83-638: The NYC Pride March is an annual event celebrating the LGBTQ community in New York City . The largest pride parade and the largest pride event in the world, the NYC Pride March attracts tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each June, and carries spiritual and historical significance for the worldwide LGBTQIA+ community and its advocates. Entertainer Madonna stated in 2024, "Aside from my birthday, New York Pride
166-907: A gayborhood in Chelsea, has in turn spawned a new gayborhood in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan , just uptown, or north, of Chelsea, as gentrification has taken hold in Chelsea itself. The Metropolitan Community Church of New York , geared toward the LGBT community, is located in Hell's Kitchen. Brooklyn is home to a large and growing number of same-sex couples. Same-sex marriages in New York were legalized on June 24, 2011, and were authorized to take place beginning 30 days thereafter. The Park Slope neighborhood spearheaded
249-638: A neutral or non-binary gender choice on birth certificates , while New York City already had this provision. The following constitutes an incomplete list of gay villages in the New York metropolitan area as of 2023: Politics in New York City are mainly liberal . Rosenberg and Dunford stated that this political standpoint had historically been "generally beneficial to the gay community". In New York City, New York City Republican Party political administrations actively court LGBT voters. LGBT voters were 3.4% of New York City's electorate in 1989. In
332-691: A "Gay Power" demonstration in Washington Square Park , followed by a march to Sheridan Square within the West Village . On November 2, 1969, Craig Rodwell , his partner Fred Sargeant , Ellen Broidy , and Linda Rhodes proposed an annual march to be held in New York City by way of a resolution at the Eastern Regional Conference of Homophile Organizations (ERCHO) meeting in Philadelphia . We propose that
415-432: A community. By the early 1960s, a campaign to rid New York City of gay bars was in full effect by order of Mayor Robert F. Wagner, Jr. , who was concerned about the image of the city in preparation for the 1964 World's Fair . The city revoked the liquor licenses of the bars, and undercover police officers worked to entrap as many homosexual men as possible. Entrapment usually consisted of an undercover officer who found
498-493: A demonstration be held annually on the last Saturday in June in New York City to commemorate the 1969 spontaneous demonstrations on Christopher Street and this demonstration be called CHRISTOPHER STREET LIBERATION DAY. No dress or age regulations shall be made for this demonstration. We also propose that we contact Homophile organizations throughout the country and suggest that they hold parallel demonstrations on that day. We propose
581-530: A distinct subculture through the following two decades. Prohibition inadvertently benefited gay establishments, as drinking alcohol was pushed underground along with other behaviors considered immoral. New York City passed laws against homosexuality in public and private businesses, but because alcohol was in high demand, speakeasies and impromptu drinking establishments were so numerous and temporary that authorities were unable to police them all. However, police raids happened, resulting in their closure, such as
664-564: A man in a bar or public park, engaged him in conversation; if the conversation headed toward the possibility that they might leave together—or the officer bought the man a drink—he was arrested for solicitation. One story in the New York Post described an arrest in a gym locker room, where the officer grabbed his crotch, moaning, and a man who asked him if he was all right was arrested. Few lawyers would defend cases as undesirable as these, and some of those lawyers kicked back their fees to
747-589: A more difficult time with the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA). While no laws prohibited serving homosexuals, courts allowed the SLA discretion in approving and revoking liquor licenses for businesses that might become "disorderly". Despite the high population of gays and lesbians who called Greenwich Village home, very few places existed, other than bars, where they were able to congregate openly without being harassed or arrested. In 1966,
830-691: A nationwide show of support. All attendees to the ERCHO meeting in Philadelphia voted for the march except for Mattachine Society of New York, which abstained. Members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) attended the meeting and were seated as guests of Rodwell's group, Homophile Youth Movement in Neighborhoods (HYMN). Meetings to organize the march began in early January at Rodwell's apartment in 350 Bleecker Street . At first there
913-546: A secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids beforehand due to police tip-offs, and raids occurred early enough in the evening that business could commence after the police had finished. During a typical raid, the lights were turned on, and customers were lined up and their identification cards checked. Those without identification or dressed in full drag were arrested; others were allowed to leave. Some of
