"The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center provides a home for the birth, nurture and celebration of our organizations, institutions and culture; cares for our individuals and groups in need; educates the public and our community; and empowers our individuals and groups to achieve their fullest potential."

More about us:
Established in 1983, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center has grown to become the largest LGBT multi-service organization on the East Coast and second largest LGBT community center in the world.

Every week, 6,000 people visit the Center, and more than 300 groups meet here. In addition, our myriad meeting rooms are booked months in advance, indicating the community is as hungry as ever for a place to call its own.

We provide groundbreaking social service, public policy, educational and cultural/recreational programs. We also serve as an incubator for grassroots groups that meet here. Indeed, we were the birthplace of organizations such as the AIDS activist group ACT UP and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the principal organization combating homophobia and stereotyping of gays in the media.

Among our groundbreaking programs:

Promote the Vote, the Center's voter registration and mobilization program, is a nonpartisan outreach project that offers the LGBT community an opportunity to impact the electoral process. It also seeks to create a visible voting constituency. Founded in 1992, the program is one of the largest LGBT voter registration programs in the United States. http://www.gaycenter.org/program_folders/ptv/ptvhome.html/program_view

During the 2004 Pride Parade, Promote the Vote
volunteers handed out more than 4,000 voter
registration forms. Great job! (Photo: Inga Sarda-Sorensen)

Center Kids, a model for LGBT family organizing, promotes the legitimacy and visibility of LGBT families. More than 2,500 families in the tristate area partake in the program. http://www.gaycenter.org/program_folders/Families/program_view

Youth Enrichment Services (YES) focuses on ending isolation experienced by many LGBT youths. YES offers professional development training for youth workers, child welfare workers, teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators. YES also has a leadership training and networking project for students working to end homophobia in their schools. http://www.gaycenter.org/program_folders/yes

Gender Identity Project, more than a decade old, offers transgender people an opportunity to discover and acknowledge who they are while building community. http://www.gaycenter.org/program_folders/gip/index_html/program_view

National Archive of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender History at the Center preserves the LGBT community's heritage and history, making it accessible through regular exhibits, publications and scholarly research activities. The archive is a national leader due to the size and scope of its collection. http://www.gaycenter.org/resources/archive/

In addition, one of our prime functions is to provide affordable meeting space for LGBT organizations, many of which would otherwise have no place to go. The lack of affordable, harassment-free space in New York has pushed several organizations to the brink of extinction. Stepping forward more than once, we have ensured the delivery of much needed services and programs.

GENERAL INQUIRIES: The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. We are located at 208 West 13th Street, New York, NY 10011. For more information, call 212.620.7310.

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Press inquiries go to David Henderson, the Center's Director of Communications, at 212.620.7310 ext. 227, or via e-mail through our online form.