Center Blog

DeEbonie Swindell

The Center is pleased to announce that four young people from our Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program are featured in the new “Amplify Your Voice!” anti-LGBT bullying public service announcement campaign created by The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Devin Greene

The campaign includes dozens of celebrities speaking out about the harms of bullying and each PSA is introduced with a personal bullying story from our YES participants, who have all found strength and empowerment through our program. The young people featured are 18-year-old Antonio Fernandez, 20-year-old Dillon Seebalack, 22 year old DeEbonie Swindell,  and 22 year old Devin Greene.

The campaign coincides with National Bullying Prevention Month and Spirit Day on October 20. You can read much more here in GLAAD’s official press release:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today announced an initial list of participants in Spirit Day as well as the launch of its “Amplify Your Voice!” public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring celebrity talent and young people speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying.The PSAs urge viewers to take a stand against anti-LGBT bullying and direct viewers to GLAAD.org for resource kits offering best practices to parents, teachers and students. The free kits feature resources from the American Federation of Teachers, GLSEN, the National Center for Transgender Equality and The Trevor Project, among others.

Celebrity participants in GLAAD’s ‘Amplify Your Voice’ campaign — a project developed with the American Federation of Teachers — include: Chaz Bono, Kristin Chenoweth, Vinny Guadaginino, Rashida Jones, Dustin Lance Black, Sandra Lee, Mario Lopez, Shaquille O’Neal, Amy Poehler, Naya Rivera, Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott, Ariel Winter, and the cast of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. The campaign also features the personal stories of young people from New York’s LGBT Community Center (the Center). The Center’s Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program is open to LGBT and questioning people between the ages of 13 and 22, and provides them with community support to foster healthy development in a safe, affirming and drug-free environment.

Videos and resource kits are available here: www.glaad.org/amplifyyourvoice. Media interested in posted the videos can find instructions here. Comcast will serve as a leading media partner for the PSA campaign, contributing $3 million in national airtime and bringing this important message to more than 20 million homes over the next year. Additional videos to be released in coming weeks.

GLAAD also announced initial participants who will join millions of Americans by wearing purple on October 20, 2011, to take a stand against anti-LGBT bullying and show support for LGBT youth on Spirit Day. GLAAD is working with organizations including GLSEN, GSA Network and the Trevor Project as part of National Bullying Prevention Month to inspire individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities to wear purple.

For a list of celebrity participants, media outlets, TV networks, organizations and corporations visit www.glaad.org/spiritday. Additional participants will be announced in coming days.

Hosts from the CNBC, CNN, E!, the Dr. Drew Show, MSNBC and The View will be wearing purple on-air.

MTV will be turning the on-air logo purple along with their Facebook, Twitter, MTV.com and MTV Act logos.

Celebrity participants include: Tamra Barney (Bravo, Real Housewives of Orange County), Laura Bruce (WE, Downsized), Andy Cohen (Bravo), Aisha Dee (Fox, I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Drew Ginsburg (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Carson Kressley (ABC, Dancing With The Stars), Padma Lakshmi (Bravo, Top Chef), Kristi Lauren (I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Katie Leclerc (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Vanessa Marano (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Shay Mitchell (ABC Family, Pretty Little Liars), Mary Murphy (So You Think You Can Dance), David Nadelberg (Sundance Channel, The Mortified Sessions), Matt Nordgren (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Rosie Pope (Bravo, Pregnant in Heels), Garo Sparo (Sundance Channel, Unleashed by Garo), Steve-O, TJ Thyne (Bones), Diann Valentine (WE, I Do Over), Kathy Wakile (Bravo, Real Housewives of New Jersey), Joe Zee (Sundance Channel, All on the Line with Joe Zee), and the cast of Sundance Channel’s Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys are among celebrities who will participate by wearing purple or changing Twitter and Facebook photos for the day. Participants in 2010 included Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Khloe Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Perez Hilton, Kristin Chenoweth, the Dixie Chicks, cast members from of Glee, Joan Rivers, among dozens of others.

Companies including American Airlines, AT&T, B|W|R Public Relations, Comcast, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill, NBCUniversal, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Verizon, Yahoo! and Yahoo! Pride will participate in 2011. Participating companies will be distributing information to employees about wearing purple. Some have also pledged to turn logos purple for the day. For more information on specific plans visit: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/corporate.

The Sundance Channel employees will be participating and the Sundance Channel social media logos will turn to purple on Spirit Day.

LOGO will air a Spirit day purple ribbon on the channel to drive viewers to NewNowNext.com to increase awareness against bullying. Additionally, their Twitter (@LogoTV) and Facebook photos will ‘go purple’ and pictures of staff, fans and talent will be posted to Tumblr throughout the day.

Here Media will turn logos on Advocate.com, Out.com and SheWired purple for the day.

