COVID-19 Wipes Out Pride Events Across Metro NY
LGBTQ communities in Brooklyn, Queens, Harlem, the Bronx respond to NYC June ban
BY MATT TRACY
A wide array of Pride celebrations
planned across
the city and region were
canceled or postponed
following Mayor de Blasio’s announcement
on April 20 that all
non-essential events requiring permits,
including the main LGBTQ
Pride March, would not be allowed
during the month of June due to
the coronavirus outbreak.
The organizers of Brooklyn
Pride, Harlem Pride, Bronx Pride,
and Brighton Beach Pride confi
rmed that their in-person events
for June have been scratched. The
in-person Pride festivities in Brooklyn,
Harlem, and the Bronx were
all canceled outright, though some
vowed to proceed with virtual offerings.
Jamie Farnam, co-chair of
Brooklyn Pride, told Gay City News
in an email that her team is “working
to make our annual 5K a virtual
run and hope to add a few more
virtual events during Brooklyn
Pride Week to keep our community
connected with each other…”
The Bronx Pride celebration,
which usually features a march
along with stages full of live performances
in late June, “will go digital
complete with the annual Pride
Flag-raising ceremony at Bronx
Borough Hall, book readings, and
digital dance parties for our LGBTQ
community,” organizers noted
in a separate email.
“This year’s framework of LOVE
➤ TRUMP & HIS BIGOTS, from p.4
American Southern Baptist circles.
He is a Fox News contributor
and his religious services are
broadcast on thousands of TV and
radio stations in the US and dozens
of other countries.
Jeffress said in a 2008 sermon
that “Gay is not OK” and went on
to say that “What they do is fi lthy.
It is so degrading that it is beyond
description. And it is their fi lthy
behavior that explains why they
are so more prone to disease.”
But he also has blasted other
Third Avenue and 149th Street, the site of the annual Bronx Pride festival as seen last summer, will be
empty this June due to coronavirus cancellations
and LIFE responds to the attacks
the LGBTQ community has experienced
under the Trump administration
and provides a path to organize
and continue the movement
forward for generations of LGBTQ
individuals,” the email continued.
Harlem Pride’s board of directors,
meanwhile, stressed in an
email announcement that there is
a need for donations to the group
because a majority of the funding
to keep it going from year to year is
generated via the annual in-person
celebration.
Yelena Goltsman, co-president
of RUSA LGBT, a Russian-speaking
faiths, including Judaism, Islam,
Mormonism, and Hinduism, and
in 2010 created a “Naughty and
Nice List” specifying whether a given
business celebrated Christmas.
Then, less than a week before the
2012 presidential election between
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
(whose religion he had earlier referred
to as a “cult”), Jeffress embarked
on a bizarre anti-Obama
tirade — with a warning.
“I want you to hear me tonight,”
Jeffress said. “I am not saying that
President Obama is the Antichrist,
MATT TRACY
LGBTQ group that organizes
the annual Brighton Beach Pride
March on the Riegelmann Boardwalk,
told Gay City News on April
20 that Brighton Beach Pride will
return again next year.
The 28th annual Queens Pride
March and Festival, scheduled
for June 7, will also not go on as
planned. Organizers announced
on April 21 that Queens Pride will
instead be transitioned into a virtual
celebration. Details surrounding
the virtual Pride event will be
announced at a later date.
The Staten Island Pridefest, slated
for May 9, will also not be allowed
I am not saying that at all. One
reason I know he’s not the Antichrist
is the Antichrist is going to
have much higher poll numbers
when he comes. President Obama
is not the Antichrist. But what I
am saying is this: the course he is
choosing to lead our nation is paving
the way for the future reign of
the Antichrist.”
Trump is shining a warm spotlight
on both anti-gay religious
leaders at a time when marginalized
groups, including communities
of color and LGBTQ people,
PRIDE
to move ahead as planned,
but the Staten Island Pride Center’s
website does not specify whether it
would be postponed or canceled
altogether and the Pride Center
could not be reached on April 20.
The Pridefest will, however, move
ahead with a pair of virtual events:
“Spectrum — Transgender Open
Mic” is set for May 6 at 7 p.m. and
a youth prom is scheduled for May
16 at 7 p.m.
The fl urry of announcements
followed other local Pride events
that were already put off, including
Long Island Pride, which was
scheduled for June 14 at Jones
Beach. Organizers at the LGBT
Network, which produces Long Island
Pride, plan to announce a virtual
Pride celebration.
“Postponement does not mean
cancelation and we are and will
continue to work with New York
State and health authorities to reschedule
the in-person Pride celebration
when it is safe to do so,”
LGBT Network president and CEO
David Kilmnick said on April 17.
Yonkers Pride, also slated for
June, has been postponed to the
fall and could be canceled altogether
depending on the situation
in the coming months. One year
after the LGBTQ community in the
Rockaways held its fi rst-ever Pride
celebration on July 13, Jim Burke
of OutRockaway acknowledged on
April 20 that “July is looking less
likely,” but he remained hopeful for
later in the year.
have suffered the brunt of the pandemic.
Alarming racial disparities
in coronavirus statistics have
emerged in multiple regions, while
LGBTQ seniors, homeless queer
youth, and sex workers have experienced
food insecurity and other
immediate needs.
To top off his weekend courtship
with the religious right, the thricemarried
Trump signaled a possible
divorce with science (the marriage
has always, at best, been shaky)
when he retweeted a message saying,
“Time to #FireFauci.”
GayCityNews.com | April 23 - May 6, 2020 5
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