L.A. Woman II: Venice and Ru

A few sights from Venice Beach and RuPaul's DragCon in Los Angeles. Can you guess which photos are from which? 😊

Miss Manhattan Hangs Out...with Ronin Davis

When Ronin Davis answers his door, there’s a beard where his face used to be. How long has it been since I’ve seen him? Too long apparently, as there’s now handsome auburn hair around his jaw. It’s perfect timing, too, since tonight he and his boyfriend Josh will be dressing up as lumberjacks for a Purim party hosted by JQY.

JQY, short for Jewish Queer Youth, is an organization dedicated to providing a community for young Jewish LGBTQ people, fighting “to ensure the emotional and physical health and safety of these individuals,” with a specific focus on Orthodox and Hassidic communities. One of the ways the organization raises funds is through events like tonight’s Purim party.

“Do you know the story of Purim?” Ronin asks me as I make my way into his apartment. I know it just barely, and as he dons his lumberjack gear, he narrates it to me. Purim celebrates the day the Jewish people were spared from slaughter at the hand of the evil Haman by Esther, Queen of Persia. To celebrate, the Megillah, the story of Esther saving the Jews, is read aloud. Costumes are worn on the holiday, which is why it’s often mistakenly called “Jewish Halloween.” Rather, it is said that we dress up because God “disguised” himself in the events that led to the sparing of the Jews in the Purim story. “You’re also supposed to get so drunk you can’t recognize anyone,” Ronin says mischievously. Eating tons of delicious, jam-filled triangular pastries called hamantaschen is also part of the festivities. Ronin pins his blue and white yarmulke to the top of his head while Josh swipes glitter into his own beard. We listen to Jewish a cappella group The Maccabeats sing “Purim Song” on YouTube. Ronin, who grew up in a conservative home with a rabbi father, is close to his family and regularly attends Jewish events, queer and not.

We make our way to the train and Ronin proudly dons his newest purchase, a combination knit scarf, mittens, and hat made to look like a unicorn. Josh looks at him endearingly and smiles.

Ronin is bubbly and warm, but there’s also a strong, focused sense of justice running through his life. Not that the two are mutually exclusive. By day he works at The Council of State Governments Justice Center where he oversees a program helping the previously incarcerated with mentorship, fatherhood, family, and community reentry. He has been working in community justice professionally since 2007, when he started in his native Colorado as a Detention Officer and Juvenile Bond Commissioner.

Ronin’s friendly nature is in full force at the JQY event, where he seems to know everyone. He and Josh effortlessly mix and mingle with people dressed as cowgirls, kings, Power Rangers and leather-bound scuba divers. They nosh on hamantaschen and sip a fruity spiked punch, making their way around the room while the DJ plays Britney, Madonna, and more. Eventually, they begin to dance and…they just don’t stop.

Follow Ronin on Instagram and Twitter.

Miss Manhattan Hangs Out...with Oriana & Laurel Leckert

When I walk up to Bushwick City Farm, Oriana Leckert is sitting on a handmade wooden patio having a cigarette. Today, she and her sister Laurel are helping out at the communally owned and operated farm on the corner of Lewis Avenue and Stockton Street in Brooklyn. Founders of the space wanted to grow food from the ground at the former gas station but discovered the soil was laughably bad and possibly toxic, so instead built upraised plots to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables. The produce is given to families from the area, many who live in government housing, and their children come to the farm to learn how food is grown. The day I’m there, Easter, tiny radishes have just made an appearance, various leafy greens have made their way through the soil, strawberry blossoms and plum blossoms have just emerged. There’s also a chicken coop from which fresh eggs are given away every Sunday. These chickens are from Brooklyn and they are Not Scared, especially not of my camera, into which they curiously poke their beaks.

Laurel wanders amongst the chickens. She got involved with the farm a few years ago. When she’s not there, she’s a program staffer at the Brooklyn Cooperative Credit Union. She also has a black belt in karate, teaches self-defense classes, and has worked as a bike mechanic. 

Oriana then dips Easter eggs in dye under the patio’s canopy. “I’m Jewish, I have no idea what I’m doing,” she laughs. Though Oriana came to the farm through Laurel, her usual habitat is one of the many quirky-wonderful independent, DIY, and underground art spaces in Brooklyn. She chronicled them in her phenomenal blog Brooklyn Spaces, which became a well-loved book in 2015 (especially by the French, who are apparently obsessed with Brooklyn—in addition to being sold in the U.S., it was sold at department store Le Bon Marché in Paris). 

The sisters are originally from the suburbs, specifically Fairfax, Virginia, but have been living in Brooklyn for almost 20 years. Despite being four years apart, they’ve mostly been very close, and never really went through an adversarial period as I’m told most siblings do. Together, they bike across the city, are involved in national and community activism, and are possibly each other’s biggest cheerleaders. I never had siblings, but if I did I’d hope for a relationship like theirs, a sibling who is also my friend. 

Soon, children come play on the farm and dip eggs for Easter with Oriana while Laurel fixes a bike. Once they’re dry, the sisters hide the eggs and the children go running in search of them, hoping for a prize. Once all the eggs are found, Laurel and the kids celebrate by jumping on a teeny trampoline and leaping through hula hoops. 

Later, after the children leave and the sky turns an ominous gray, the sisters peel the shells off the (hardboiled) Easter eggs to eat them, their hands turning blue and red from the dye. 

Follow Oriana on Instagram and Twitter.
Follow Brooklyn Spaces on Facebook and Twitter. (Oriana's Instagram is also the Brooklyn Spaces Instagram).