Queer history is made in New York City every day. If you didn't grow up here, but plunked down later in your life then you know the youthful, fluttering dreams that come true upon learning such a mythical place exists. Little gay kids all over the world dream of the big city in hopes of one day living on an island where kissing the one you love is actually OK -- where boys can be boys or girls, and girls can be girls or boys, or anything in between, and that's just the morning commute to work. Ah, NYC, we love you so.
And the NY government is finally, formally letting everyone know that they love us, too. Well, at least our money, anyway (hmm, where’s our marriage bill?). With the 40th anniversary of the Stone Wall riots, the political act that began the gay rights movement, coming up in June and the acknowledgment of the almighty power of the gay dollar, nyc.gov has just launched the "Rainbow Pilgrimage."
This $2 million marketing and ad campaign is aimed at out-of-towners looking to get their gay on in the one place that has more queers per square foot than all of San Francisco. It boasts gay-friendly travel packages and provides extensive information on the city’s seasoned and sometimes even unpleasant gay history. It also chronicles important gay landmarks, a calendar of events, listings for nightlife, parties, organizations, gay-friendly hotels and restaurants and tons more, and seems to strive to be the one stop spot on the web for gay NYC travelers. With the roughly 47 million people that visit New York every year, and 10% of those visitors are reportedly gay, it’s kind of surprising that NY hasn’t taken more advantage of this well-known fact until now.
Truth be told, the site has long way to go. Under “Best Bars to Meet People” there are only 5 listings. And one of them is in Queens. But its intentions are obviously well placed, and so is the money that it will bring. As jaded as we city folks can sometimes be, it’s always nice to see a fresh and friendly face in a crowded bar. Bringing more travelers here still doesn’t mean our commute costs won’t go up, but the lit-up face of a backwoods southern boy stepping off the F train into the East Village for the first time makes it all somehow worth it in the end. As long as he buys me a drink.
-- ROBBIE IMES
Previously > Gay bars to bachelorettes: Take that tiara and shove it
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