Fire Island 2010, part seven

Written earlier this morning while listening to "Vogue" on the porch of the cottage in Ocean Beach.

It’s definitely a hot summer day here on Fire Island, but one image that remains entrenched in my mind is the woman who decided to have sex in the hot tub during Bay Dance in the Fire Island Pines – a straight woman, a possibly gay man and a lot of substance consumption! Did I mention it’s hot on the beach today?

Women—and I use that term quite loosely—were definitely a common theme on Fire Island over the long holiday weekend. Tracy Young was fabulous as usual at IndepenDANCE at Reflections last night, but the “women” from Cherry Grove who invaded the Pines really stole the show. This reporter spotted the Real Housewives of the Gulf Coast, Wendy Williams, Tormenta: Queen of the Seas, Acid Betty, the Rockford Peaches, Dorothy with her illegitimate child, M.I.Anus, Betty Beach Ball and even a possible sighting of Carla Bruni-Sarkozy on her way to the Meatrack during the annual Invasion of the Pines yesterday afternoon. My brown cocktail dress with fishnet stockings and elbow length gloves was quite the hit, but the blisters on my feet prove this queen should never wear anything that resembles heels.

As I continue to nurse my feet, however, a couple of obligatory shout outs are in order. I would like to thank the kind woman on the dock in the Pines who offered me her margarita yesterday afternoon. And I dedicate this entry to my Madonna-obsessed friend John and everyone else at Cherry's last night who made an already great holiday weekend even better.



The Rockford Peaches pose for their post-Invasion photo op



The incomparable Gusty Winds



Joyce as Lady Gaga



This reporter poses for her close-up at the Ice Palace



Some queens



How you doin'?



Dorothy Doodrop and her illegitimate child



Miss Vuvuzela



The Real Housewives of the Gulf Coast




IndepenDANCE at Reflections in the Pines on Sunday, July 4



The Pines harbor on Friday, July 2



Dallas Dubois at the Grove Hotel pool show on Saturday, July 3



The setting sun at Bay Dance in the Pines on Saturday, July 3



Amid the crowd at Bay Dance in the Pines on Saturday, July 3



July 4 at Andy Tobias and Charles Nolan's house in the Pines

New York City + 6 years

It's a beautiful Thursday afternoon here in Ocean Beach as I rush to finish this week's work--the newspapers are delivered, I just wrapped up a lengthy interview with a journalist I've known for years about the controversy surrounding my latest Village Voice story and I'm looking forward to making a kale and yellow squash salad (and maybe even taking a much needed cat nap) before heading to Cherry Grove tonight.

I spent a significant amount of time last night and this morning thinking about what I have learned since I moved to Brooklyn six years ago. The insanity that has been my life over the last two weeks has made this contemplation appear less important at this very moment. That said, however, one thing remains abundantly clear as I acknowledge my sixth anniversary in New York: I am still in love with the city, and I remain immensely thankful for everything it has allowed me to experience and accomplish.

Jury convicts Keith Phoenix of murder as a hate crime

A Brooklyn jury found a man guilty of murder as a hate crime in connection with José Sucuzhañay’s death.

The panel deliberated for several hours before it convicted Keith Phoenix on the charge late last night; and attempted assault as a hate crime against Romel Sucuzhañay. The verdict comes nearly two months after a jury convicted Hakim Scott of manslaughter, but acquitted him of second degree murder as a hate crime.

Members of the Sucuzhañay family, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and other elected officials and activists criticized Scott's acquittal on the hate crime charges, but they welcomed Phoenix’s conviction in statements they released after the jury announced its verdict.

“No verdict will ever bring peace to the family and friends of José Sucuzhañay,” said Quinn. “However, last night we received justice in the form of a guilty verdict of murder as a hate crime against Keith Phoenix.”

Ana María Archila, co-executive director of Make the Road New York, agreed.

“Although nothing will ever restore the life of José Sucuzhañay, this verdict will bring some measure of peace and justice to the family and the community,” she said. “We must now continue to work together to eradicate violence from our streets, and to promote public policies that respect and honor the humanity of LGBT and immigrant communities.”

Prosecutors maintain Phoenix and Scott shouted anti-gay and anti-Latino slurs at Sucuzhañay as he and his brother walked home on Dec. 7, 2008, before they beat him to death on a Bushwick street corner. Scott faces up to 25 years in prison, and Phoenix could potentially spend the rest of his life behind bars.