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#1732780861606996-407: A significant LGBT presence of their own. The Manhattan neighborhoods of Greenwich Village and Harlem were home to a sizable homosexual population after World War I , when men and women who had served in the military took advantage of the opportunity to settle in larger cities. The enclaves of gays and lesbians, described by a newspaper story as "short-haired women and long-haired men", developed
1079-546: A tribute published in The Bilerico Project : [W]e forged a bond of mutual bad girl respect...that lasted through the years, including the production of the 1993 March and the work to create Stonewall 25. I miss my colleague in crime. The worst part of growing older is that such missing grows right along with it. The Brenda Howard Memorial Award was created in 2005 by the Queens Chapter of PFLAG . It
1162-675: A venue for corporate pinkwashing , rainbow capitalism , and assimilation of queer identities. Such critiques have given rise to various independent events conducted without permits or police. Since 1993 the NYC Dyke March has been held annually on the Saturday prior. Since 1994 the New York City Drag March has been held annually on the Friday prior; it began as a protest against the ban on leather and drag during
1245-405: A volunteer spearheaded, non-partisan , tax-exempt, non-profit organization. HOP welcomes participation regardless of age, creed, gender, gender identification, HIV status, national origin, physical, mental or developmental ability, race, or religion. HOP does not use qualifiers for participation. In 2021, NYC Pride organizers announced that uniformed law enforcement would be banned from marching in
1328-511: A week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff; the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license . It had no running water behind the bar—used glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other "cash transactions" took place. It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing
1411-557: Is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer." LGBT Americans in New York City constitute the largest self-identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual , and transgender , and queer communities by a significant margin in the United States, and the 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village are widely considered to be
1494-841: Is also becoming a destination for LGBT individuals priced out of still more expensive housing in Brooklyn. As the LGBTQ communities have achieved higher socioeconomic status and greater political clout over the decades, it has moved beyond the boundaries of New York City and spread out across the New York metropolitan area . Westchester County in particular has spawned several gay villages concomitantly with hipster villages, notably in Hastings-on-Hudson , Dobbs Ferry , Irvington , and Tarrytown . The neighboring Fire Island communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines constitute
1577-469: Is located on West 13th Street in the West Village , Lower Manhattan . Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) is the country's largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. SAGE is located at 305 Seventh Avenue , 15th Floor NYC, NY 10001. SAGE has expanded throughout New York City, with additional centers now located in Harlem,
1660-617: Is the epicenter of LGBTQ culture. The Christopher Street area of the West Village portion of Greenwich Village in Manhattan was the historical hub of gay life in New York City and continues to be a cultural center for the LGBT experience. Chelsea in Manhattan is another focal point of gay social life , and the East Village / Lower East Side area of Manhattan is also a gayborhood . Hell's Kitchen and Morningside Heights are additional Manhattan neighborhoods which have developed
1743-544: Is the gayest thing you can possibly do. We're basically in an Andy Warhol fever dream right now." The Stonewall Inn, located at 51 and 53 Christopher Street , along with several other establishments in the city, was owned by the Genovese crime family . In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested $ 3,500 to turn the Stonewall Inn into a gay bar, after it had been a restaurant and a nightclub geared toward heterosexuals. Once
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#17327808616061826-610: Is the most important day of the year." The route through Lower Manhattan traverses south on Fifth Avenue , through Greenwich Village , passing the Stonewall National Monument , site of the June 1969 riots that launched the modern movement for LGBTQ+ rights . A central component of NYC Pride observances, the March occurs on the last Sunday in June. An estimated 4 million attended the parade in 2019, coinciding with
1909-470: The 50th anniversary of Stonewall , which drew 5 million visitors to Manhattan on Pride weekend. Early on the morning of Saturday, June 28, 1969, lesbian, gay, bisexual , and transgender (LGBT) people rioted, following a police raid on the Stonewall Inn , a gay bar at 53 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village , Lower Manhattan . This event, together with further protests and rioting over
