Pride Month Debuts In Queens

Queen's Pride March

PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO.

The Queens LGBT Pride Parade and Festival celebrated its 20th anniversary with a march along 37th Avenue and a multicultural festival featuring stage entertainment. Traditionally the first big gathering during Pride Month in New York City, the event began in the wake of tragedy — the 1991 murder of Julio Rivera, a Jackson Heights gay man. Rallying as a community in response to the crime, activists took steps that 18 months later resulted in the borough’s first Pride celebration.

This year’s theme was “Equality. Everyday. Everyone.”

PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO.

PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO.

QUEENS pride color theme IS2 copy

PHOTOS BY DONNA ACETO.

PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO.

PHOTO BY DONNA ACETO.

State Senator Daniel Squadron with City Councilmen Dan Garodnick and Daniel Dromm, Speaker Christine Quinn, and Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer and Karen Koslowitz. | DONNA ACETO

State Senator Daniel Squadron with City Councilmen Dan Garodnick and Daniel Dromm, Speaker Christine Quinn, and Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer and Karen Koslowitz. | DONNA ACETO