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....August 26, 2:42 PM |
| Pleasure In The Park
By IMAN KHAN As the last few joggers and bikers make their way out of Forest Park, it is mostly silent. Dusk quickly fades to night and a new group of people begins to quietly make their presence known by the sound of their careful footsteps.
Along Forest Park Drive, between Metropolitan Avenue and Mayfair Road, the ample greenery and bush provide cover to keep people, and any secrets they hold, hidden from view. And here, when the light goes away, the men come out to play. Heading down the maze-like bicycle paths in the park, men of all colors, races, and sizes can be found standing along the way, in clusters or by themselves. The men are fully dressed, unthreatening and quiet. Some stand still and stare, others gesture with hand signals while others repeatedly walk by, trying to create eye contact. After contact is made, and interest is reciprocated, the men disappear, usually in twos, but sometimes in threes or fours. Movement can be heard in the bushes. A closer look reveals men’s faces and their bare lower torsos, often in compromising positions. The deafening sounds of cars and horns from the road make their noises inaudible as the bushes keep them out of plain sight. An Investigation Begins Earlier this month, a community resident wrote to the Queens Tribune to express concern regarding public sex being performed at Forest Park. The resident was worried about potential health hazards and drugs being used by the men she was alleging were engaging in these public acts of sex in the park. After observing the area in question numerous times over the course of a month, and speaking with a variety of experts regarding public sex and at-risk behaviors, it became apparent that the issue brought to light by this resident was much larger and had a much broader context than it initially appeared. Condom wrappers and condoms, some decomposing, some fresh, can be found all over the park, along with discarded underwear, soiled napkins and the likes. There are heavy concentrations of the used condoms in places that are more secluded, but they are visible in quite a few open spots as well. In an attempt to capture images of the piles of discarded sexual paraphernalia, a reporter and photographer entered the park during the daytime, not expecting to witness sexual acts that residents said usually occurred at night. But during that time, around 1:30 p.m., several men were observed performing sexual acts, not far from the main path where people jog, bike and walk with their young children. An Old Tradition According to Dr. Perry Halkitis, Director Center for Health, Identity, Behavior and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS) at New York University, there is a long tradition of men having sex with men in public venues all over the world. Halkitis believes that the tradition began during a more conservative era when being gay was much less acceptable and there were no socially accepted venues for gay or bisexual men to freely express themselves. During that time, having sex in public venues served both the emotional and physical needs of the men who engaged in the act while providing these same men with anonymity. Yet in New York City, arguably one of the most progressive and open metropolises in the world, the problem persists. “Married men who identify as heterosexual have no other venues,” Halkitis said. “Ethnic and cultural minorities who come from backgrounds with no room for homosexuality would be prone public venues – the more confined of an environment an individual comes from in relation to expressing his identity, the more likely he is to engage in public sex.” According to Karen Taylor, director of Senior Action in a Gay Environment, a project of the Forest Hills Community House, many of these men may feel as though they have no other options to satisfy these parts of their identities. “Especially right now, with the debate in City Hall over installing cameras in front of nightclubs, there is no safe place for these men to go and retain their anonymity,” said Taylor. “I understand the safety issue, but there is also an invasion of privacy.” Dr. Danny Garza, founder of the Open Door Clinic of Elmhurst Hospital Center serving the mental health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender population, believes that there is another sub-group that frequents these parks. “There is a group that likes to have sex in public as a fetish,” said Garza. “For some, risking arrest holds the erotic charge of the encounter.” |
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