Spirit Day coincides with GLSEN’s ‘Ally Week’ (October 17-21), a week for students to organize events that serve to identify, support and celebrate Allies against anti-LGBT language, bullying and harassment in America’s schools and communities. GLSEN has partnered with GLAAD to promote Spirit Day as an event for students to participate in during ‘Ally Week.’ For more information about ‘Ally Week’ visit www.allyweek.org.

In addition to GLSEN, GSA Network and The Trevor Project, dozens of local and faith-based organization are also participating in Spirit Day including: Basic Rights Oregon, COLAGE, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, Pacific School of Religion, Coalition of Welcoming Congregations of the Bay Area, DignityUSA, Equality Hawaii, Equality Michigan, Equality Utah, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Human Rights Campaign’s Religion & Faith Program, Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Keshet, Lutherans Concerned/North America, More Light Presbyterians, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, PROMO, Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), United Church of Christ Office for LGBT Ministries, Straight But Not Narrow.

Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a way to show support for LGBT youth and remember those lives lost to suicide. Millions of teachers, workplaces, media personalities and students wore purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.

“From Hollywood to corporate America, it’s clear that an overwhelming number of Americans today support LGBT youth and believe that no one should be bullied for being who they are,” said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson.  

“On Spirit Day and with our new ‘Amplify Your Voice!’ campaign, some of the greatest Hollywood, news and sports voices will be brought into America’s living rooms, reminding millions that no matter who you are, you have the power to make a difference.”

You can read more here in a blog post by GLAAD and view the videos featuring YES youth.  You can also learn more about their individual bullying stories in GLAAD’s “Amplify your Voice” Resource Kit.

Dillon Seebalack

The Center is honored to be a part of this vital campaign and sends a heartfelt thank you to GLAAD for including our inspirational youth voices!

Antonio Fernandez

LGBT Pioneer Activist Frank Kameny

The Center learned tonight that our community had lost a giant in the LGBT movement for full equality. Frank Kameny died in his home this evening in Washington, DC, fittingly on National Coming Out Day. He was 86.

Dozens of media outlets have published stories about Kemeny’s passing, including Metro Weekly, which reported:

”It is with great sadness that I must report the death of Dr. Franklin Kameny, an activist and friend of the LGBT community,” Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Edward Delgado wrote in an email to media outlets on Oct. 11.

Speaking about 8 p.m. Oct. 11 from Kameny’s home, a designated historic landmark, Charles Francis confirmed that Kameny died in his bed and that his body was being removed. Others on the scene included Bob Witeck. Both Francis and Witeck were part of the effort to have Kameny’s personal papers installed in the Library of Congress.

Marvin Carter, board member of the organization Helping Our Brothers and Sisters, which aided Kameny, says he was contacted by Kameny’s housemate about 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 and given the news that he had discovered Kameny’s body.

”It appears to have been of natural causes,” says Carter.

Kameny’s beginnings in advocacy work came after he was fired from his job as an astronomer for the Army Map Service because he was gay in 1957. He challenged the firing, though, and took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the court declined to hear the case, an activist was born.

Kameny went on to become one of the leading advocates for lesbian and gay equality in the years before — and since — Stonewall. In 1961, he co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington. In 1965, he and others with the group famously picketed the White House in shirts and ties, sending a letter to the White House explaining their presence.

Along with Barbara Gittings, Kameny successfully worked with experts in the field and others to convince the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1973. The next year, he and Gittings served as counsel to Otis Fancis Tabler, Jr., successfully keeping the Defense Department employee from having his security clearance revoked due to being gay.

Witeck talked with Metro Weekly on Oct. 11 after returning from Kameny’s house, saying, ”When I was in high school 43 years ago – there’s nothing, nothing. No internet. Library books were atrocious. The only thing I knew was Frank Kameny’s name, from the newspapers, and the Mattachine Society. And I called the Mattachine Society, and I didn’t know it at the time – but that was Frank.

”Frank was the first gay person I spoke to in all of my life,” he says. ”And I wasn’t the only one with the story.”

Despite the many victories for equality of which Kameny was a part since, it wasn’t until June 24, 2009, that he received a formal apology from the government for his firing. In a letter that called the firing ”a shameful action,” the director of the Office of Personnel Management wrote to him, ”Please accept our apology for the consequences of the previous policy of the United States government, and please accept the gratitude and appreciation of the United States Office of Personnel Management for the work you have done to fight discrimination and protect the merit-based civil service system.”

The director, John Berry, is an out gay man and the highest ranking out LGBT official in the Obama administration.

Kameny’s death was noted quickly and felt widely across the LGBT community.

Rick Rosendall, who knew Kameny for the past 33 years through their work with the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, told Metro Weekly, ”Frank was a force of nature. His level of courage and ferocity in standing up for his principles was amazing at a time when he had no backups.”

