Gay Williamsburg and Greenpoint: the bars, the backyards and what changed in 2026

What gay Williamsburg is like, and who it suits

Gay Williamsburg is a relaxed bar scene rather than a gayborhood: Metropolitan, open since 2002 with a big backyard, The Exley for cocktails and Animal for dancing, with 3 Dollar Bill, the biggest queer club in Brooklyn, a short ride east. Macri Park and The Rosemont closed in 2026. The L train gets you here from 14th Street.

Williamsburg is the most Manhattan-like part of Brooklyn: glass towers on the waterfront, boutique hotels, lines for brunch. The gay scene is the opposite of flashy. It grew up in the early 2000s around a few unpretentious bars with backyards, and that is still the template. You come here for a drink with friends at a picnic table, a drag show where the queen knows half the room, and a dance if the night goes that way.

The crowd leans a little older and more settled than Bushwick: lots of gay men in their thirties and forties, but genuinely mixed, with women, trans and nonbinary regulars at every bar. It suits visitors who want something easy and friendly, couples, and anyone who would rather talk than shout.

Greenpoint, just north across McCarren Park, is quieter still: a Polish-American neighborhood turned leafy and expensive, with good bakeries, record shops and waterfront parks. Plenty of LGBTQ+ people live there, and they mostly drink in Williamsburg. Animal, on Meeker Avenue, sits on the seam between the two.

A short LGBTQ+ history of Williamsburg

1. 2002

   Metropolitan opens

   A gay bar with a big backyard opens at Lorimer Street and Metropolitan Avenue, on top of the L and G trains. It becomes the anchor of queer North Brooklyn and is still there.

2. 2000s-2010s

   A scene forms, then moves east

   More bars and parties cluster around Lorimer and Grand Streets. As Williamsburg rents climb, younger queer residents and the DIY party scene shift down the L to Bushwick, leaving Williamsburg with the neighborhood bars.

3. 2015

   Macri Park goes gay

   A Union Avenue dive around the corner from Metropolitan reopens as a gay bar with weekly drag and Drag Race viewing parties, and the two become a natural pair.

4. Late 2010s

   Bigger rooms

   The Rosemont on Montrose Avenue builds a following for local drag and sweaty back-room dance parties, and 3 Dollar Bill opens on Meserole Street as Brooklyn's largest queer venue.

5. 2026

   Two closures

   Macri Park announces in January that it has closed its doors, with staff given little explanation. In September The Rosemont says it will likely not reopen. Metropolitan, The Exley and Animal carry on.

Williamsburg gay bars and clubs open in 2026

Food and coffee in Williamsburg and Greenpoint

You will not go hungry. The gay bars sit in the middle of one of the city's densest restaurant neighborhoods, and the simplest plan is to eat within a few blocks of the Lorimer St station before your first drink: the streets around Union Avenue, Metropolitan Avenue and Grand Street have pizza, ramen, Italian red-sauce places that predate the condos, and late slices for the walk back to the train. Bedford Avenue, one L stop west, is busier and pricier.

For coffee and a slower morning, walk north through McCarren Park into Greenpoint, where Manhattan Avenue and Franklin Street are lined with cafes and Polish bakeries. In warm weather Metropolitan fires up its backyard barbecue, which has fed a generation of regulars. We only name restaurants we have confirmed are open, so for specific queer-owned kitchens and cafes see the eat and drink guide.

Culture and daytime: parks, waterfront and drag

Williamsburg's queer culture mostly happens on small stages at night. Metropolitan's drag shows and open-mic style nights are a training ground for Brooklyn performers, and 3 Dollar Bill books touring Drag Race names alongside local chaos; see the drag shows guide. During the day, McCarren Park is where the neighborhood sunbathes, plays kickball and flirts; if you want a team, our sports page lists the city's LGBTQ+ leagues.

The East River waterfront parks have the skyline view you came for, and the NYC Ferry landing at North Williamsburg is the most pleasant way to arrive from Manhattan. For museums, the culture guide will send you a few stops south.

A self-guided gay Williamsburg evening

Living in Williamsburg or Greenpoint

Williamsburg is among the most expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn. The waterfront and the blocks around Bedford Avenue are new-build towers with doormen and gyms; further east, toward Lorimer and Graham Avenues, you find older walk-ups and row houses with more character and slightly gentler rents. East Williamsburg, around Montrose and Morgan Avenues, is the loft-and-warehouse zone that blurs into Bushwick. The south side has long-established Puerto Rican and Dominican communities and, further south, a large Hasidic Jewish community.

Greenpoint is residential, low-rise and quieter, and people who move there tend to stay. The catch is transit: it relies on the G train, which does not go to Manhattan, so most commutes involve a change.

The L (Bedford Av, Lorimer St, Graham Av, Grand St, Montrose Av) is the lifeline and reaches Union Square in about ten minutes from Bedford. The G links to Greenpoint and south to Park Slope; the J, M and Z cross the Williamsburg Bridge from Marcy Av. There is no LGBTQ+ community center in the neighborhood; the Brooklyn Community Pride Center in Crown Heights serves the whole borough (see the Brooklyn guide). New to NYC covers the practical first steps.