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N.Y. Scene August 2010: Astoria, Queens and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

Hi there, party people. Big news, y’all. I moved to Manhattan, the land of $8.00 sandwiches and munchkin-sized IKEA furniture. Also, the more conservative of my parental units was in town for two weeks, so, reminiscent of The Birdcage, I had to transform myself into the human equivalent of a slice of Wonder Bread — Lady Gaga’s Miracle Whip not included. Unfortunately, the move and unexpected visit caused this month’s nightlife reporting to be somewhat abbreviated, but I did make it out to both Brooklyn and Queens, where a couple of lady crews are building some dykealicious communities in the outer boroughs of New York City.

This month I present to you: the ladies of Astoria, Queens and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.

Say what? A dyke community in “do or die” Bed-Stuy? And Astori-what? Astori-where? No, I’m not pulling your wallet chains. Astoria is home to a large, untapped community of queer women, and the racially diverse queer scene in Bed-Stuy has been bubbling and thumping under the radar for years.

Kiki and Zuzies @ Mix Café and Lounge in Astoria

Astoria is located right across the East River from the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and it is home to a mix of artists, writers, actors, young professionals, and immigrants from Eastern and Southeastern Europe, and Latin America, all coexisting in a relaxed and amicable environment.

And don’t forget the lesbians. Astoria hits all three lesbian requirements. First, it is affordable; apartment shares under $1000 a month are common. Second, it is practical; Astoria is just a ten-minute subway ride to Manhattan. Finally, it is just stylish enough for the public’s stamp of approval — but no more. A diverse neighborhood with some of the best restaurants in New York City, Astoria is hip but doesn’t suffer from the pretentious vibe that permeates neighborhoods that have fallen victim to their own trendiness. (Williamsburg, I’m lookin’ at you.) It’s almost a no-brainer that Astoria would be a lesbian Mecca, and while lesbians have, in fact, flocked to the neighborhood, it seems that hardly anyone got the memo — until now.

Astoria resident KC Finance was taken aback when she first heard the general impression that Astoria lacked queer women. “I was appalled when I heard that people actually thought that there were ‘no lesbians’ in Astoria,” she said recently. “You cannot walk down the streets of Astoria without seeing at least one lesbian couple shopping together, holding hands. If you’re missing them, well then you’re not looking closely enough.”

Recognizing the untapped potential, Finance approached the management at Mix Café and Lounge, a local venue catering mostly to gay men, and proposed a weekly women’s night. Over New York Pride in June, a Tuesday night women’s party, Kiki, was born. “I started Kiki with the intention of awakening the Queens community of lesbians. I knew they were here. I saw them in cafes, movie theaters, bars, and but never at Mix, which I found odd considering its affiliation.”

Currently, Kiki is separated into four events each month. The first Tuesday is karaoke night, the second Tuesday is lesbian oil wrestling, the third Tuesday is beer pong, and the fourth Tuesday is Kiki Queer Dance Party with DJ RiMix. Yes, you read the second leg of the list correctly — lesbian Turkish oil wrestling doesn’t just exist in Ilene Chaiken’s fictional version of Los Angeles. It exists in the real version of Queens, starring the real lesbians of New York and their slippery working hands.

I know. I know. “Pics or it didn’t happen.” So here ya go:

Finance said that she wanted to give the queer women of Queens their own space located conveniently down the street. Prior to the launch of Kiki, lesbian Astorians and other women-loving-women of Queens had no option but to take the long train ride to the southwestern quadrant of Manhattan or — God forbid — the queer-friendly but hopelessly inconvenient borough of Brooklyn.

“I’ve known the promoters/bar owners in the Manhattan scene for years, and I’ve seen the different parties they’ve produced,” she said. “It was clear to me that parties of that same magnitude could never – or almost never – be produced here in Astoria. But I was OK with that. I wanted something different. I wanted something for the women who schlepped constantly into the city for Eden, Anything Goes, Nation, Stiletto and other parties to have something ‘right down the block.'”

At the first Kiki in June, many familiar faces entered the room — women that I had seen around in Manhattan. Everyone had the following conversation at least three times:

“You live in Astoria too?”

“No way!”

High fives were exchanged. Everyone immediately bonded.

