Pride 2010

Hundreds of thousands of people descended upon Manhattan for the annual Pride parade yesterday. And while I spent the majority of the afternoon at PrideFest on Hudson Street, I could not help but ponder a couple of observations of which I took note throughout the day.

Anchors on both Channel 7 and Channel 4 specifically mentioned Pride in their morning newscasts—one meteorologist even said thunderstorms would not spoil the festivities. Another observation of which I repeatedly took note was the number of young children with their parents who passed our booth along Hudson Street. And yet another fact I found particularly interesting was the number of Fire Islanders – including my columnist Bruce-Michael Gelbert and his partner Joe Saporito and Ron Martin, president of the Fire Island Pines Property Owners’ Association—I saw throughout the day.

Pride is certainly a time to celebrate our collective strength and accomplishments. It also provides an opportunity to reflect upon those who have paved the way for us to publicly proclaim who we are, to honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for simply being who they were and to demand accountability for those politicians and others who seek to block our collective progress towards full equality. Our community has certainly come a very long way since that sultry June night in 1969, but there remains much work to be done. And Pride provides the perfect reminder the fight is far from over.



Pride in Bushwick



While our community has come along way, full equality remains elusive.



LGBT Boricua Pride at PrideFest



A lovely British import at PrideFest



At PrideFest



A Fire Island Invasion preview on Hudson Street in the West Village



Pride on display at PrideFest on Hudson Street



Transgender Pride at PrideFest



Pier Dance from a Jane Street roof top.



Fireworks over the Hudson River from a Jane Street roof deck.



Fireworks over the Hudson River from a Jane Street roof deck.