Center Blog

In accordance with directives from the NYC Office of Emergency Management, and given the planned MTA service shutdown beginning at Noon Saturday, the Center will be CLOSED both Saturday and Sunday, August 27-28. We will reopen on Monday under favorable weather conditions and once the MTA resumes NYC Transit services.

All Center users and visitors are encouraged to closely monitor the development of Hurricane Irene and to consult this webpage for further updates on the Center’s hours of operation for Monday, August 29th.

For public transit information:

MTA NYC Buses, Subways, LIRR and Metronorth
www.mta.info

NJ PATH
www.panynj.gov/path/

NJ Transit
www.njtransit.com

To track the progress of Hurricane Irene:

The Office of Emergency Management
www.nyc.gov/oem

T he Weather Channel
www.weather.com

1010 Wins Radio
www.1010wins.com

NY1
www.ny1.com

WABC
www.7online.com

WCBS
www.newyork.cbslocal.com

WNBC
www.wnbc.com

MSBNC
www.msnbc.com

Preparation for Hurricane Irene

The NYC Office of Emergency Management urges New Yorker’s to find out if they live in a hurricane evacuation zone and take steps to prepare for heavy rain, storm surge and strong winds. Make sure your emergency supply kits are well stocked and ready to go with supplies like water, non-perishable food, a first aid kit, flashlights, a battery-operated radio, and extra batteries. For information on how to prepare, go to www.nyc.gov/oem.

Back in May I booked our Executive Director Glennda Testone on the Derek & Romaine Show, a popular national LGBT focused radio program on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. The topic:  Braking the Cycle, the 285-mile cycling event from Boston to New York, which benefits the Center’s HIV/AIDS Services. Glennda was joined by Clay Williams, who is participating in this years ride with Glennda and around 150 other riders.

Derek Hartley, Romaine Patterson, Amber Hall, Clay Williams, Glennda Testone, Eric Epstein

We appreciated the show giving us a platform to talk about the importance of HIV/AIDS awareness and the need to continue bolstering our efforts to end the epidemic through Braking the Cycle, but never did we imagine what hosts Derek Hartley,  Romaine Patterson, and executive producer, Amber Hall had in store for us.

Glennda Testone and Clay Williams on the Derek & Romaine Show

In a nutshell, Amber Hall signed up for Braking the Cycle soon after Glennda and Clay appeared on the program, and she and hosts Derek & Romaine have been tirelessly raising money for the ride since then.  They invited Glennda and Clay back on the air in early August and to date, the show has raised nearly $27,000 for the Center’s HIV/AIDS Services, making it one of the top three fundraisers for the ride. Eric Epstein, President of Global Impact Productions, the company that produces the ride for the Center, continually updates us on Amber’s progress and the number just keeps going up day by day.

Amber Hall, Executive Producer, the Derek & Romaine Show

We cannot begin to thank Derek & Romaine and Amber enough for their phenomenal commitment to Braking the Cycle! And we are even more touched that not only is Amber riding, not only does the show continue to raise money for us every night on the program, but Romaine Patterson has also signed on to be a member of the Braking the Cycle crew, a dedicated group of individuals who look out for the riders every mile of the journey.

Amber Hall, Executive Producer, the Derek & Romaine Show

Bravo and Kudos to this amazing trio!  Amber Hall, Derek Hartley and Romaine Patterson,  hats off to you for the energy you have invested in our small but powerful ride that literally saves lives. We’re excited to see how the rest of your fundraising goes leading up to the September 16-18 event.

Glennda Testone on the Derek & Romaine Show

Read more about Braking the Cycle here. Donate to Amber’s efforts here. Read about our recent trip to the NASDAQ here and listen to the Derek & Romaine Show here.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is pleased to announce the appointment of George Fesser, LMSW, as the new Director of Center Families. George is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Social Work and specializes in work with LGBT families and immigrants. Before taking this new position George worked for four years as the Center’s Coordinator of Substance Abuse Prevention & Immigration Services where he was responsible for coordinating and providing direct support services to LGBT immigrants from over 50 countries.

George also created the Center’s LGBT Immigrant Social Action Group which helps LGBT immigrants learn more about the laws that affect them and how they can use their stories to promote change in a system that does not recognize the unique needs of the LGBT immigrant population.  

Prior to joining the Center, George worked at several well-known agencies in the NYC area, including: Street Work, a program of Safe Horizon, Montefiore Medical Center, The Hispanic AIDS Forum and AID FOR AIDS.  In his 15 years of experience in working with LGBT immigrants he has successfully assisted over 300 LGBT immigrants through the arduous process of asylum application, by providing culturally sensitive emotional support services.

As Director of Center Families, George will be responsible for organizing education and support services for prospective parents and families in the LGBTQ community, as well as overseeing the groundbreaking LGBTQ Foster Care Project. In its almost 20-year history, Center Families has helped thousands of LGBT people who are and would like to be parents, worked to keep together families when they are struggling with their child’s sexual orientation, assisted family-serving agencies such as foster care agencies and educational institutions in meeting the needs of LGBT families and provided opportunities for families to meet safely with one another for socialization, education, community building and empowerment.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is pleased to announce the appointment of Antonio Ruberto, Jr., LCSW, CASAC, as the Center’s new Director of Center Recovery. In this capacity, he will head the only LGBT-specific, licensed outpatient substance abuse treatment program in New York. 

