• The private club opening at Jacob Riis, “The People’s Beach”

    A new private club is slated to open this month at Jacob Riis Park on the Rockaway Peninsula. Dubbed “The Peoples Beach,” the park has a long history as an informal gathering place for the LGBTQ community. Liam Quigley, parks and sanitation reporter for Gothamist/WNYC, unpacks the status of the project, whose opening has been delayed several times this summer, including why some beachgoers are unhappy with the plan; plus listeners weigh in with their thoughts on the club and the beach’s storied history.

    THE PRIVATE CLUB AT JACOB RIIS — WNYC
    BRIAN LEHRER SHOW · AUGUST 2026
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Liam Quigley is a New York City-based reporter and photographer with work appearing in The Village Voice, The Intercept, Hell Gate, the New York Daily News, The New York Times, and more.