Staten Island
overview
This collection of Staten Island sites highlights the borough’s long and surprisingly rich LGBT history through former bars and clubs, residences of notable people — such as Alice Austen and Audre Lorde — and college campuses that helped foster political and social involvement among young LGBT people.
While much of New York City’s known LGBT history and life centers on Manhattan, we are currently working on adding more Staten Island sites to our website. If you have a suggestion, please fill out our online form.
This theme was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and a grant from Con Edison.
Historic Sites in Staten Island
The Staten Island AIDS Task Force, now Community Health Action of Staten Island (CHASI), opened its first office in this building at 25 Hyatt Street in 1988. In the mid-1990s,... Learn More
Once a home for aged sailors, the Sailors’ Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Gardens has been an important venue for LGBT culture and events since the 1980s. In particular,... Learn More
The Jamaican-born author Michelle Cliff was living in this two-family house when she graduated from nearby Curtis High School in 1965. In later years, when she became a prominent writer,... Learn More
On January 22, 1990, Vietnam War veteran Jimmy Zappalorti was murdered near his home on the South Shore of Staten Island because he was gay. The highly publicized murder became... Learn More
Now occupied by a public school, the campus of Staten Island Community College, later the Sunnyside campus of the College of Staten Island, was a center of LGBT activities on... Learn More
Located in the former Liberty Theatre, Park Villa II (later On Stage), was a popular dance club during the 1980s and early 1990s. Between 1984 and 1991, Lambda Associates, the... Learn More
Pioneering female photographer Alice Austen grew up in her family’s home where she later lived with schoolteacher Gertrude Tate, her partner of 55 years. Austen’s work includes early images of... Learn More
Opera singer Graham Marr owned this mid-19th century house, which he renamed “Marr Lodge,” from 1925 until his death in 1961 (his partner, landscape painter Norman Robert Morrison, lived here... Learn More
This commercial building was home to the Beach Haven, Staten Island’s sole lesbian bar in the 1970s and early 1980s. Popular with women’s softball teams, it was the first official... Learn More
Housed in this office building, Richmond College, a division of the CUNY system that later became the St. George campus of the College of Staten Island, was a major center... Learn More
Acclaimed Black lesbian feminist, writer, and activist Audre Lorde lived here with her partner, Frances Clayton, and two children from 1972 to 1987. While here, Lorde was a prolific writer... Learn More
From at least the late 1950s to the late 1970s, Staten Island’s popular Mayfair Bar & Grill catered to gay patrons. It was one of a few gay and lesbian... Learn More