1992-631: The Chelsea neighborhood from the Greenwich Village neighborhood as a less expensive alternative; subsequent to this movement, house prices in Chelsea have increased dramatically to rival the West Village area of Greenwich Village. While New York was a latecomer to the leather and kink fetish movement, this subculture is now burgeoning in the city, originating in Chelsea and eventually expanding to Brooklyn and Queens . The same phenomenon of gentrification in Greenwich Village which created
2075-773: The Eve's Hangout at 129 MacDougal Street , after the deportation of Eva Kotchever for obscenity . The social repression of the 1950s resulted in a cultural revolution in Greenwich Village. A cohort of poets, later named the Beat poets, wrote about the evils of the social organization at the time, glorifying anarchy, drugs, and hedonistic pleasures over unquestioning social compliance, consumerism , and closed mindedness. Of them, Allen Ginsberg and William S. Burroughs —both Greenwich Village residents—also wrote bluntly and honestly about homosexuality. Their writings attracted sympathetic liberal-minded people, as well as homosexuals looking for
2158-500: The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor was inaugurated at the Stonewall Inn. The landmark is an American memorial wall in lower Manhattan dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". The wall is located inside of the Stonewall Inn, and is a part of the Stonewall National Monument , the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to LGBTQ rights and history . The first fifty nominees were announced in June 2019 and
2241-678: The Orlando Pulse Nightclub massacre . In February 2017, thousands protested at the Stonewall National Monument against the proposed policies of the administration of U.S. president Donald J. Trump affecting both LGBTQ individuals and international immigrants, including those holding the intersection of these identities. In June 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights partnered with MasterCard International to commemorate
2324-554: The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop customer mailing list and Nixon worked to gain financial support from GLF in his position as treasurer for that organization. Other mainstays of the organizing committee were Judy Miller, Jack Waluska, Steve Gerrie and Brenda Howard of GLF. Believing that more people would turn out for the march on a Sunday, and so as to mark the date of the start of the Stonewall uprising,
2407-520: The State of New York – in contrast to the Stonewall National Monument, which was commissioned by the U.S. federal government . The State monument is planned to be built in Hudson River Park in Manhattan, near the waterfront Hudson River piers which have served as historically significant symbols of New York's role as a meeting place and a safe haven for LGBT communities. On June 20, 2023,
2490-472: The Stonewall 50 - WorldPride NYC 2019 milestone by planting a new street sign pan-inclusive for sexual orientations and gender identities at the intersection of Gay Street and Christopher Street in the West Village , and renaming that portion of Gay Street as Acceptance Street . Chelsea in Manhattan is one of the most gay-friendly neighborhoods in New York City. In the 1990s, many gay people moved to
2573-648: The state capital of New Jersey, elected Reed Gusciora , its first openly gay mayor, in 2018, and Jennifer Williams, New Jersey's first openly transgender city councilmember, in 2022. In June 2018, suburban Maplewood, New Jersey, unveiled permanent rainbow-colored crosswalks to celebrate LGBTQ pride, a feature displayed by only a few other towns in the world, including Rahway, New Jersey , which unveiled its own rainbow-colored crosswalks in June 2019. In January 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation mandating LGBTQ-inclusive educational curriculum in schools. In February 2019, New Jersey began allowing
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2656-470: The 1985 mayoral election, Koch had almost no support; Donald P. Haider-Markel, the author of Gay and Lesbian Americans and Political Participation: A Reference Handbook , wrote that Koch's "actions on AIDS seemed inadequate at best". In the 1989 mayoral election, David Dinkins received support from the LGBT community. Since then, every mayor has received support from the LGBT community, which included Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg . Jimmy Van Bramer ,
2739-545: The 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights as a part of the effort led by Barry Douglas, a leader of the Gay Mens S&;M Activists . Douglas began the work for inclusion in the march in 1983 through a committee first set up in GMSMA in 1983. Howard was polyamorous . She died in 2005 from colon cancer and was survived by her partner Larry Nelson. A fellow LGBT rights activist, Marla R. Stevens, wrote in
2822-723: The 25th anniversary of Stonewall. Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Stonewall in 2019, the Reclaim Pride Coalition organized the first Queer Liberation March , held on Sunday morning, hours before the NYC Pride parade. The first march, in 1970, was front-page news in The New York Times reporting the march extended for about fifteen city blocks. The march had thousands of participants with organizers "who said variously 3,000 and 5,000 and even 20,000." The variance could be due, in part, that although