Antonio has returned to the Center, where he previously interned while earning his MSW from the Columbia University School of Social Work. Following his internship, Antonio worked as the Center CARE Crystal Meth Prevention Counselor where he oversaw the coordination of a New York City grant for crystal meth prevention work, including counseling, outreach, education, new initiatives, and community support. During this time, Antonio also helped develop and deliver the four-week “Life Coaching” series for the Center. 

For the past several years, Antonio has worked at Mercy Medical Center’s outpatient substance abuse program on Long Island, providing individual and group counseling, case management, education, and advocacy services.  In addition, Antonio has worked providing direct mental health counseling via Catholic Charities. Prior to his career in social work, Antonio was employed in customer service and program management, including five years at Columbia Business School Executive Education, managing a portfolio of short-term open enrollment programs for executives from a myriad of Fortune 500 companies. 

Antonio is excited about “coming home” to the Center and being able to again focus on the needs and care of the LGBT population.

On Monday, August 8, the Center’s Executive Director, Glennda Testone along with Center staff and members of Braking the Cycle, had the distinct honor of ringing the closing bell of the NASDAQ Stock Market.  Braking the Cycle is the 285-mile bike ride from Boston to New York, which benefits the Center’s HIV/AIDS Services. This year will mark the event’s 9th year and many riders were on hand at the NASDAQ on Monday to showcase the importance of the ride and raise awareness about the continued fight against HIV/AIDS.

As Glennda stressed in her remarks before the closing bell “After almost 30 years into the epidemic, HIV/AIDS continues to be a major health issue in the United States and around the world. As the New York Times reported just last week, the Center’s for Disease Control released new figures showing that ‘despite years of great progress in treating AIDS, the number of new HIV infections has remained stubbornly around 50,000 a year in the United States for a decade… and the American epidemic is growing rapidly worse among young black gay men.’”

Glennda went on to highlight the myriad of services the Center provides to those living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. We have been at the forefront of providing services in the fight against AIDS since our founding in 1983. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers with HIV or AIDS have benefited from our help. Each year The Center provides more than 1,800 counseling and group sessions to people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. More than 1,000 LGBT youth and young adults attend HIV prevention activities and leadership training.  Thousands more attend educational forums and conferences.

Although the market was experiencing a major downfall the day we visited, The Center and Braking the Cycle were thrilled to have the NASDAQ platform to raise visibility and remind the American public that there’s still a long road ahead to the end of AIDS, and we intend to stay on the path and keep riding until we reach that end.

ADVISORY– (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) –

What:

Braking the Cycle and NYC LGBT Center will visit the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City’s Times Square.

In honor of the occasion NYC LGBT Center Executive Director, Glennda Testone will ring the Closing Bell.

Where:

NASDAQ MarketSite — 4 Times Square — 43rd & Broadway — Broadcast Studio

When:

Monday, August 8th, 2011 — 3:45 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET

Contact: Barry Collodi 917-570-3713 bcollodi@aol.com

NASDAQ MarketSite: Jen Knapp (212) 401-8916 Jennifer.knapp@nasdaqomx.com

Facebook and Twitter:

For multimedia features such as exclusive content, photo postings, status updates and video of bell ceremonies please visit our Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/nasdaqomx

For news tweets, please visit our Twitter page at:

http://twitter.com/nasdaqomx

Webcast:

A live webcast of the NASDAQ Closing Bell will be available at: http://www.nasdaq.com/about/marketsitetowervideo.asx or http://social.nasdaqomx.com .

About Braking the Cycle:

Every once in a while, you discover an opportunity that can change your world forever. Every now and again, you get a chance to be welcomed into a new family. And occasionally, you get a chance to make the world a better place by putting yourself on the line. That moment is now. That opportunity is Braking the Cycle.

We are not just another AIDS ride. Over the past eight years, we have built a family that loves and cares for each other year round. We laugh and cry together, we care for you like family, and we’re as much fun as the law allows. We think that’s why each year, more than two-thirds of our participants return. And together, our hearty little band accomplishes something big: In the past eight years alone, Braking the Cycle has delivered over $2.5 million to support the HIV/AIDS services of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, while spreading awareness about HIV in communities across 285 miles from Boston to Manhattan. We’re a small ride, but we’re a big family making a huge impact, and each year we welcome new members into the fold. For more information please visit www.brakingthecycle.org .

About the NYC LGBT Center:

A beacon of hope for 28 years, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center builds and supports our community through arts and culture, wellness and recovery, family services and life-saving youth programs designed to foster healthy development in a safe, affirming environment. Since the Center’s inception in 1983, tens of thousands of New Yorkers with HIV or AIDS have benefited from the organization’s service. Each year The Center provides more than 1,800 counseling and group sessions to people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. More than 1,000 LGBT youth and young adults attend HIV prevention activities and leadership training. Thousands more attend educational forums and conferences.The Center envisions a world where LGBT people will no longer face discrimination or isolation because of who we are or who we love. We offer a welcoming home to 300,000 visitors each year and we are committed to serving all LGBT people through a variety of programs, services and activities that are designed to meet existing and emerging needs. The Center is many things to many people. We invite you to experience our home at 208 West 13th Street in person and online at gaycenter.org < http://www.gaycenter.org > .

About NASDAQ OMX:

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world’s largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with more than 3,500 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX first North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com . *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook ( http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653 ) and Twitter ( http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx ).

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com