New York nightlife legend Susanne Bartsch is heating up the Pride anniversary with a big party and a new book

For years, even decades, the biggest VIP in New York’s gay nightlife scene was a heterosexual woman born in Switzerland.

That would be Susanne Bartsch, the legendary club queen who presided over generations of queer party boys – and other children of the counterculture – in the city that never sleeps.

“You know, I’m not gay, but I love the community and I’ve always felt like they need support because they seem to be treated differently than the straight people,” Bartsch told the Post. “And I didn’t like that. People are people.”

Bartsch’s long-standing love affair with the LGBTQ community — spanning from the AIDS crisis in the ’80s to today’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” era — will continue Saturday night when her Boom! Pride party will spice up NYC Pride Weekend on the rooftop of the Standard, High Line in the Meatpacking District.

“You know, the gays are just more fun,” said Bartsch. “They know how to party.”

After moving to New York – where she has lived in the historic Chelsea Hotel since 1981 – Bartsch found her followers in the gay scene.

“I didn’t consciously plan to go into the gay scene and get involved,” she said. “I was just me. I like color, I like excitement… For me, the creativity in the gay scene is bigger than anything else. They are so incredibly inspiring, from the drag queen to the big gay (muscle) boy.”

But while Bartsch shows the snapshots and stories behind many fabulous events in her new book, “Bartschland: Tales of New York Nightlife,” she also takes a stand in her platform shoes as the strongest ally the gay scene has ever seen.

“My philosophy of life, my understanding of what is right, is that everyone can be what they want to be and should not be criticized for it. And that they should definitely have the same rights.”

Here, Bartsch takes us behind the scenes of these iconic moments of her reign as New York City’s Queen of the Night.

Bring it to the streets

At the 2022 NYC Pride Parade, Bartsch had the ultimate party bus, sponsored by Connecticut tourism website CTvisit.com. “The whole bus was full of people from my community, the Bartschland crew – from Amanda Lepore to Kevin Aviance,” Bartsch said. “It was an amazing experience.”

Fun at Fleet Week with RuPaul

Long before “Drag Race,” RuPaul danced the night away with Fleet Week revelers at Bartsch’s monthly party at the Copa, which began in 1987. “I hired him (to host),” Bartsch said of RuPaul, who wrote the foreword to “Bartschland.” “He was really funny and his looks were larger than life. And I said, ‘That’s a star.'”

In “Vogue” with Madonna

Madonna posed with her “Vogue” video dancers Jose and Luis Xtravaganza at Bartsch’s AIDS benefit Love Ball at Roseland in 1989. Bartsch’s parties, which continued into the 1990s, helped revitalize New York nightlife after the AIDS crisis.

“I thought to myself, ‘This is so scary, but I have to keep going and create a place where people can gather, feel joy and feel safe,'” she said. “That was really important, and we focused on looking good (and not) looking ripped off.”

Malcolm Forbes gets the Roxy going

At one of Bartsch’s legendary Halloween parties – which took place in 1989 at the Chelsea mega-club “Roxy” – 69-year-old Malcolm Forbes took to the dance floor with a stormy entrance just a few months before the tycoon’s death.

“The Roxy had a ramp so you could drive in,” Bartsch recalled. “He rode his motorcycle to the middle of the dance floor. It was so much fun. He was a really funny guy. I kind of knew he was coming, but I didn’t expect the motorcycle.”

Trick or Treat at Palladium

In 1993, Bartsch celebrated Halloween with fellow nightlife star Joey Arias (left), fitness guru David Barton and a feathered friend at the Palladium. Bartsch married Barton in 1995, a year after they welcomed son Bailey into the world. “He got people in shape during the day so they could come to the club at night and have fun,” she said.

On Top with Adam Lambert

On Tuesday, Bartsch kicked off her NYC Pride Week by celebrating Adam Lambert’s upcoming EP “Afters” at her On Top party at Le Bain. On Saturday, she’ll return to the Standard, High Line club — as well as the adjacent Boom Boom Room — for her Boom! Pride event. “I’m taking over the whole 18th floor!” Bartsch said. “It’s really special.”