2905-561: The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance is a New York performing and visual art workshop space and performance venue located in The Bronx. Co-founded in 1998 by Arthur Aviles , dancer and choreographer who performed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Charles Rice-Gonzales, a writer, LGBT activist, and publicist. Focusing on works exploring
2988-656: The LGBTQ-rights movement. The visitor center opened on June 28, 2024, as the first official national visitors center dedicated to the LGBTQ+ experience to open anywhere in the world. Numerous politicians and celebrities participated in the inauguration ceremonies. and the New York City Subway 's Christopher Street–Sheridan Square station was renamed the Christopher Street–Stonewall station on
3071-745: The Majority Leader of the New York City Council in 2017, is an openly gay politician from Queens who has served in the City Council for over six years. Van Bramer was one of seven openly LGBT members of the New York City Council as of 2017 , alongside Rosie Mendez , Corey Johnson , Ritchie Torres , James Vacca , Daniel Dromm and Carlos Menchaca . Christine Quinn served as Speaker of the New York City Council between 2006 and 2013. Carlos Menchaca also became
3154-593: The New York Mattachine Society held a "sip-in" at a Greenwich Village bar named Julius , which was frequented by gay men, to illustrate the discrimination homosexuals faced. None of the bars frequented by gays and lesbians were owned by gay people in the 1960s. Almost all of them were owned and controlled by organized crime , who treated the regulars poorly, watered down the liquor, and overcharged for drinks. However, they also paid off police to prevent frequent raids. Greenwich Village contained
3237-415: The arresting officer. The annual New York Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village is the world's largest Halloween parade, and has its roots in New York's queer community, standing in as an expression of LGBT pride , before the formal NYC Pride March was born. The Mattachine Society succeeded in getting newly elected Mayor John Lindsay to end the campaign of police entrapment in New York City. They had
3320-602: The author of Frommer's New York City from $ 90 a Day, wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs , high-rise buildings , and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". LGBTQ advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically , "Anyways, not only
3403-450: The bar. The raid did not go as planned. Standard procedure was to line up the patrons, check their identification, and have female police officers take customers dressed as women to the bathroom to verify their gender, upon which any men dressed as women would be arrested. Those dressed as women that night refused to go with the officers. Men in line began to refuse to produce their identification. The police decided to take everyone present to
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3486-544: The city's history and four times as large as the annual Times Square Ball on New Year's Eve. The COVID-19 pandemic in New York City resulted in cancelation of the 2020 and 2021 events. LGBT culture in New York City New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ sociopolitical ecosystem , and is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ populations. Brian Silverman,
3569-424: The clientele ranged between the upper teens and early thirties, and the racial mix was evenly distributed among white, Black, and Hispanic patrons. Because of its even mix of people, its location, and the attraction of dancing, the Stonewall Inn was known by many as " the gay bar in the city". Police raids on gay bars were frequent, occurring on average once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in
3652-534: The committee scheduled the date for the first march for Sunday, June 28, 1970. With Dick Leitsch's replacement as president of Mattachine NY by Michael Kotis in April 1970, opposition to the march by Mattachine ended. There was little open animosity, and some bystanders applauded when a tall, pretty girl carrying a sign "I am a Lesbian" walked by. – The New York Times coverage of Gay Liberation Day, 1970 Christopher Street Liberation Day on June 28, 1970, marked
3735-421: The demographics, the city's LGBT population has "one of the largest disposable incomes", encompassing professionals including physicians, attorneys, engineers, scientists, financiers , and journalists, as well as those in the entertainment industry , fashion design, and realty . Conversely, New York City is also a highly popular LGBT tourist destination, and the city actively courts LGBTQ tourism . Manhattan
3818-561: The era after World War II , "New York City became the literal gay metropolis for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from both within and without the United States: the place they chose to learn how to live openly, honestly and without shame." Comedian Jerrod Carmichael joked, "That's actually why I live here...if you say you're gay in New York, you can ride the bus for free and they just give you free pizza. if you say you're gay in New York, you get to host Saturday Night Live . This