A couple approached me and told me that they had seen me in the neighborhood. “We saw you at Time Café. We thought you were IMing with your secret girlfriend,” they said. Many friendships were formed in the ensuing weeks, as Queens lesbians finally found a friendly place in their backyard to connect with each other, sort of like a lesbian Cheers – except the crowd is prettier, and no one roots for the Red Sox.

Finance hopes to expand Kiki in the upcoming months. “For now I want Kiki to continue to grow as the premiere ladies night for Queens lesbians,” she said. “I’d like to eventually incorporate a monthly weekend party so that those of us who live here and cannot afford to stay out late on a ‘school night’ will have a place to crawl home from at 4am. I’d like to host some special events in the future, such as an all-female comedy night/lesbian Latin dancing night/drag king night, to really pull people from every borough into the newly happenin’ neighborhood of Astoria.”

Finance wasn’t the only lady lovin’ lady promoter to set her sights on Mix Café and Lounge. As Finance was launching Kiki, coincidentally, Susan Burdian, co-owner of Shescape, was taking the first steps towards opening a restaurant. Early this summer, Burdian decided to tap into Mix’s kitchen and dining area to launch her gourmet comfort food joint, Zuzies.

Yes, that Shescape. While it may not be a household name for 20-somethings, recently arrivals and the newly out, Shescape is a women’s promotion group responsible for some of the biggest lesbian parties ever seen in New York City. While Shescape has become less active in recent years, the group occasionally throws a one-off. Most recently, it was partially responsible for the massive, crunked-up and generally insane Truck Stop Pride event this June.

When I remarked to Burdian that it was slightly tragic that the current crop of New York City’s young ‘uns missed the period of New York lesbian nightlife where Shescape’s monster parties reigned supreme, she responded, “I chuckled at your line about young’uns. Yes sometimes I wish I could plant my memories of 2,000 women for tea at the Palladium, 2,500 women at the Roxy for Gay Pride, or Rainbow Room for Thanksgiving, and the Sony Roof Deck in South Beach, Miami. The scene nowadays in general is more of a loungy vibe, ever since 9/11, in my observation.”

I asked Burdian what prompted the switch from event promoter to restaurateur. “I’m not sure I would say I made a ‘switch’ from Shescape to restaurateur,” she said. “I am still promoting Shescape parties and am planning our fall schedule of events now, including one or two special events at Mix, but I have been ambitious to open my own restaurant for many years. Cooking and entertaining have been a passion of mine for a long time.”

A few years ago, Burdian enrolled in culinary school, the Natural Gourmet Institute. After she graduated, she did the rounds at a few restaurants around the city learning the ropes until she was ready to strike out on her own. The opportunity came this summer when Mix called her looking for a brunch chef. “Mix actually called me because they needed a brunch chef, but the conversation quickly turned larger,” she said. “I negotiated the sublease of the kitchen, so Zuzies was born this summer.”

Zuzies menu has been characterized as “gourmet comfort food.” Think big flavors that light the palate afire while warming the soul.

Hungry yet?

Zuzies opening party was held on August 7 with an open Voli Vodka bar, a steady stream of Burdian’s culinary creations offered on a platter, and a performance by the Sunday Morning Mimosas, Mix’s resident drag queens. So what happens when the owner of Shescape throws a restaurant opening party? Take a look.

Said Burdian about the burgeoning lesbian scene at Mix in Astoria: “Mix opened in September 2009 and there has always been a general desire to include women but I think the real push came when Kacie actually offered a proposal. She was the right person for the job. I had just begun the process of opening Zuzies, with the intent to use all Shescape resources once I was ready, and Kacie introduced herself and proposed a weekly women’s party. It takes time to get the word out there, and to bring the women’s community out to a bar that they initially perceive as being mostly for men.”

Check My Grill @ Sweet Revenge in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn

While the Queens lesbian scene is just taking off, Brooklyn’s lesbian scene is perceived by many to be the center of all things lesbian in New York City. The neighborhood of Park Slope is affectionately known as “Dyke Slope,” and there is a lively artsy queer scene extending from the western part of Williamsburg all the way to Bushwick. The Gowanus-based monthly party That’s My Jam, never fails to bring in a sizeable crowd, and for better or for worse, Ilene Chaiken has reportedly been eyeing the borough for the next installment of The Real L Word should it be renewed for a second season.

