Marsha, Marsha, Marsha
Marsha P Johnson, that is, but pay it no mind!
Summer is here, bitches! Happy Pride, Happy Juneteenth, may your days be sunny and (not too) warm and hopefully full of glitter. When I marched in the Pride March in 2019 with Slack, we held a “getting ready” party in the office beforehand that was truly fucking beautiful - people were painting faces, artfully redecorating the corporate shirts that were provided, someone applied gemstones to my body, and of course bagels were eaten. My manager was out of town and when she returned she found glitter stuck between all of the floorboards because it simply could not be removed and it would remain there until our offices closed in 2020. Even though I was on a company float that year and there is a lot of criticism over the corporatization of Pride (something the Dyke March aims to correct), I am endlessly grateful for the experience that I had that year. Everyone should be able to experience the freedom and euphoria that I felt that day.
Today’s issue highlights a pivotal figure in the fight for LGBTQ rights - Marsha P Johnson. I watched a documentary a while back, The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson, and it really inspired me to dig in and learn more about her; it’s definitely worth a watch if you want to learn more. After that, I highlight 3 of my favorite Bushwick-ish ice cream spots. Bushwick is sadly a neighborhood devoid of quality ice cream, but these 3 spots thankfully have me covered from Bed-Stuy to Ridgewood.
I'm sure you've all heard of Marsha P. Johnson; she was a black LGBTQ rights activist & held a pivotal role in the Gay Liberation movement in NYC. Marsha was born on August 24, 1945 in New Jersey and I’m honestly flattered to be her birthday buddy. At times she identified as gay, as a transvestite, and as a drag queen, but we have more understanding and terminology now than she did then, so it’s a bit difficult to pin down how she may have truly identified and wanted to be perceived. Every source I found referred to Marsha as ‘she’ so I’m gonna go with that, though I may also use some older terminology as I’m quoting things from the before times, so I’m doing my best here! Marsha might not have even cared though, because when choosing her moniker, Marsha P Johnson, she would famously say that the P stood for "pay it no mind" and would often use that phrase when questioned about her gender or appearance.
Marsha was raised in the Episcopal Church and would retain a connection to religion throughout her life. Though it may seen somewhat counterintuitive to be LGBTQ and religious, particularly in Marsha’s time, she believed in the acceptance preached by Christianity that “says that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ." Unfortunately, she didn’t experience this acceptance in her hometown of Elizabeth, NJ and moved to NYC when she turned 17. There, she discovered the LGBTQ community for the first time. While she had previously described being gay as "some sort of dream," it could now be her reality, but that reality wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows.
Marsha hustled by waiting tables and performing sex work while often living on the street. She met a younger Sylvia Rivera shortly after arriving in NYC and became a mother figure to her, teaching her how to live on the street and keep herself safe. The two would become lifelong friends and activists. While Marsha was never able to afford much glam and glitz to perform "high drag", she would instead perform with groups that were more grassroots, comedic, and political. She worked with the drag troupe, Hot Peaches, from 1972 to the 1990s and in 1975 she was photographed by Andy Warhol, as part of a "Ladies and Gentlemen" series of Polaroids.
In the 1960s, Marsha was one of the first drag queens to go to Stonewall Inn after they started allowing women & drag queens inside; previously only gay men were allowed. At that time, Stonewall was a dump owned by the Genovese crime family and they bribed the cops with a weekly payoff dubbed “gayola” (I did not make this up) to look the other way during raids. There are differing accounts on Marsha’s involvement in the Stonewall Riots; some said she threw a “shot glass that was heard around the world" and others said they saw her throw a brick at a cop. It has been confirmed, however, that on the second night of the riots Marsha climbed a lamppost & dropped a bag with a brick in it down on a cop car. She was known for carrying a purse with bricks in it for protection, so this sorta tracks.
Following the Stonewall uprising, Marsha joined the Gay Liberation Front & participated in the first Christopher Street Liberation Pride rally in June 1970 (precursor to today’s Pride March). In August 1970, Marsha and Sylvia staged a sit-in protest at NYU when they found out that administrators canceled a dance because it was sponsored by gay organizations (boo NYU). Marsha and Sylvia then founded STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) which provided housing and support to homeless LGBTQ youth and sex workers. They became “Mothers” to the kids in the same way that experienced drag queens become “Drag Mothers” to their protege. The organization is still around today, though it obviously operates under a different model.
Sadly, STAR was banned from participating in the 1973 Pride March because the organizers thought the drag queens were giving it a bad name, which is so fucking lame. Unfortunately it was not uncommon for some facets of the LGBTQ community to receive less support than others; even now we deal with bi-erasure and higher levels of violence towards Trans folks. Marsha was Marsha though and said fuck it, we’re marching. So the STAR folks arrived early and actually kicked off the Pride March that year by marching before the other groups started. Marsha was politically active her entire life and once famously responded to a reporter who asked why they were demonstrating "Darling, I want my gay rights now!"