In his email, Delgado noted, ”Dr. Kameny is a friend of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit; which he advised during it’s infancy stage. My condolences go out to the Kameny family and the entire LGBT community.”

Richard Socarides, who served as the lesbian and gay liaison to President Clinton, told Metro Weekly, ”Frank was such a brave person. To do what he did when he did it. A shinning example for us all. An amazing, inspirational figure who stands out among the giants of our movement.”

On June 10, 2010, a crowd gathered on 17th Street NW for the unveiling of the street sign naming the stretch of the street between R and Q Streets ”Frank Kameny Way NW.”

A little more than six months later, Kameny was present for another landmark moment – the signing of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act. The World War II veteran told Metro Weekly he was overjoyed to be attending because, as he said, ”I didn’t think I’d live to see it.”

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese noted in a statement, ”From his early days fighting institutionalized discrimination in the federal workforce, Dr. Kameny taught us all that ‘Gay is Good.’ As we say goodbye to this trailblazer on National Coming Out Day, we remember the remarkable power we all have to change the world by living our lives like Frank — openly, honestly and authentically.”

Witeck echoed that, saying, ”Frank also, truly, truly, was a lifelong lesson in being principled. It’s just an amazing gift – and an annoying gift. All of us have doubts; Frank didn’t have a one. If he did, he didn’t tell anyone.”

Talking about Berry’s role at OPM, the repeal of DADT and other successes of recent years, Witeck says, ”Every single thing that we have touched, Frank had been there before.”

A public memorial will be held, Witeck told Metro Weekly, noting that Nov. 15 is the 50th anniversary of the Mattachine Society of Washington and that, accordingly, plans were being considered to hold the memorial that day. He noted, though, that Kameny often said that he did not want a religious ceremony and that, as such, it would not be religious and would be held in a public place.

The Center joins the entire LGBT community in mourning the loss of this true legend in our movement.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is history. Today, September 20, 2011, marks the official end of the law that prohibited gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Forces.  President Obama signed the law repealing  “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” last December.

More than 13,000 gay and lesbian military personnel have been expelled from the armed services for coming out about their sexual orientation since the law took effect in 1993 under then-President Bill Clinton.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network released this statement, applauding the end of the discriminatory law:

“Today marks the official end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and is an historic milestone along the journey to achieving LGBT equality in America’s military. Thanks to veterans, active duty, leaders, allies and supporters everywhere, this is a monumental day for our service members and our nation. Indeed, we have taken a tremendous leap forward for LGBT equality in the military.

“Our work is far from done, but today we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of our patriots as we look forward to a new era of military service – one that honors the contributions of all qualified Americans who have served or who wish to serve.”

SLDN reports that one hundred events are taking place in all 50 states as repeal supporters celebrate the end of this law. Here is information about the event taking place in New York City:

New York City
September 20, 2011: 7 until 9 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/NewYorkEvent
Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014

Special Guests:
Speaker Christine C. Quinn (D – District 3 – New York City Council)
Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton, West Point ’80, Executive Director of Knights Out
Katherine Miller, OutServe Board of Directors, former West Point Cadet
Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, Producers/Directors, “The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” premiering on HBO, Tuesday, September 20
Mati Weiderpass, SLDN Board of Directors, former US Army Captain
Darren Manzella, SLDN client, former US Army Sergeant

The Center congratulations all of the activists whose tireless efforts led to this historic day, and pays special tribute to the LGBT people who have served and continue to serve courageously in our military. 

Starting Friday, September 16, 2011, more than 120 riders will begin a three-day cycling journey from Boston to New York City. With the support of 50 volunteer crew members, they will ride 285 miles to the steps of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, demonstrating their resiliency and dedication to stopping HIV/AIDS.

They are riding to raise funds for the important life-saving HIV/AIDS services of the Center, which assist thousands of people living with HIV who have limited or no financial resources to cope with this disease. Money raised by the event also supports key youth HIV prevention programs at the Center.

They are also riding because of these alarming statistics:

* More than one million people in the United States have HIV.

* Every year for the past decade there have been 50,000 new HIV infections in the U.S. and a quarter of the new cases are young gay men.

* This year alone, thousands of Americans will die from AIDS-related complications.

The crisis must stop and these riders are doing everything they can to make that a reality. This year’s ride will include Centerpieces, a cycling team comprised of Center staff, and supporters. Riders also include a devoted group of cyclists called Positive Pedalers, who master the hills with signature orange flags on their bikes announcing themselves as HIV+. Positive Pedalers break the cycle; they thrive with HIV and demonstrate why the Center’s work is vital.