Whereas Park Slope/Gowanus and Williamsburg/Bushwick have inserted themselves in the public consciousness as being high profile queer social centers, the neighborhood of Bed-Stuy has stayed under the radar, despite having a rich history of queer activity, especially among gay people of color. Parties such as Sweat! and the Audre Lorde Project’s Sunday night party The Lab – and gay bars such as Langston’s are all testaments to a culturally rich population of queer people of color in Bed-Stuy. And That’s My Jam, mentioned earlier, which has been written up by Time Out New York and New York Magazine, had its beginnings in Bed-Stuy in 2008 at the now-defunct Sputnik before moving to its new location at The Bell House in Gowanus.

One of the founders of That’s My Jam, professionally known as DJ Tikka Masala (www.djtikka.com), is a resident of Bed-Stuy and a staple in the Brooklyn queer scene. After gaining notoriety for turning That’s My Jam into a success, drawing hundreds of revelers per event, Tikka landed gigs opening for MC Lyte, Talib Kweli, The Gossip, DJ Premier of Gangstarr and Meshell N’Degeocello, among others. In May of this year, Tikka teamed up with DJ Whitney Day (www.whitneyday.com), another Bed-Stuy resident and fixture in the Manhattan lesbian DJ circuit, and the pair launched Check My Grill at Sweet Revenge, a queer-friendly bar owned by two women in Bed-Stuy. The concept is simple: throw some frankfurters and other barbecue staples on a huge grill in the outdoor garden area and punctuate the air with beats to create the quintessential summer dance party.

Whitney Day, a regular on the decks at high profile Manhattan parties Proposition, Q-Girls, Stiletto and Snapshot and several queer parties in Boston, said that Check My Grill sprang out of her and Tikka’s mutual love of food and music. “We wanted to create a fun, queer party in our neighborhood that involved two of our favorite things: food and music,” she said. Tikka added, “For me, the concept of food and music linked up has been part of my M.O. since day one — hence the name DJ Tikka Masala. Last summer I got inspired by going to an event with a chef friend in Berlin for an art show I went to after a gig in Amsterdam. It involved firing up an amazing grill and then getting the community out to enjoy art, food and music together — it was super casual, laid back, outdoors — the antithesis of a chic club night.”

The crowd is a racially diverse mix of old guard Bed-Stuy queers, hipsters in skinny jeans, recent college grads, and a smattering of young professionals. Said Whitney Day, “Although it is mainly a queer party, all are welcome! Anything goes.”

I asked Tikka to characterize Bed-Stuy’s queer scene in 2010, and she replied,

“[T]he queer people who live nearby come from a lot of different backgrounds and have different histories in this neighborhood, and they appreciate a breadth of musical styles. They love their dancehall here, they love their hip hop too, there are riot girl influenced kids who are really into the dancey punk stuff as well, and then there are folks who need their house music fix on the regular – they all chill together here because it’s not a designated area for a certain type of queer person. Bed Stuy is eclectic and really laid back, and it’s got some old queer landmarks, a history of queer activism — especially in the people of color communities – plus some young queer kids who don’t feel like hauling their lazy asses into the city to spend a paycheck for a fun night. Music really brings it together in the best possible way.”

Said Whitney Day, “The area of Brooklyn where Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Bed-Stuy are located is a very LGBTQ-friendly area. I definitely see more and more lesbians moving here.”

The next Check My Grill is Thursday, September 2, at Sweet Revenge.

Sweet Revenge is also home to BBQueer, an event produced by Tikka and her That’s My Jam business partner Trent Brooks, that will be held every Friday in September. That’s My Jam’s second year anniversary party will be held September 18 at the Bell House in Gowanus, and Tikka also hinted at a new monthly party to launch in Manhattan “on the biggest baddest sound system in town. It literally has the lowest, clearest bass in the city. The turntables are on shocks because the bass shakes that hard.” Also, check out Whitney Day’s DJ/Artist feature and DJ mix currently running at No Labelz Magazine. Wow, these girls are busy. We learned from the Beastie Boys that there is no sleep ’til Brooklyn, but it looks like there’s no sleep for these ladies in Brooklyn either.

So a while back I made a map of the world according to Brooklyn lesbians, and I concede that there is a glaring omission. Allow me to amend the map.

That’s better.

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