Unfortunately Marsha’s story doesn’t have the happy ending she deserved. Shortly after the 1992 Pride March, her body was found floating in the Hudson River. Despite having a huge gash on the back of her head, police initially ruled her death as a suicide. While Marsha did have her share of mental health struggles throughout her life, close friends insisted that she absolutely never had suicidal thoughts and also pointed to the huge fucking gash on her head as looking pretty murder-y. The case would be reopened in 2002 and the cause of death would change from from "suicide" to "undetermined." Further investigations happened as recently as 2016, but no one has ever been convicted of homicide in relation to her death.
Marsha’s body was cremated and friends released her ashes over the Hudson River just off the Christopher Street piers, where she would often be found in life as it was a common gathering place for LGBTQ folks. Police ever so kindly allowed 7th Ave to be closed while folks marched in protest and carried her ashes to the river. As part of their “Overlooked” series, the NYT published a belated obituary for Marsha that you can read here.
In 2020, East River State Park in Williamsburg was renamed Marsha P Johnson State Park in her honor. Kind of weird that they named a park with no connection whatsoever to Marsha after her, but like ok we’ll take it. The park actually does have a nice entrance that alludes to Marsha - a gate is enveloped in flowers to mimic the flower crown she often wore and displays Marsha’s signature phrase “Pay it no mind.”
I am an “ice cream year round” type of person, but Bushwick is sadly lacking in ice cream options. So when summer hits, I go fucking feral. I want ice cream every day and every night because I need to get my fill while it’s around; freshly scooped or swirled ice cream just hits different than store bought ice cream, ya know? There are 3 places that are part of my Bushwick-ish ice cream circuit and I’ve mentioned some of them before, but I want to give each the feature they deserve.
First up is near and dear to my heart - Lady Moo Moo. When I lived in a horrible apartment in Bed-Stuy on Decatur St, Lady Moo Moo was my sanctuary. I had no a/c, no internet, and wasps flying in through the multiple holes in my walls and ceiling and a daily trip to Lady Moo Moo was truly the only thing that helped me retain my sanity (the apartment was not like this when I viewed it, imagine my surprise on move-in day). This is our first window-only ice cream shop and it has been serving the neighborhood Apr-Nov, Fri-Sun since 2015.
The shop has a delightful cow theme running throughout the decor and ice cream names (mooberry cheesecake, cowquito) and the employees are always nice AF even when the line is down the block and kids can’t make up their fucking minds on what flavor they want. And truly, I don’t blame them. Lady Moo Moo makes all of their flavors in house and while they’re often fairly simple without crazy mix-ins, they are so good. Their earl grey lavender expertly balances both flavor notes without veering too flowery and rooftop honey is the perfect sweetness (and made with local Brooklyn honey). My usual hack is to pair a scoop of one of their sorbets with a scoop of ice cream for the perfect flavor/texture mashup.
Lady Moo Moo also offers moo-fagatos, ice cream topped lava cakes, moot beer floats, and ice cream sandwiches (with giant cookies or sometimes a Peter Pan donut). They have a few benches on the sidewalk, but if you don’t want to sit and eat your ice cream they also have pints and quarts to go. And if you’re feeling lucky, you can try your hand at winning a golden gumball for a free scoop! Make sure you bring cash or a charged phone with Venmo for payment.
Our second ice cream window is in Ridgewood and is appropriately called Ice Cream Window. Ice Cream Window actually works with Lady Moo Moo to serve some of their flavors, along with a few other ICW exclusives and they operate Apr-Sep, Sat-Sun. What I love about Ice Cream Window is that unlike some other business that have popped up in Ridgewood, these guys have worked really hard to become part of the neighborhood. Like listen, I love the Rolo’s burger but they scream “gentrification” while ICW screams “community” and I hope there can be room for both.
During the pandemic, Elisabeth Smolarz built a window on the Karlsonwilker studio space in Ridgewood and began serving Lady Moo Moo ice cream as a pop-up. She quickly connected with members of the local community, who were largely Polish and German, and they convinced her to keep serving ice cream. In order to build a relationship with folks in the community, ICW began developing flavors influenced by the backgrounds of the folks living there. One of their best, Waldmeister, is a popular flavor in Germany and I think it tastes similar to pandan, lightly minty and floral. One of Lorenzo’s favorites is Mak, which is a nod to an Icelandic malt chocolate candy. This past weekend they also served a very exclusive Linden flavor made from the local Linden trees that bloom around early June; it has a very lightly floral bergamot taste to it. I pass under one of these trees on my walk home every day and I always tilt my head up to take in the sweet floral scent (nice smells are a dime a dozen during a NY summer). In addition to their ice cream partnership with Lady Moo Moo, Ice Cream Window also serves ice cream sandwiches on giant cookies from Rudy’s Pastry Shop.