"On Dec. 8, 2008, our city woke up to the sad news that anti-immigrant and homophobic hatred had taken another precious life away,” continued Archila. “The murder of José Sucuzhañay reminded us all that you do not have to be gay to be the victim of homophobia, and you do not have to be undocumented to be the victim of anti-immigrant violence.”

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.

Boy in Bushwick discusses gay rights, Obama on WNYC

Sucuzhañay hate crime retrial continues

This blog has certainly taken on a more Fire Island-centric feel in recent weeks, but it is important to point out the retrial of the second man prosecutors contend shouted anti-Latino and anti-gay slurs at Ecuadorian immigrant José Sucuzhañay before they beat him to death continues in a downtown Brooklyn courtroom.

Duncan Osborne reports on his blog Kuson Nelson testified he heard the driver of a red SUV yell anti-gay slurs at the victim and his brother Romel before he and another man attacked him.

“The driver in the front was talking to the two Hispanic males,” testified Nelson as he proceeded to describe to the jury what he said he heard. “Look at those two little faggot motherfuckers right there.”

Prosecutors contend Hakim Scott and Keith Phoenix beat Sucuzhañay and to death on the corner of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place on Dec. 7, 2008. A jury convicted Scott last month of manslaughter and attempted assault charges, but not as a hate crime. A separate panel could not reach a verdict in Phoenix’s trial.

The case is expected to go to the jury sometime next week.

Fire Island 2010, part six

Written around 12:30 a.m. today on the front porch of the cottage after walking home from Cherry Grove on the beach.

It’s officially the summer equinox, and tonight’s brilliantly red sunset was certainly the perfect way to usher in the new season.

My eyes remain a bit blurry after the long walk home, but this past weekend certainly proved I actually do work (quite hard for anyone who dares to question this reality) out here. The highlights include delayed water taxis, Congressman Tim Bishop’s fundraiser in the Fire Island Pines, purchasing deeply discounted Armani jeans, a black belt and quasi-sheer white shirt at Shopping for Saturday at Whyte Hall, Miracle House’s annual fundraiser in the Pines, Penny Arcade’s thought- provoking performance in the Grove, an unexpected night in the House of Orange on Maryland Walk and a wonderful dinner at Top of the Bay.

Any Fire Islander will almost certainly lament about the sometimes troublesome water taxis, but the beach certainly continues to inspire those who choose to spend any amount of time—Logan Hardcore even provided me enough motivation to write the bulk of my Gulf Coast oil spill article during her pool show at the Ice Palace yesterday afternoon. Miracles can indeed come to pass on Fire Island!



Fire Island in the distance on Friday, June 18.



The view from the roof of a Fire Island Pines home on Saturday, June 19.



Gay Pride at Island Breeze in Cherry Grove.



Some of the offerings at the annual Drag Tag Sale at the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove on Sunday, June 20.



A dying thunderstorm from the Ice Palace deck in Cherry Grove on Sunday, June 20.



Sole and crab at Top of the Bay in Cherry Grove on Sunday, June 20.



Sunset from Top of the Bay in Cherry Grove on Sunday, June 20.

New York City Council honors Jorge Steven López Mercado's family

I always get extremely anxious when I have to potentially interview someone in Spanish because it is not my first language, but the questions I wanted to ask Myriam Mercado and Jorge López almost instantly came to mind while I drank a coffee outside Hot and Crusty on 14th Street and First Avenue late Monday afternoon. As I wrote them into my notebook, however, I became increasingly sad. And after a few minutes, I could only glare out into the busy Manhattan intersection and allow this sadness to envelop me.

I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes as I thought about the unimaginable pain the López family has had to endure since Juan José Martínez Matos brutally murdered Jorge Steven last November. How do you possibly prepare yourself to ask a mother to describe the moment she learned her son’s decapitated, dismembered and partially burned body had been found along the side of the road? Is it even possible?

In the end, the best thing a journalist can do is to provide a source (or sources) an opportunity to share their story. Myriam and Jorge continue to mourn their beloved Steven, but the dignified strength and resolve they showed at the City Council’s annual LGBT Pride celebration last night proved nothing short of inspirational to this reporter and others in the chamber. And their example will undoubtedly continue to prove love does conquer hate.

¡Viva Steven!

Fire Island 2010, part five

Started to write at 1:52 p.m. while sitting by the pool at Hotel Ciel in the Fire Island Pines.

