Local Legend: Williamsburg Is Everything Merrie Cherry Needs

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — For Merrie Cherry, simply walking around Williamsburg is a political statement, and that's just how she likes it.

The Brooklyn drag queen has made a name for herself performing in music videos, at international drag festivals and even has gotten a shout-out from all-time drag mother RuPaul himself after a feature in the New York Times.

But perhaps the biggest splash Cherry has made is right here at home in Brooklyn.

Once called one of the founders of "Brooklyn's drag renaissance," Cherry has been credited as one of the pioneers of a quirky, rag-tag type of drag that can only be found in the borough.

She has hosted and helped create the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards, founded her own annual competition DRAGnet and can still be found most nights of the week performing at local favorite gay bar Metropolitan.

Patch spoke with the drag star as part of our Local Legends series, where people who make New York City great discuss the neighborhoods they call home.

(Does your neighborhood have a Local Legend we should feature? Nominate them here.)

Here's what Cherry had to say about her Brooklyn neighborhood:

Describe Williamsburg in three words.

Chill, adventurous and home.

What makes Williamsburg the best neighborhood?

Everything is at my disposal. It's almost like a village in a weird way. Almost anything and everything I would need is within a five-block radius from my house.

I am a quick few turns from the Williamsburg Bridge if I need to go into Manhattan. But I really only go to Manhattan when I have a doctor's appointment or a cute gig. Otherwise, I prefer to stay in Brooklyn for the most part. It's chill and we don't have as many tourists in the way when we are trying to get around.

What food does Williamsburg do best? Where do you find it?

It seems so generic because it's Italian in an old Italian neighborhood, but my favorite place to eat is an Italian pizzeria. The best is Sal's Pizza.

I feel like it's a political statement, me walking around this neighborhood. People don't look like me, and not just because of my skin, but because I'm a big man in a dress and a crazy wig.

So, going into Sal's, there are people there who don't look like me and because of that I feel it's important to go into those types of places.

There could be a kid sitting there, who maybe feels a little different and sees me and gets more of an idea of what else is out there in the world — not just the small world their parents have created for them.

Describe your perfect day in Williamsburg.

My perfect day is waking up to 65 degrees and sunny and meeting up with some friends. We would eat and get Bloody Marys at Zona Rosa and then from there go to Bedford to go shopping and buy cute things.

There's this guy on Bedford and North Eighth Street who just has a ton of books — he collects a lot — so every week it's new books. That's one of my favorite places. After that, we would go to Martha's Bakery on Bedford Avenue and South First Street and get vanilla cream pies.

Then, we would all go to my apartment and on my balcony just as the sun goes down. At night, we'll usually go down to Metropolitan. It's usually [a scene] of us quickly running to get into drag after walking around and eating too much all day.

Any upcoming projects in NYC?

Together with the co-founder of Bushwig, I'm throwing a New Year's Eve party at The Vault, a new gay bar that opened up in Williamsburg.

I will be starting my new Instagram TV project called "Two Minutes of Merriment" where I basically talk about merriment and anything I want to.

This interview has been lightly edited for style.