3901-901: The first Mexican-American member of the New York City Council when elected in November 2013. In June 2019, in celebration of LGBT Pride Month , Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered the LGBT pride flag to be raised over the New York State Capitol for the first time in New York State history. In April 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a billboard campaign to attract Floridians to New York City in response to Florida's " Don't Say Gay " law. New York City publishes its LGBTQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Queer Guide of Services and Resources . The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center
3984-602: The first anniversary of the Stonewall riots with a march from Sheridan Square , covering the 51 blocks to the Sheep Meadow in Central Park . The march took less than half the scheduled time due to excitement, but also due to wariness about walking through the city with gay banners and signs. Although the parade permit was delivered only two hours before the start of the march, participants encountered little resistance from onlookers. The New York Times reported (on
4067-462: The first three hours of each years march (which has had an actual run time over nine hours in 2017 and 2018). Both the 2017 and 2018 broadcasts were Emmy nominated programs. In 2022, the WABC-TV broadcast was also available via streaming from ABC News Live and Hulu . Over the course of five decades, various groups have accused the NYC Pride March of losing its political, activist roots and becoming
4150-497: The following nights, marked a watershed moment in the modern LGBT rights movement and the impetus for organizing LGBT pride marches on a much larger scale. Veterans of the riot formed a group, the Stonewall Veterans Association, which has continued to drive the advancement of LGBT rights from the rioting at the Stonewall Inn, to the present day. In the weeks following the riots, 500 people gathered for
4233-602: The front page) that the march extended for about 15 city blocks. Reporting by The Village Voice was positive, describing "the out-front resistance that grew out of the police raid on the Stonewall Inn one year ago". There was also an assembly on Christopher Street. The first March in 1970 was organized by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. Since 1984, the parade and related LGBT pride events in New York City have been produced and organized by Heritage of Pride (HOP),
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#17327808616064316-517: The genesis of the modern gay rights movement. The New York metropolitan area has an estimated 756,000 LGBTQ+ residents—the most in the United States, including the largest transgender population in the United States, estimated at 50,000 in 2018, concentrated in Manhattan and Queens . Charles Kaiser , author of The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America , wrote that in
4399-630: The intersection of Fifth Avenue and Washington Square North in the West Village was officially renamed Edie Windsor and Thea Speyer Way at the state level by New York Governor Kathy Hochul , in honor of the Greenwich Village plaintiffs who prevailed at the United States Supreme Court in 2013, in finding the Defense of Marriage Act , which had limited the definition of marriage as being valid strictly between one man and one woman, to be unconstitutional . On June 27, 2019,
4482-452: The largest transgender rights demonstration in LGBTQ history, took place on June 14, 2020, stretching from Grand Army Plaza to Fort Greene, Brooklyn , focused on supporting Black transgender lives. On June 25, 2017, the day of 2017 New York City Pride March festivities, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the artist Anthony Goicolea had been chosen to design the first official monument to LGBT individuals commissioned by
4565-524: The largest gay enclave on Long Island , followed by The Hamptons . Gayborhoods have also emerged across the Hudson River from Manhattan in the U.S. state of New Jersey , which is now home to more gay villages per square mile than any other state. Some of the most prominent gayborhoods in New Jersey include Jersey City , Asbury Park , Maplewood , Montclair , and Lambertville . Trenton ,
4648-576: The lesbians by "feeling some of them up inappropriately" while frisking them. Despite playing a significant role in fighting for LGBT equality during the period of the Stonewall Riots and thereafter the transgender community in New York City had previously felt marginalized and neglected by the gay community. Since then, and especially during the 21st century, New York City's transgender community has grown in size and prominence, reaching an estimated 50,000 in 2018. Brooklyn Liberation March,
4731-629: The march started with over a dozen homosexual and feminist contingents, parade spectators were encouraged to join the procession. Currently, Heritage of Pride requires preregistration of marchers, and sets up barricades along the entire route discouraging the practice. Although estimating crowd size is an imprecise science, the NYC March is consistently considered the largest Pride parade in North America, with 2.1 million people in 2015, and 2.5 million in 2016. In 2018, attendance
4814-420: The margins of Latino and LGBTQ cultures. The programs at BAAD! are made up of dancers, LGBTQ visual artists, women, and artists of color. The Bureau of General Services – Queer Division (BGSQD) is a queer cultural center, bookstore, and event space hosted by The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City. Brenda Howard Brenda Howard (December 24, 1946 – June 28, 2005)