The New York Times article about sober share houses here on Fire Island – and in the Hamptons and Montauk – certainly provided some good fodder about for thought on the beach this weekend. Getting drunk and high are an essential part of the Fire Island experience for a significant minority of people who trek to the beach for the day, the weekend, the season or a lifetime. And several observations proved particularly noteworthy over the last two days.

- A drunk woman fell onto the floor at a Cherry Grove bar last night.
- Boisterous revelers who pack downtown Ocean Beach bars on almost any Saturday during the season were in moderate force last night.
- A handful of inebriated fools thought it was funny to yell “nice skirt” at me last night because I wore a full-length sarong.
- An out-of-control woman cussed at her presumptive boyfriend or partner on the Grove’s dock last night because he dared to tell her it was time for them to go back to Ocean Beach.

For the record, I had three Cuba libres (rum with diet coke) and a Fire Island beer over the course of several hours yesterday afternoon and evening. I was completely sober, however, by the time I finally went to bed in Ocean Beach around 2:30 a.m. Excessive drinking, drugging—and especially the antics often associated with it—are certainly not cute; or even particularly interesting to watch. It is indeed possible to enjoy the beach without falling on the floor at the bar, screaming in residential areas at 2 a.m., mocking people who walk by and/or cussing because someone dared to stand up to this behavior (And I am certainly not a holier-than-thou party pooper for anyone who doesn't know me personally.) Kudos to those on Fire Island who continue to prove one can enjoy the beach without excessive alcohol and drugs dictating their experience.



Approaching Ocean Beach on Saturday, June 12.



Guarding Maison 24 in the Fire Island Pines this afternoon.



Pool deck at Hotel Ciel in the Fire Island Pines this afternoon.



Looking towards the mainland from the roof of Hotel Ciel in the Fire Island Pines earlier this afternoon.

Fire Island 2010, part four

Written somewhere between Babylon and Amityville earlier this morning on a Jamaica-bound train.

The weekend after Memorial Day is typically quiet on the beach, but there was enough to keep this reporter mildly titillated on Fire Island over the last couple of days. These included balmy weather, a continued positive energy in the Fire Island Pines and the one too many brownies, pieces of cake and cookies I ate at the Pines Animal Welfare Society's annual Cherry Grove benefit at the Ice Palace last night.

Here are three other quotes, toasts and observations of which I took note over the weekend.

1) Money can't buy you class. (A song lyric.)

2) Cheers to us and to those who want to be us. (A toast a woman made to her friends at a Grove bar last night.)

3) Jokes about barebacking are not cute; or even funny for that matter. (A piece of my mind.)



Ocean Beach wagon park.



On my way to Sailors' Haven on a water taxi on Saturday, June 5.



We all scream for ice cream in Sailors' Haven.



Watching a developing thunderstorm from the Ice Palace in Cherry Grove on Saturday, June 5.



The view as I finished my coffee while waiting for the Bay Shore-bound ferry on Sunday, June 6.

RIP Rue McClanahan

One of my earliest childhood memories remains watching the "Golden Girls" with my grandmother on Saturday night in her Quincy, Mass., home. And news of Rue McClanahan's death earlier this morning here in New York immediately brought me back to those nights my beloved grandmother and I sat in her den and simply laughed at Blanche, Dorothy, Rose and Sophia's antics.

I have spent the better part of today reminiscing about McClanahan and the "Golden Girls" with friends on instant messenger and Facebook. I joked with a friend earlier this afternoon one of the best ways to pay homage to McClanahan would be to go out and mingle a la Blanche Devereaux. A far more simple (and less risque) tribute, however, seems in order.

Thank you for being a friend Rue...

Fire Island 2010, part three

Written on the Long Island Railroad between Babylon and Hicksville between 2 and 2:30 p.m.

Image truly matters on Fire Island. Who you wear, where you work out, who lives in your house, which neighborhood in the city you live and even what time you arrive at Tea (and with whom) are among the common questions and observations one will hear on the boards and walks. And while the fact I manage the Fire Island News affords me some notoriety (or fill in the blank) on the beach, the attention I received over the Memorial Day weekend because of my weight loss remains nothing short of fascinating.

Literally dozens of people in the Fire Island Pines, Cherry Grove and even Ocean Beach noted my "transformation" and even "half of me disappeared during the off-season"--queue the sound bites about pescaderianism, exercise, less alcohol consumption and the tailor here in Bushwick who has financially benefited from my many visits over the last few months. A chuckle and a humble thank you almost always followed these compliments, but one friend in the Grove offered a particularly poignant reminder as we chatted around 1 a.m. on Saturday: Remember the people who flirted with you before you lost weight.

