from the Staten Island Advance

According to the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, several gay bars have historically existed in Staten Island, some dating back as early as the 1950s. The Mayfair was the most popular, located on Hyatt Street directly across from Borough Hall. The Beach Haven on Father Capodanno Boulevard was a gathering spot for local women’s softball teams and was considered the first official meeting place of Lambda Associates, the main LGBT group on Staten Island. Park Villa II, located in the former Liberty Theater on Beach Street, thrived during the late ‘80s, early ‘90s, the Project notes, but fizzled in popularity in the 2000s. In 2009, Q-SINY, a nightclub, opened in Midland Beach, only to close a year later.

Read the full story from the Staten Island Advance.

Featured thumbnail  via Staten Island Advance / Jason Paderon.

Come with us on a walking tour of the West Village with New York Road Runners’ LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group (ERG) and NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, as we uncover the invisible history of historic places connected to New York City’s LGBTQIA+ community. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Read the original story at New York Road Runners here.

from the New York Daily News

LGBTQ history is coming to life with a little help from four “talking” statues and the voices of five Broadway actors.

In the recently launched “Talking Statues at Christopher Park” project, Tony-winning actor J. Harrison Ghee and theater stars Jenn Colola, Rosa Gilmore, Claybourne Elder and Conrad Ricamora lend their voices to the long-standing “Gay Liberation” statues in the West Village park, helping to illustrate the history of the 1969 Stonewall riots from a different perspective through audio clips accessed with a QR code on a mobile phone.

They tell of the origins of the country’s first national monument dedicated to LGBTQ history, as well as the violent clashes between patrons of the Stonewall Inn and New York police that marked a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ equality.

In New York, there are more than 30 sculptures across the city that already use the “Taking Statues” technology, but the Christopher Park project is the first in the nation to directly address LGBTQ history.

The installation is the result of a collaboration between two award-winning organizations dedicated to preserving and honoring the city’s rich LGBTQ history — the hit podcast “Making Gay History” and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project.

Read the full story from the New York Daily News.

Featured thumbnail via Eric Marcus.

NEW YORK – For so many members of the LGBTQ+ community— especially those of a certain generation— a gay bar was the only place you could go where you weren’t compelled to lie about who you were.

“They had nowhere else to meet—publicly,” said Ken Ludstbader is co-founder of the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. “People could lose their jobs, people could lose their families, employment, and religious associations. So bars became really safe spaces.”

But the gay bar of the past was much different than the one we think of today, every inch covered in rainbow flags.

“In many cases, they were private clubs where there was a bouncer at the door, they were bottle clubs, you had a sign, a fictitious name in many cases,” Ludstbader said.

Watch the video and read the full story at Fox5 New York.

via QNS

JFKIAT has partnered with the LGBT Network and NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project to create a Pride Pop-up Museum at Terminal 4 of JFK International Airport.

The exhibit marks the latest in JFKIAT’s T4 Arts and Culture program, an initiative presenting a curated, ongoing series of installations, exhibits and performances across Terminal 4 throughout the year representing the full New York City experience, from local art to food, culture and beyond.

This pop-up museum highlights a range of artwork and historical pride information. Travelers who stop by will also have numerous photo opportunities.

One of the main purposes of the museum is to teach those who view it about bout the LGBT Network, NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, Queens Pride Parade, New York City’s first-ever Pride March and diversity. The installation can be found at Concourse B near Gate B25.

Read the full story from QNS.

Featured thumbnail courtesy of JFKIAT.

via Patch

During the last weekend of Pride Month, all New Yorkers can learn a bit more about the LGBTQ history in their own neighborhoods just by taking a walk around.

This weekend and throughout the entire month of June, LinkNYC partnered with the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, a scholarly initiative and educational resource that has contributed to the creation of the city’s first map of LGBTQ historic sites.

“Our mission at LinkNYC is to help New Yorkers connect with each other, and our relationships with community organizations help us foster this connection through technology, education, and the promotion of New York City values like equity and diversity,” said Nicole Robinson-Etienne, LinkNYC’s director of external affairs.

The fact is, LGBTQ history is all around us.

Read the full story from Patch.

Featured thumbnail via LinkNYC.