4897-460: The men, including those in drag, used their draft cards as identification. Women were required to wear three pieces of feminine clothing, and would be arrested if found not wearing them. Employees and management of the bars were also typically arrested. The period immediately before June 28, 1969, was marked by frequent raids of local bars—including a raid at the Stonewall Inn on the Tuesday before
4980-429: The mid-1970s, LGBT participation in New York City politics began. In the 1977 Mayor of New York City elections, Edward Koch was the preferred candidate; there had been speculation that Koch was homosexual. However, Koch associated with religious figures opposed to homosexuality and did not pass LGBT civil rights bills, and therefore in 1981, Frank Barbaro became the candidate favored by the LGBT political groups. In
5063-484: The often unrecognized influence LGBTQ women have had, and continue to have, on our youth." In 2015, Nelson highlighted her accomplishments in a video for the #StillBisexual campaign, which was posted online for Celebrate Bisexuality Day . In June 2019, Howard was one of the inaugural fifty American "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes" inducted on the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor within the Stonewall National Monument (SNM) in New York City's Stonewall Inn . The SNM
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#17327808616065146-503: The parade until 2025, when the ban will be reexamined by committees and the executive board of NYC Pride. For many years, the march was only available locally to Time Warner Cable customers, via its NY1 news channel. In 2017 WABC-TV broadcast the NYC LGBT Pride March live for the first time regionally, and made the stream available to all parts of the globe where such content is accessible. WABC-TV continues to broadcast
5229-443: The police station, after separating those cross-dressing in a room in the back of the bar. Maria Ritter, then known as Steve to her family, recalled, "My biggest fear was that I would get arrested. My second biggest fear was that my picture would be in a newspaper or on a television report in my mother's dress!" Both patrons and police recalled that a sense of discomfort spread very quickly, spurred by police who began to assault some of
5312-531: The popularity of Brooklyn among lesbians, and Prospect Heights has an LGBT residential presence. Numerous neighborhoods have since become home to LGBT communities. Adjacent Elmhurst and Jackson Heights , Queens, are focal hubs for the transgender community of New York City and collectively constitute the largest transgender hub in the world. The Queens Pride Parade is held in Jackson Heights each year. Astoria has an emerging LGBT presence. Queens
5395-510: The rear of the bar was a smaller room frequented by " queens "; it was one of two bars where effeminate men who wore makeup and teased their hair (though dressed in men's clothing) could go. Only a few transvestites , or men in full drag , were allowed in by the bouncers. The customers were "98 percent male" but a few lesbians sometimes came to the bar. Younger homeless adolescent males, who slept in nearby Christopher Park , would often try to get in so customers would buy them drinks. The age of
5478-641: The riots —and the closing of the Checkerboard, the Tele-Star, and two other clubs in Greenwich Village. On June 23, 2015, the Stonewall Inn was the first landmark in New York City to be recognized by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission on the basis of its status in LGBT history, and on June 24, 2016, the Stonewall National Monument was named the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to
5561-446: The same day. At 1:20 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, 1969, four plainclothes policemen in dark suits, two patrol officers in uniform, and Detective Charles Smythe and Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine arrived at the Stonewall Inn's double doors and announced "Police! We're taking the place!" Stonewall employees do not recall being tipped off that a raid was to occur that night, as was the custom. According to Duberman (p. 194), there
5644-407: The scene of an assault involving seven lesbians and a straight man that sparked appreciable media attention, with strong statements both defending and attacking the parties. In June 2015, thousands gathered in front of the Stonewall Inn to celebrate the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court affirming same-sex marriage in all fifty U.S. states, while in June 2016, thousands gathered similarly in vigil for
5727-426: The theft of negotiable bonds (facilitated by pressuring gay Wall Street customers), they decided to close the Stonewall Inn permanently. Two undercover policewomen and two undercover policemen had entered the bar earlier that evening to gather visual evidence, as the Public Morals Squad waited outside for the signal. Once inside, they called for backup from the Sixth Precinct using the bar's pay telephone. The music
