From New York’s Fire Island to Massachusetts’ Provincetown, the Northeast’s LGBTQ beach destinations are planning for a new normal this summer amid the coronavirus pandemic. - NBCOUT
John Tlumacki / Boston Globe via Getty ImagesBen Rimalower, 44, has been vacationing on New York's Fire Island since 2005. The island's Pines section, a popular beach destination for gay men dating back to the 1920s, has been a reliably safe and sunshine-filled locale for Rimalower and his friends, primarily other gay men, to spend the summer.
“I first fell in love with Fire Island from afar while in college in California during the early ‘90s,” he told NBC News. “It seemed like Shangri-La to me.” Rimalower said even on the “queerest blocks” of New York City, where he lives, he’s “uncomfortable kissing or holding hands” with another man, “but on Fire Island, I’m free.”Courtesy of Ben Rimalower“If we can go at all, it will be with lots of changes,” he lamented. “I hope we can be safe on the beach, because that’s my favorite part.” “This is all so new and complicated,” he said, adding there’s still a chance he and his friends will cancel their trip. “We haven’t even broached the topic of house rules yet, but I imagine at least at first we won’t be having any hookups or friends over.” With the typically busy summer season kicking off, LGBTQ beach destinations in the Northeast — a region particularly hard-hit by the global coronavirus pandemic — are bracing for a new normal, and some of their loyal patrons are apprehensive.Fire Island is a narrow, car-free, barrier island just south of Long Island and not far from the ritzy beaches of the Hamptons. While Fire Island boasts 15 communities, two of them have long been popular with LGBTQ beachgoers, with the Pines historically catering to gay men and Cherry Grove to lesbians. The Pines only has one hotel, which is currently closed, so nearly all visitors rent houses during their stay. According to a published May 14, brokers shared that vacation renters “have generally made their last payments and are planning to come to the Pines this summer, even if bars and restaurants are not open.”Julia Weeks / AP file P.J. McAteer, a co-owner of the Outpost Pines, which make up the majority of the Fire Island Pines’ commercial businesses, opened two of his restaurants May 15 for to-go service, and he plans to continue opening additional venues and expanding services as Suffolk County and Gov. Andrew Cuomo allow. At his businesses, there will now be temperature and hand sanitizing stations at the entrances, a 50 percent capacity maximum and a mandate that employees wear masks and other personal protective equipment. McAteer, who typically employs about 40 people during the summer months — from event photographers to drag queens — said his employees are eager to get to work. “All of my staff and entertainers are chomping at the bit to come back,” he said. “They all cannot wait to be back here and bring back the life that is Fire Island Pines.” "The gay community is very creative and inventive, especially in a crisis ... We survived the HIV epidemic and made a comeback. I think the same thing about this. Those same creative energies will be out this summer."And when beachgoers return to the island for the summer, they won’t be alone. Jay Pagano, president of the Fire Island Pines Property Owners' Association, said occupancy has been higher than usual over the past few months, because many homeowners opted to quarantine on the island starting in mid-March. “A large number of residents chose to spend the pandemic in the Pines,” he said in early May. “They thought it would be a safer or nicer venue to be locked down in. I'm guessing that's probably 200 to 250 homes are occupied full-time right now, and that's unusual this early.”“The beaches are open, and they will remain open,” Pagano explained. “We have a wonderfully wide beach this summer. We are going to encourage the residents to use it, but the requirements for social distancing and masks will be implemented on the beach as in the community, and the police will be enforcing those requirements.” An American flag and an LGBTQ Rainbow flag are displayed on the ferry dock in the Fire Island community of Cherry Grove, N.Y. , on June 23, 2013.Let our news meet your inbox. The news and stories that matters, delivered weekday mornings.
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