The line at Ice Cream Window also tends to stretch down the block, but this is truly because the folks serving the ice cream are just so damn nice. They don’t rush you at all and let you try as many flavors as you want. In fact, sometimes they’ll go down the line of people waiting and bring samples right out to you. I promise you it’s worth the wait and while they only have two small benches outside for eating, you can easily walk to the park that’s 2 blocks over to enjoy your scoops. They also only accept cash or Venmo for payment.
Finally, I have one last place that is actually located in Bushwick - Ollie’s Ice Cream + Stuff. I do want to preface this by saying that I’ve read rumors of some shady stuff with this shop, but the internet-trail hasn’t given me anything conclusive, so if there is tea please let me know! Ollie’s opened in 2019 and while Lady Moo Moo leans into the cow theme, Ollie’s is all about the doggies. The shop is decorated with dog decor and also serves pup-appropriate ice cream in addition to the human-appropriate flavors. While they make their pup ice cream in house, the rest of the flavors are sourced from various outside distributors as far as I can tell.
I want Ollie’s to be great, but the truth is that it is simply good. But like I said, Bushwick has a dearth of ice cream spots so sometimes good is enough. Sure they don’t make their own ice cream, but the flavors they stock are the big hits! When the shop first opened the ice cream quality was pretty meh and was always sort of freezer burnt/crystally, but they must have found a new source because their quality improved and the ice cream now has a thick creamy texture. They tend to have lots of the classic flavors (mint chip, strawberry) but every so often there’s a curveball on the menu that is truly great (watermelon sorbet, peanut butter s’mores).
Unlike the other two spots, Ollie’s has more of the bells and whistles you’d expect at a classic ice cream parlor. ICW and LMM only offer sprinkles as toppings, while Ollie’s has at least a dozen options for smothering and sprinkling your ice cream. Sometimes a scoop of strawberry is enough, but sometimes you need marshmallows and cookie crumbles on top to really take it to the next level. The shop also sells nostalgic candy and tchotchkes as well as Lactaid pills and y’all, in Lactaid we trust. They have a small counter inside for seating or a couple tables and a bench outside. Ollie’s will also accept your credit card as payment, though they’ll also swing around the dreaded iPad tipping screen. I’ve honestly been really happy with the increase in quality here recently and I hope this place continues that trajectory.
BIG list this week because I’ve got a bunch of Juneteenth and Pride events happening!
My fave little pottery studio in Bushwick is having a Community Day on June 22. They’ll have free workshops during the day followed by a comedy show and LGBTQ+ drag show in the evening. Register to attend!
The Infatuation has really been stepping up their coverage lately and this month they’re partnering with LGBTQ owned/allied businesses around the US to create exclusive desserts for their Pride Bake Sale. The Bake Sale will benefit The Queer Food Foundation, with The Infatuation donating $50,000 to help fight food insecurity in the LGBTQ+ community.
In the mood to say I do? You can get married at Lincoln Center for free on June 22 by participating in The Wedding: New York's Biggest Day. Couples will “take stunning selfies, adorn yourself with henna, and participate in other festivities” followed by a multicultural ceremony, live musical performances, and a party on the dance floor.
FiDi Alamo is hosting a special Pride Edition of their usual weekly trivia on June 19. Get your best team together to win some free movie tickets!
Also on June 19, Drunk Black History. Black history was absolutely lacking from my education, so what better way to learn about Black historical figures than by listening to them tell their own stories while absolutely smashed?
This Saturday June 15 is the Weeksville Heritage Center’s Annual Food Festival. I’ve gone the last 2 years and recommend getting there early to beat the lines. Make sure you check out the historic homes on the site and read more about my coverage of Weeksville!
Central Park infamously bulldozed Seneca Village and I’m happy that they’re trying to make amends. Every year they host fun and educational Juneteenth celebrations in the area and this year’s is on June 15. Get a primer on the history of Seneca Village from BCLF!
One of Brooklyn’s longest running Juneteenth celebrations returns next week: The Juneteenth Arts Festival. Head to Herbert von King park in Bed-Stuy to celebrate Black art, poetry, and music.
NYC’s Annual Museum Mile Festival is next Tuesday June 18 where multiple museums will offer free admission and other events. Participating museums include the Africa Center, El Museo del Barrio, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, the Jewish Museum, Neue Galerie New York and the Museum of the City of New York. I offered some tips for making the most of this night last year!
Wishing you all weekend weather as beautiful as it was last weekend in Central Park!