Closing Ceremony

The Closing Ceremony, hosted by out lesbian country singer Chely Wright, will be held at 5:00 PM on Sunday, September 18th, when loved ones, family and supporters gather outside the Center on West 13th Street to welcome back the riders and crew members. The celebration will continue inside the Center with a Victory Party sponsored by GO Burger and Brooklyn Brewery. The GO Burger Truck takes the gourmet burger experience on the road and is proud to support Braking the Cycle. Google is a presenting sponsor for Braking the Cycle.

In its nine-year history, Braking the Cycle has raised over $2.5 million for the Center’s vital HIV and AIDS services. To learn more about the HIV/AIDS services of the Center, visit us online. You can also read more about the event in this Edge article.

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.

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

Post by Kaden Freeman, Center Communications Intern

TJ Sengel Photography

On Sunday, July 24, love was in the air as newlywed same-sex couples from across the city arrived at the Center to celebrate their weddings at our community reception. In total, 350 people attended, including couples and their guests; the event featured dancing, drinks, cake, and joyful spirits.

TJ Sengel Photography

Guests cheered for couples as they entered the room, and some gave toasts as music and laughter filled the Center’s halls. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn gave a moving speech, and State Senator Tom Duane, who helped push the Marriage Equality Act through the State Senate, greeted the enthusiastic crowd.

TJ Sengel Photography

The Event was co-sponsored by Freedom to Marry, the Human Rights Campaign, Empire State Pride Agenda and the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund.

TJ Sengel Photography

LGBT activist Lt. Dan Choi also made a visit to the reception, as did actor George Takei and his husband Brad Altman.

TJ Sengel Photography

Thanks to generous donations from local businesses and individuals in the community, the event was free to all who attended. Huge thank you to Park Avenue Catering, A New York Gay Wedding.com, Sugar Couture, Buttercup Bake Shop, Butter Lane Cupcakes, Levy Lighting NYC, Wily Jack, Rokk Vodka, The Foundry, Mark Rose, Ice Sculpture Designs, Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream, Dirty Sugar Live, TJ Sengel Photography and DJ Ted Snowdon!!

TJ Sengel Photography

The Center would like to congratulate all newlywed same sex couples, and wish everyone the best during this momumental time in our movement for equality. Your can view more photos here.

Post by Kaden Freeman, Center Communications Intern

“Julio” came to the Center in 2007 to quit smoking. He had heard about the Center’s Commit to Quit Group, and after two bouts with pneumonia, two bronchial washings and many other health problems, he decided it was time to end his addiction. After 6 months in the program he was smoke-free, and has remained that way ever since. “Julio” was able to use the Center’s services not only to help him protect his respiratory health, but also to help improve his low weight and chronic fatigue, symptoms resulting from his HIV-positive status.

The Center’s HIV/AIDS services, which provide more than 1,800 counseling and group sessions to people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS and enable more than 1,000 LGBT youth and young adults to attend HIV prevention activities and leadership training, also include programs that, while not focused on HIV, can be crucial in helping someone living with HIV maintain their health and well-being.

To help ensure that the Center can continue offering these life-changing and life-saving services, the Center will host its 9^th annual Braking the Cycle, a three day, 300 mile bike ride from Boston to New York on September 16 – 18. 150 cyclists will hit the pavement, raising funds for services benefitting those living with HIV/AIDS, and awareness about HIV/AIDS and its effects on the LGBT community. The riders participating in the event include people who have lost loved ones to AIDS, HIV positive cyclists, allies from both LGBT and straight communities, and even a team of Center staff, all of whom have been busy fundraising and training for the event.

If you are interested in participating in Braking the Cycle, it’s not too late to sign up! More information can be found at the event’s website. For information about the Center’s HIV/AIDS services visit this page on our website.

Thank you for your support!

This is an extraordinary night for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) New Yorkers. Marriage for same-sex couples will soon become law, following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act. The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center applauds our state legislators in Albany for their historic vote in favor of marriage equality, and stands with all those involved in the New Yorkers United for Marriage coalition; their tireless efforts helped make this a reality. The Center also commends Governor Andrew Cuomo for his steadfast leadership on this issue.

Countless New York same-sex couples come to the Center every day seeking our services, having faced the numerous roadblocks brought on by a lack of marriage protections. Many come looking for LGBT friendly legal or financial referrals. Some come seeking support for their relationships. And even more come to create families with the help of our Center Families program, which has been serving LGBT couples and families for nearly 20 years.

In addition, the Center held several marriage forums in recent months to spotlight this issue and allow a platform for leaders and community members to speak out and advocate for marriage equality. Most recently we hosted a NY Latinos United for Marriage Equality rally and press conference, highlighting significant Latino community support for LGBT marriage protections and garnering significant media attention.

This vote sends a strong message to all New York same-sex couples that their lives and their families matter. It’s vitally important for the state to extend these much needed protections so that loving committed couples can take care of and be responsible for one another and for their families.

CONGRATULATIONS NEW YORK!