To a fun, happy and healthy 2010!



Ocean Beach politics on full display.



Dawn breaks over Ocean Beach and Seaview on Sunday, May 30.



Approaching Watch Hill on Thursday, May 27.



Hanging out by the pool in the Pines on Sunday, May 30.



Low Tea in the Pines on Sunday, May 30.



Waiting for the 8:50 p.m. ferry to Sayville in Cherry Grove on Sunday, May 30.



Twilight from the Cherry Grove dock on Sunday, May 30.

Coming out , a personal reflection

From earlier this morning...

It’s shortly after 6 a.m. in Ocean Beach. The birds are chirping. Dawn has broken over the beach, and I am sitting in the porch of our cottage here on Surf Road eating Greek yogurt with blackberries and blueberries, drinking black coffee and listening to NPR. Just another Thursday morning, except for the fact today marks nine years since I came out of the closet.

May 27, 2001, remains one of the most defining days of my life, but I honestly forgot about it until I was about halfway across the bay on the ferry to Ocean Beach last night. Deadlines, my super’s funeral on Tuesday and buying groceries and packing for Fire Island all contributed to this initial oversight. Is this progress?

On that rainy Sunday morning in the laundromat in Bristol, New Hampshire, I had no idea I would eventually live in New York City, make the majority of my livelihood through LGBT media and even manage a newspaper on Fire Island. As a 28-year-old gay man, my sexual orientation is simply a part of what defines me as a person. Paradoxically, however, the bulk of my reportage revolves around sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Is this progress?

Personal and even professional progress comes to those who find the courage to acknowledge who they are, but I am reminded almost every day this act of liberation often comes with risk. Jorge Steven López Mercado’s brutal murder last November in Puerto Rico, bloggers in the Middle East, Uganda and other countries who risk their freedom and potentially more to report on LGBT issues in their homelands and even local DJs who still think it is funny to make anti-gay jokes on the radio are among the myriad of things that remind me of the need to publicly acknowledge who you are. I remain tremendously fortunate and grateful to the people in my life who accept me as a gay man, but progress will only take place when everyone who is brave enough to acknowledge who they are receive the love, respect and most importantly acceptance they deserve.

Cubans mark International Day Against Homophobia

Multiple deadlines largely kept me away from the blog over the past week, but one thing I would like to highlight are the Cubans who took to the streets of Havana and other cities to mark the annual International Day Against Homophobia.

Mariela Castro, director of Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual de Cuba (CENESEX) and daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro marched with hundreds of others through the capital on Saturday, May 15. She spoke about IDAHO with the Associated Press.

"We have made progress, but we need to make more progress," said Castro.

Gay Cuban blogger Pedro Luis Castro has posted several pictures of his countrymen commemorating IDAHO on his blog Fotos desde Cuba.



Transgender woman in Santa Clara.



Gay Cubans in Havana.



Gay Cubans in Havana.

Oil reportedly enters powerful Gulf current

The tar balls that washed up onto one of Key West's beaches earlier this week did not come from the Deepwater Horizon, but reports the oil from the massive spill has entered the Loop Current are certainly troubling.



From the Key West Citizen.

Boy in Bushwick posted pictures on Monday of the Dry Tortugas and other areas that the oil could potentially affect. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said yesterday American officials have had "working level discussions with the Cuban government to keep them informed" about the oil's location in the Gulf of Mexico. The crude that has reportedly entered the current could potentially reach the Florida Keys and Cuba's northern coast in about a week.

Let's hope this catastrophe does not expand any further.

Oil spill could reach the Florida Keys

A Miami Herald headline earlier today spoke for itself: Concerns grow that Gulf oil spill could reach Florida Keys.

Reports continue to indicate some of the millions of gallons of oil that have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon rig caught fire and sunk on April 20 have entered the loop current. The Miami Herald reported the oil could potentially reach the Dry Tortugas, the Marquesas Keys and Cuba's northern coast.

The [Key West] Citizen has a link on its Web site that updates readers on the status of the spill, but the mere thought some of the oil could potentially impact the Florida Keys -- and it's particularly fragile ecosystems -- is certainly frightening. Here are some pictures of the Dry Tortugas and the area around the Marquesas Keys I took during an Oct. 2008 trip.



Looking west from Key West en route to the Dry Tortugas National Park.



Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas.



Approaching Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas.



Fort Jefferson.