Folsom Street East conducted a survey of its constituents in the summer of 2013. This deck shows high-level survey data, including information about demographics, community engagement, event participation, and organizational support.

1. FOLSOM STREET EAST
Summary of community survey findings
Matt Johnson
9 August 2013

2. How we did it
• SurveyMonkey online survey: 13 June - 13 July 2013
• 432 total respondents completed survey
– Equivalent to 4-5 percent of street fair attendees
• Recruited via:
– email blasts to FSE mailing list
– page on FSE website
– weekly social media posts (Facebook, Twitter, FetLife)

3. DEMOGRAPHICS

4. Our respondents tend to be in their
forties or older.

5. They are overwhelmingly male …

6. … overwhelmingly gay …

7. … and only a little less likely to be white.

8. Where
are
they
from?

9. Just over half live in the five boroughs, the
majority of those in Manhattan.
Manhattan
Brooklyn
Queens
Bronx
Staten Island

10. Of the Manhattanites, about half are on the
West Side between 14th and 59th Streets.
Chelsea/Flatiron
HK/Garment District
Harlem/Wash Hts
East Village/LES
West Village/Soho/Tribeca
UWS
UES
Other

11. The next largest neighborhood concentrations are in
upper Manhattan and immediately outside it.
Harlem/
Washington
Heights
Jersey City*
Astoria/LIC
*not included in NYC total

12. 4 out of 5 respondents live in the NYC metro area.
NYC
Northern NJ
Long Island
Hudson Valley
SW Connecticut

13. Of the remaining fifth, the largest concentrations are in
Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and upstate New York.
NYC metro
PA
MA
Other NY
Other NE
Other Mid-Atlantic
South
Midwest
West
Unknown

14. SOCIAL LIFE

15. Most have an established interest in kink …

16. … and regularly attend kink-oriented events.

17. Here are the fifteen most commonly attended
events (apart from FSE events) in rank order.*
1. IML
2. MAL
3. Folsom Street Fair
4. Black Party
5. Eagle NYC events
6. Dore Alley
7. Private parties
8. Delta International
9. CLAW
10. Inferno/CHC events, New York
Bondage Club events (tie)
11. Leather Pride Night
12. Folsom Europe, TES events
(tie)
13. Mates Leather Weekend, MIR,
Paddles events (tie)
14. Master/slave Conference, Santa
Saturday, Urban Bear Weekend
(tie)
15. Floating World, Hillside
Campground events, Lesbian Sex
Mafia events, Onyx
events/Blackout, Submit (tie)
*55 percent of respondents answered this question. Italics indicate events local to metro NYC.

18. Most are
interacting with
people online,
though not
always on kink
or sex sites.

19. Most also spend time with people in person,
though not always in kink or sex environments.

20. About a third reported support of LGBT organizations. Here are
the ten most common responses in rank order.*
1. NYC LGBT Center
2. GMHC
3. Human Rights Campaign
4. Leather Pride Night
5. Ali Forney Center, Chicago Hellfire Club (tie)
6. Onyx
7. Anti Violence Project, SAGE (tie)
8. AIDS Walk NY, Callen-Lorde, Delta International, Lambda Legal (tie)
9. AIDS Life Cycle, God's Love We Deliver, Heritage of Pride, Leather
Archives & Museum, Lesbian Sex Mafia, Masters and slaves
Together, TES (tie)
10. Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Housing Works (tie)
* “Support” = membership, donation, or volunteering. Italics indicate orgs local to metro NYC.

21. Responses also included numerous smaller community
organizations serving the New York region, among them:
• ACRIA
• APICHA
• Audre Lorde Project
• Bailey-Holt House
• Bronx Pride Center
• FIERCE
• Hetrick-Martin Institute
• Hudson Pride Connections
Center
• Iris House
• Leslie Lohman Museum of
Gay and Lesbian Art
• Queens Pride House
• RightRides
• Sylvia Rivera Law Project
• Transgender Legal
Defense and Education
Fund
• Village Care
• Visual AIDS

22. STREET FAIR

23. A majority attended last year’s street fair.

24. Most have been to more than one.

25. They typically rely on people they know to
learn about the fair.

26. Fellowship is the focus of the fair for
most.

27. COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

28. Many know about our charitable work,
but many others may not.

29. Whatever their level of awareness, they
are willing to support what we do …

30. … as well as patronize the businesses
which support us.

31. APPENDIX
Age range breakdowns by geography

32. 18 percent under 35; 43 percent under 45
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Manhattan
Manhattan (n = 143)
Count

33. 35 percent under 35; 61 percent under 45
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Brooklyn
Brooklyn (n = 54)
Count

34. 38 percent under 35; 63 percent under 45
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Queens
Queens (n = 40)
Count

35. 7 percent under 35; 35 percent under 45
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
West Side (14th-59th)
West Side, 14th-59th (n = 68)
Count

36. 44 percent under 35; 59 percent under 45
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Harlem/Wash Hts
Harlem/Wash Hts (n = 27)
Count

37. 53 percent under 35; 87 percent under 45
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Astoria/LIC
Astoria/LIC (n = 15)
Count

38. 15 percent under 35; 45 percent under 45
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+
Jersey City
Jersey City (n = 20)
Count