Fundraiser to Open New Lesbian Bar in Astoria Being Held Saturday

Kristin “Dave” Dausch is taking over the Heart of Gold bar Saturday and turning it into a pop-up lesbian bar for the evening (Photo: YouTube)

July 21, 2021 By Michael Dorgan

An Astoria resident who is looking to raise money to open a new lesbian bar is holding a fundraising event Saturday.

Kristin “Dave” Dausch is taking over the Heart of Gold bar, located at 37-14 31st Ave., from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. and turning it into a pop-up lesbian bar for the evening to raise funds. The event will be called Dave’s Lesbian Bar, which Dausch says will be the name of the permanent lesbian bar when it opens.

The event will be preceded by an outdoor summer block party featuring live music, tattoo artists and barbers from the queer community. The outdoor event will take place from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. along 31st Avenue – between 37th Street and 38th Street – that will be blocked off.

Dausch, an open mic host and singer, said there are no lesbian bars in Astoria—or Queens for that matter—and wants to create a space where lesbians can meet up. Dausch said that Astoria’s two current gay bars — Icon and Albatross — are mostly frequented by gay men and not by many lesbian women.

“I am a lesbian and I see that there is no representation of my community in the neighborhood and I want to change that,” said Dausch, who has lived in Astoria for around 12 years.

“There aren’t a lot of spaces that cater to the ‘shes’ and ‘theys’ of our community.”

Dausch is aiming to raise $70,000 to open the new permanent lesbian bar in Astoria. The open mic host set up a GoFundMe in late June to bring in donations and has raised nearly $9,000 so far.

Dausch is hoping people will embrace the new lesbian bar concept Saturday and donate to the GoFundMe. Dausch said that attendees are being asked to contribute at least $10 each – adding that similar pop-up event evenings will be held each month in Astoria until the financial goal is met.

Dausch said that Saturday’s event inside Heart Of Gold bar will feature a performance by rapper Goldilocks and queer DJ Dylan Sparkle will be on the decks to play music. The music will end at 11 p.m. but Dausch said that the party will continue until closing time.

“We’re getting rowdy in Astoria!” Dausch said.

There will be a number of queer-led bands performing at the block party beforehand while the Heart of Gold will serve alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, Dausch said. Dyke Beer, a queer-owned beer company from Brooklyn, will also be on hand to provide some of its exclusive beers to revelers while several local restaurants will be offering to-go food items.

The block party will also feature a mutual aid component. There will be a rack of free clothing provided by the Free Store Astoria and queer-themed books will be given out for free by The Rolling Library.

“This will be the block party of the summer,” Dausch said.