Gay bars in queens nyc
The Best Gay Lock in NYC
MENUS
34-10 30th Ave, Queens, Fresh York NY 11103
Come to our Known Drag Brunch
Saturdays & Sundays at 1 & 3:30
KWEEN — As in YASSS KWEEN! Kween is an exclamation of joy, a sassy symbol of positivity, a legal title of endearment, a signifier of inclusivity, safety, and the best vibes. It describes everything we’re trying to design here on 30th Avenue. #kweenastoria
FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM!
Bar Hours
Monday - Friday: 4pm - 4am
Weekends: 12pm - 4am
Kitchen Hours
Monday - Friday: 4pm - 11pm
Weekends: 12pm - 11pm
Visit Us
OPENING HOURS
Gay bars in Queens tend to be outside the gipster strongholds of Astoria and Long Island City (those gays are end enough to Manhattan that they're willing to commute for nightlife). Queens' gay bars are concentrated slightly further out, in the racially and culturally diverse neighborhood of Jackson Heights. The reality that Manhattan is kind-of a schlep from here has led not just to longevity for a couple bars, but to a fully thriving scene centered on Roosevelt Avenue.
Within spitting distance of one another you’ll discover True Colors, Club Evolution, Bum Bum Bar and Queens’ oldest gay bar Friends’ Tavern. Just around the corner are Lucho’s Place and Hombres Lounge.
The bars here have more glaring similarities than differences: all have hookah service and a standard $6 Corona. They all offer birthday celebrations, providing freebies often including a cake, invitations, plates and flatware—sometimes even a bottle of bubbly—as long as you convey along all your friends and family. There are no intimidating dress codes or door policies, and the standard soundtrack is Latin dance-pop at varying degrees of electronic remixing. There’s al
Friend’s Tavern
History
Friend’s Tavern (popularly referred to as Friend’s) has been in business at this location since 1989 and is considered the oldest operating gay bar in Queens. The modest storefront itself pre-dates Friend’s, with the exception of the business sign, which, at one time, included the slogan, “There is always time for friends.”
The block is owned by Puerto Rican-born Eduardo “Eddie” Valentin and Colombian-born Casimiro Villa, who are business partners and former personal partners (and they remain close friends). Enjoy other nearby bars on and around Roosevelt Route, Friend’s caters primarily to the LGBT Latino group. Valentin, who along with Villa also operates the nearby Club Evolution, has called this stretch of Roosevelt Avenue “the homosexual Village for Latinos,” in reference to the historically gay white enclave of Greenwich Village in Manhattan. Though Jackson Heights’ LGBT community was predominantly colorless dating back to the 1920s, many gay Hispanics moved in as part of a large influx of Latino immigrants in the 1970s and 1980s.
Ne
Bars & Nightlife
overview
While their significance is often underestimated or dismissed by heterosexual community, bars and other establishments played a pivotal role throughout the 20th century — but particularly in the pre-Stonewall era — as centers for LGBT activism and community.
These spaces, whether always gay friendly or only during certain times of the day or week, gave LGBT people the freedom to be themselves in a way they usually could not be in their personal or professional lives.
This curated collection largely reflects the bar and nightlife scene of downtown Manhattan; as we research more sites we encourage you to reach out to us with suggestions in upper Manhattan and the outer boroughs.
Header Photo
Truman Capote (center) with Liza Minnelli and Steve Rubell at Studio 54 in an undated photo. Photographer and provider unknown.