| July
2001
By Barry
Jones
 Happy
summer to all! I was out in the Hamptons Memorial Day weekend
with friends antiquing and shopping. On the way back we stopped
at Club
SWA/The Star Room (formerly Club Swamp and
The Annex). I didn't know until we got there that there
were new owners. We went for dinner at the Star Room,
the restaurant division of this complex. They totally redid
the restaurant with layers of light colored paint covering
the dark beams and walls. It has a light and airy summer feel
to it. I was impressed with what I saw. The next test was
the food. There are lots of beautiful restaurants with mediocre
food. When dinner was served, its presentation was flawless
as was the taste of everything that was prepared by award
winning chef, Kevin Penner. The Star Room is a little
pricey, but in this case you get what you pay for. When I
got home, I emailed the restaurant and told them how I enjoyed
the experience and I immediately received a response from
one of the owners, Scott. He thanked me for
the compliment and wants to get the word out that everyone
is welcome at SWA/The
Star Room in Wainscot on Montauk Hwy. It's the place
to be in the Hamptons.
Sorry
I missed the Long
Island Pride Parade, but I understand it was great
as usual. Thanks to Jim Pizzo and the entire
board of directors. I did make it to Thunders
after the parade for Tommy & Co's annual barbecue.
As usual, Tommy donated the door to the Gay
and Lesbian Switchboard and did a special raffle for GALFOLI.
It was great seeing Peter Miller, who was hilarious
and Delfina, who is always at her best. They
did a special show for Tommy. These two have
been helping every organization on Long Island by doing fundraisers
for years.
This month's
underrated hero is actually a heroin. I have known this woman
for a few years. She sits on boards and committees such as
the Fund
for Women and Girls, United
Way of Long Island, LIGALY
and lots more. Her name is Elena Perez. She
and the company for which she works, Fleet
Bank have been great supporter of our community. They
have helped PWAC and CHOLI.
They most recently offered to sponsor Dock
of the Bay 2001 for GALFOLI.
Elena and Fleet should be applauded
and supported for their continuous outreach to all of the
diverse communities on Long Island.
In doing
the rounds for Dock
of the Bay I stopped at The
Bunkhouse and chatted with "The Fabulous Jimi
LaLumia." I told him that I had heard that The
Bunkhouse id the place to be on Saturday evenings.
Jimi confirmed that it had been packed there, especially the
dance floor. No wonder with Jimi spinning.
I also stopped at Forevergreen
where I had the privilege of sitting in on a meeting they
had to plan their breast cancer fundraiser for October 5th
and 6th. These women have so many events planned from now
until the end of the year for this wonderful cause. Yet they
still want to make the time to get involved with GALFOLI
too. Camille
and crew will be hosting a fundraiser for GALFOLI
on Saturday night, July 14th at Forevergreen.
Happy
Birthday and Happy Anniversary to whom? First it's Happy Birthday
to John Deluxe of the Wednesday night Deluxe
at Luxe. It will also be the second anniversary of
Deluxe. Charlie, John
and Paul are hosting a special celebration
for these two events on Wednesday, August 8th. I know I'll
get everyone I know to attend. There is also going to be a
Dock of the Bay Kick-Off Party at Deluxe on
July 25th for GALFOLI.
I don't
really watch a great deal of television. If I do it's usually
a movie channel, but I must admit to being hooked on a couple
of shows. I love Sex
and the City and (Showtime's) Queer
as Folk. I feel throughout my life at one time or
another I knew all of the characters from each of these shows.
I know that some people aren't comfortable with the depiction
of the gay men in Queer
as Folk, but I am sure we have all known people just
like them. I am sure we will all agree on the season finale.
I applauded when I saw the scene at the prom and was shaken
when I watched the hateful ending to the show. It snapped
me back to reality, realizing that this still goes on everywhere.
We are fortunate to have agencies on Long Island such as
Bias Help and LIGALY,
who educate and teach tolerance.
Please
email me at SocialSpeakingLI@aol.com,
if you have any comments about this column, questions about
any of the people or organizations mentioned or would like
an event covered.
Till
next time... Barry
Photos:
Louis Trapani
(c) 2000
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