing and photography to take attention to the living conditions of the low-quality .
It also serves as a landmark in another sense, as it’s been a haven for Unused York’s LGBTQ and BIPOC community since the 1940s. It’s even considered to be the most widespread gay beach in Brand-new York City history.
The Neponsit Nursing Home building has been in disrepair for years and is currently being demolished by the city. The future of the People’s Beach is uncertain. This led to a meeting held by the Rockaway for Riis Coalition on Rally 19 on the beach on where things endure.
The Neponsit Nursing House once provided a secure haven for the LGBT community. By David Shankbone / Wikipedia.
“I’m originally from Bayside. But now, I live in Bed Stuy. And I love coming here to the beach. This is one of my favorite parts of Queens. I have so many good memories here,” said Marie Baietto.
Ceyenne Doroshow, founder and executive director of the ngo GLITS (Gays and Lesbians Living In A Tran
Pelham Bay Park & Orchard Beach
History
Orchard Beach, located in Pelham Bay Park, is the only public beach in the Bronx and is sometimes called “the Bronx Riviera.” The beach and the park have drawn-out served as a famous recreational, meeting, and cruising place for the LGBT community, particularly for people of color.
There are several accounts of gay Puerto Rican men talking about the importance of Orchard Beach as a protected haven when they otherwise did not feel cozy being openly gay in public or when with their families. Bronx resident Ed García Conde on his website Welcome 2 The Bronx mentions that Hunter Island, a rocky section on the northern end of Orchard Beach, was typically a gathering place for sex. (The island itself had been separate from the beach until the 1930s, when then-NYC Parks Commissioner Robert Moses had them connected via infill.)
During the summer months of the 1990s, organizations such as Bronx Lesbians Joined in Sisterhood (BLUeS) and Gay Men of the Bronx (GMoB) hosted outdoor gatherings at Orchard Beach and Pelham Bay Park. Affirming the significance of
Riis Park Beach
History
Located on a mile-long section of Rockaway Peninsula in Queens, Jacob Riis Park was named after the turn-of-the-20th-century social reformer and photojournalist. Historically, Fresh York City beaches possess been popular public social gathering places for the LGBT community where they claimed certain sections as their own.
In the 1930s the beach was redesigned under the direction of New York City Parks Commissioner Robert Moses. When the park reopened in 1937, Moses hoped that it would be a more democratic version of Jones Beach due to its easy accessibility by public transportation and cars. By the 1940s the most eastern end of the beach had change into a documented well-known destination for mostly white same-sex attracted men to sunbathe and cruise. Lesbian women also claimed a nearby area of the beach by the 1950s. By the 1960s, this area became increasingly popular with a diverse LGBT presence including African American and Latino/a men and women.
During the 1960s this area of the beach became clothing optional and was affectionately referred to as “Screech Beach” due to the gay presence.
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