Many travellers to New York City never venture beyond the island of Manhattan. However, New York is a city of five burroughs – Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx – that spread across several islands and the mainland. Columnist Robert La Bua reversed the bridge and tunnel flow into Manhattan to explore the other burroughs.
New York is one of the world’s most exciting citiesâ€â€and one of its gayest. For many visitors, the attractions of New York County, aka Manhattan Island, offers enough (over)stimulation to keep busy for years; some queers never even leave Chelsea. But what lies amidst the residential neighbourhoods of the outer boroughs? A lot more than you’d ever imagineâ€â€Lonely Planet’s New York City guide is thicker than many of its country guides.
Brooklyn, whose Park Slope neighbourhood has been a haven of familial lesbianism for many years now, is finally coming into its own as a travel destination. Visitors are realising what locals, like Brooklynite Heath Ledger, have long known: Brooklyn is one happening place. A stroll along downtown Atlantic Avenue will immediately reveal the cosmopolitan nature of the area. Middle Eastern food stores sell spices right from the sack next to Vietnamese restaurants and neochic hangouts like Floyd, a laidback neighbourhood bar with an indoor bocce court.
Manhattanites too cool to party on their own island effect the ultimate turnaround by creating a reverse bridge-and-tunnel commute looking to have a good time in Brooklyn’s many happening bars and lounges. Before a drink, however, head for the Brooklyn Museum, home to the second-largest art collection in the US (after Manhattan’s Metropolitan Museum of Art) to see its excellent array of world-class art. The Brooklyn Museum has a portion of its abundant inventory in glass storage for open viewing, effectively putting more of its collection on display. Temporary exhibits are world class; the recent Annie Liebovitz retrospective had people flocking in, as does the museum’s unique ‘First Saturday’, a monthly event in which the Brooklyn Museum basically throws a party and invites everyone in town.
Get to know Brooklyn on the ‘A Slice of Brooklyn’ pizza tour. The charming Tony Muia takes visitors around New York City’s largest borough. First stop is Grimaldi’s, where Neapolitan pizza reigns supreme; later, perfect Sicilian pizza is had at L&B Spumoni Gardens. White stone walls punctuated by mirror-backed recesses housing white angel statues will give interior-design queens palpitations, but never mind the décorâ€â€the pizza is excellent. For dessert, spumoni, that wonderful Italian cross between gelato and granita, is made to perfection.
Cinephiles, cross the East River to Queens to visit Astoria’s excellent Museum Of The Moving Image. This is not strictly a film museum; moving images relate to film, television, and even video games, and all three genres have their places in the very cool exhibits. If you love movie locations, On Location Tours offers a visit to many familiar New York TV and movie locations; its ‘Sex and the City’ tour is a wildly popular bonding experience for gay men and women alike.
Staten Island’s Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, (housed in a recreation of a Tibetan monastery on a hill just off Lighthouse Avenue) is worth a ride on the (free) Staten Island ferry, which itself affords the best view in town of the Statue of Liberty. The Bronx is home to The Bronx Zoo and New York Botanical Gardens, two favourite local getaways.
While your days are turned over to Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, and The Bronx, your nights can still be surrendered to the charms of Manhattan. With Manhattan as the centre of the subway system, it makes sense to stay in the middle to see the edges. Three top gayccommodation options are Mandarin Oriental on Columbus Circle, Jumeirah Essex House on Central Park South, and The Peninsula on Fifth Avenue. Mandarin Oriental and its Asian sensitivities make for a wonderful antidote to the hustle of New York; Jumeirah Essex House is the latest incarnation of the venerable Essex House, one of New York’s historic hotels; The Peninsula, as does its Hong Kong counterpart, offers the apotheosis of fine service and attention to detail.
One last note: the piano bar is an integral part of the night scene in this city of Broadway performers, but you need not spend a fortune for a Broadway ticket to enjoy top entertainment. For a quintessential night in New York, go to Mimi’s (at 984 2nd Ave, corner 52nd St) and revel in the songs of the riotously colourful, flamboyant, and talented performer Hunter Blue. The gaiety of the evening is pure delight as Hunter throws jokes over the heads of the restaurant’s straight patrons.
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