For the past two years, queens Maxxxim and Nancy NoGood have led Southern Brooklyn’s only weekly drag show: an all-ages “RuPaul’s Drag Race” viewing party at Coney Island USA’s Freak Bar.
There, the drag artists are cultivating a queer space that remains rare in the borough’s southern neighborhoods.
“As somebody who kind of grew up in a Brooklyn drag scene, which is, you know, Bushwick, Williamsburg, Bed-Stuy, [and] as a lifelong resident of Southern Brooklyn, I was a little bit perplexed by the lack of queer spaces in the rest of Brooklyn,” said Maxim Ibadov, who goes by Maxxxim in drag.
Ibadov was born in Brooklyn and moved to Russia as a child before immigrating back to the U.S. in 2012. Upon returning to the borough, they made it their mission to create queer community spaces. Ibadov became a National Coordinator for Qaravan, formerly known as RUSA LGBTQ+, the largest nonprofit in the U.S. supporting queer asylum seekers and immigrants from post-Soviet countries.
“I myself came from Russia, Moscow [which] used to have a lot of gay bars and drag bars, but they were underground,” Ibadov said. “For the folks who come from places with systemic homophobia and transphobia and are able to come to our show, it can be life-affirming.”
Through the art of drag, Ibadov weaves together the diverse identities of Coney Island. They regularly perform songs in Russian and supports fledging drag queens that are interested in becoming part of the scene.
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The venue itself for Maxxxim and Nancy NoGood’s viewing party is iconic. Coney Island USA, a historic landmark that has been around for more than 100 years, works to preserve the area’s unique history. The event takes place at the Freak Bar, filled with Coney Island memorabilia and located below the Coney Island museum.
“ This magical building takes you back to a different time, but also a time that has never existed,” Ibadov said. “ The place itself is very campy, kitschy, Americana.”
Since its debut in 2009, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has brought drag culture into the mainstream, inspiring new generations of performers and fans worldwide. Season 17 of the Emmy-winning reality competition premiered in January.
Over the years, viewing parties have popped up across Brooklyn, primarily in the more liberal north and central parts of the borough — including Williamsburg, home to the world’s largest “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” viewing party, The Werk Room.
The Coney Island drag show fits into the waterfront neighborhood’s whimsical legacy, but its organizers are mindful of the area’s growing conservatism.
In last November’s election, President Donald Trump won in six Assembly districts in southern Brooklyn, as neighborhoods including Sheepshead Bay, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Borough Park, Gravesend, and Bensonhurst shifted red.
In recent years Southern Brooklyn residents have navigated events that have spark LGBTQIA+ safety concerns, some incidents include a burned pride flag in Bay ridge, anti-LGBTQIA+ remarks from Assembly Member Alec Brook-Krasny that sparked protests, and the repeated defacement of queer-affirming sidewalk artwork.
The organizers of this Coney Island “RuPaul’s Drag Race” viewing party are resolute on creating a safe and inclusive space for members of the queer community in Southern Brooklyn.
“When people leave the building and go back home, they might have to see Trump signs or just know that people in the area might not be welcoming of their identity,” Ibadov said. “That’s [why it’s] important for us that folks come and they know that they’re not alone and there is a space for them, even if it’s for a couple of hours on a Friday.”
The next “RuPaul’s Drag Race” viewing party hosted by Maxxxim and Nancy NoGood will be held at Coney Island USA, 1208 Surf Ave, on April 4th.
