By Bill Parry
Tens of thousands of revelers were expected to flood the streets of Jackson Heights June 4 for the 25th anniversary of the Queens Pride parade and festival.
City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) was an openly gay public school teacher when he founded the celebration on 1993 as a response to homophobic attacks on the Queens lesbian and gay communities and feuds with a school board president over curriculum that mentioned LGBT families.
Dromm became an activist after the brutal murder of Julio Rivera in July 1990. The young bartender was set upon by three skinheads on a “hunting party” and Rivera was beaten and stabbed to death. Jackson Heights became the epicenter of the gay rights movement in Queens just a few years later with the rise of Ed Sedarbaum’s Queens Lesbians and Gays United, The Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee and the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens.
“For 25 years, this parade has opened the hearts of minds of Queens residents and has helped make the historic gains the LGBT community has seen possible,” Dromm said.
He recalled that first year when 10,000 spectators turned out and witnessed a huge presence by the NYPD because “no on knew what to expect. Now it is the second largest Pride celebration in New York City, drawing crowds of more than 40,000 people each year.
On June 4, the event will kick off at 37th Avenue and 89th Street with a march at noon. When the parade finishes at 75th Street and 37th Road, the festival will kick in, featuring Lisa Lisa of the ‘80s pop group Lisa Lisa and the Cult Jam along with other performances on several stages. Food vendors and booths highlighting local businesses will also line the street.
Queens Theatre, Queens Pride and photographer and documentary filmmaker Richard Shpuntoff will present Queens Pride at 25 with the opening of a new exhibit Tuesday, May 30. Shpunthoff’s imagery of the first 25 years of the parade will be on display and following a reception at 6 p.m. there will be a screening of his film, “Julio of Jackson Heights” at 7 p.m. followed by a Q&A with the director. Admission to the screening and the exhibit are free, but reservations through the Queens Theatre Box Office are required.
Call the Box Office at 717-760-0064 or send email to boxof
Flushing Town Hall will kick off the 25th anniversary of Queens Pride with its own schedule of events Saturday, June 3, with a free outdoor program featuring established and up-and-coming performing artists who identify as LGBTQ. The event takes place at 78th Street Plaza near Travers Park, between Northern Boulevard and 34th Avenue. Dromm will provide opening remarks around 5 p.m.
“By celebrating who we are through art and song, we resist those who seek to make us invisible,” Dromm said. “I am proud to continue my support of LGBTQ Voices and look forward to the amazing array of participants who bring music, dance and poetry. I salute Flushing Town Hall for organizing this powerful event and thank the performers and directors who make this possible.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
