City guide

Cruising in Queens

Jacob Riis Park’s eastern end, Bay 1, has been New York’s main gay beach since the 1940s. It sits on the Rockaway Peninsula inside Gateway National Recreation Area. Check park alerts before you go: erosion has closed the swimming beach more than once.

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  1. Beach

    Jacob Riis Park — Bay 1

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    Rockaway Beach Blvd, Queens, NY, New York, 11694, United States

    The isolated eastern end of Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway Peninsula — historically "Screech Beach" — has been NYC's most popular gay beach since the 1940s. Documented by the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, Swasarnt Nerf's guides, and countless community archives; Harvey Milk met Joe Campbell here in the 1950s. Bay 1 and the dunes behind it remain a social and cruising focal point in summer. Reach it via the Q35/Q22 buses or the Marine Parkway Bridge. Check NPS Gateway alerts: erosion has periodically closed Bay 1 to swimming. Nudity is not permitted under New York law.

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