New york gay beach

Above Left: A group of Lesbian women at Riis Park, mid 1960s. (Courtesy Lesbian Herstory Archives)

Above Right: Emma Van Cott (front) and Ernestine Eckstein, leader of the NY chapter of the first national Lesbian organization “Daughters Of Bilitis,” at Riis Park, 1965.

Historically, New York City beaches have 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. By the 1960s, the beach drew an increasingly diverse group of LGBTQ+ beachgoers, but there were also growing reports of harassment of gay beachgoers by police.

In 1981, the Jacob Riis Park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Though, at times, beachgoers have dealt with homophobia here over the years, the area still maintains its queer identity as one of New York City’s popular and diverse LGBT public spaces.

Entry by Ken Lustbader, project director (March 2017; last revised December 2022).

NOTE: Names above in bold indicate LGBT people.

Riis Park Beach is New York's historic gay beach.

What's not to like?

Located in the Rockaways, it's a bit more of a journey compared to other city beaches, but the reward is one of New York's historic gay meccas. Though the scene is fairly relaxed compared to more traditional cruising spots, the remoteness of the area allows for a discreet encounter or two.

Since this is a public park, discretion is key, and occasional police patrols do pass through, especially in peak season.

(Courtesy Lesbian Herstory Archives)

In the 1940s, the easternmost end of Jacob Riis Park Beach became a destination for gay men, and in the 1950s, lesbian women were also drawn to the area. It's like a gay nightclub, only it's a beach in New York.

It's been a social & cruising spot for queer New Yorkers since the 1940s and is still going strong. The LGBT Community Center National History Archive has a collection of photographs of the beach from this period. 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.

By the 1940s the most eastern end of the beach had become a documented well-known destination for mostly white gay men to sunbathe and cruise. According to future gay rights leader and bookshop owner Craig Rodwell, gay men were constantly harassed and given citations by police over alleged violations of the size of their bathing suits.

That said, Riis has long been a historic cruising destination, and many know exactly where to wander when looking for action. As the sun starts to set, these hidden spaces become more active, with guys looking to connect away from the main crowds. When the park was transferred to the National Park Service in 1972 with the creation of the Gateway National Recreation Area it became much more difficult to sunbathe nude.

When the weather is good, you can the vibrant gay scene. Rodwell was arrested when he attempted to object to this around 1962.

As a site of activism, the beach was the location of a 1971 voter registration drive led by the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), one of the first gay rights groups to form after the 1969 Stonewall Uprising.

Today, the eastern section of Jacob Riis Beach remains a destination for LGBTQ+ beachgoers as a queer-friendly space. 

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. 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.

In 1971, the Gay Activist Alliance, one of the gay rights organizations that formed in the wake of the Stonewall Uprising, held a voter registration drive at the beach.