5810-666: The wall was unveiled on June 27, 2019, as a part of the Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 events. Each year five additional names will be added. In 2022, the LGBT community in New York City became the epicenter of the mpox outbreak in the Western Hemisphere . New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared corresponding public health emergencies in the state and city, respectively, in July 2022. New York City has been estimated to have become home to over 270,000 self-identifying gay and bisexual individuals, higher than San Francisco and Los Angeles combined. Lonely Planet New York City stated that of
5893-400: The world's oldest gay and lesbian bookstore, Oscar Wilde Bookshop , founded in 1967 but permanently closed in 2009 citing the recession and the rise of online booksellers . The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center – best known as simply "The Center" – has occupied the former Food & Maritime Trades High School at 208 West 13th Street since 1984. In 2006, the Village was
5976-545: Was bootlegged . Historian David Carter presents information indicating that the Mafia owners of the Stonewall and the manager were blackmailing wealthier customers, particularly those who worked in Lower Manhattan's Financial District . They appeared to be making more money from extortion than they were from liquor sales in the bar. Carter deduces that when the police were unable to receive kickbacks from blackmail and
6059-503: Was $ 3, for which the customer received two tickets that could be exchanged for two drinks. Patrons were required to sign their names in a book to prove that the bar was a private "bottle club", but rarely signed their real names. There were two dance floors in the Stonewall; the interior was painted black, making it very dark inside, with pulsing gel lights or black lights . If police were spotted, regular white lights were turned on, signaling that everyone should stop dancing or touching. In
6142-454: Was a rumor that one might happen, but since it was much later than raids generally took place, Stonewall management thought the tip was inaccurate. Days after the raid, one of the bar owners complained that the tipoff had never come, and that the raid was ordered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms , who objected that there were no stamps on the liquor bottles, indicating the alcohol
6225-646: Was active in the movement against the Vietnam War . In 1969 she lived in an urban commune of anti-war activists and draft resisters in Downtown Brooklyn New York. Like many other women in the US anti-war movement at the time, Howard became critical of its domination by men, and she soon became involved in the feminist movement as well. A militant activist who helped plan and participated in LGBT rights actions for over three decades, Howard
6308-444: Was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club. Visitors to the Stonewall Inn in 1969 were greeted by a bouncer who inspected them through a peephole in the door. The legal drinking age was 18, and to avoid unwittingly letting in undercover police (who were called "Lily Law", "Alice Blue Gown", or "Betty Badge" ), visitors would have to be known by the doorman, or look gay. The entrance fee on weekends
6391-579: Was an American bisexual rights activist and sex-positive feminist . The Brenda Howard Memorial Award is named for her. Howard was born in the Bronx , New York City and grew up in Syosset, New York in a Jewish family. She graduated from Syosset High School and from Borough of Manhattan Community College with an Associate in Applied Science degree in Nursing . In the late 1960s, Howard
6474-636: Was an active member of the Gay Liberation Front and for several years chair of the Gay Activists Alliance 's Speakers Bureau in the post- Stonewall era. A fixture in New York City's LGBT Community , Howard was active in the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights which helped guide New York City's Gay rights law through the City Council in 1986 as well as ACT UP and Queer Nation . Howard's activism included participation in
6557-564: Was difficulty getting some of the major New York City organizations like Gay Activists Alliance (GAA) to send representatives. Craig Rodwell and his partner Fred Sargeant, Ellen Broidy, Michael Brown, Marty Nixon, and Foster Gunnison Jr. of Mattachine made up the core group of the CSLD Umbrella Committee (CSLDUC). For initial funding, Gunnison served as treasurer and sought donations from the national homophile organizations and sponsors, while Sargeant solicited donations via
6640-406: Was estimated around two million. In 2024, the estimated crowd size was 2.5 million. In 2019, as part of Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC , an estimated 5 million people took part over the final weekend of the celebrations, with an estimated 4 million in attendance at the parade. The 12-hour parade included 150,000 pre-registered participants among 695 groups. It was the largest parade of any kind in
6723-462: Was named by Equality Forum in 2013 as one of their 31 Icons for LGBT History Month . In 2014 the Trevor Project chose her as one of the role models for their Women's History Month project, "highlighting incredible woman-identified powerhouses who have changed the world for the better" and stating "At The Trevor Project we not only want to celebrate this month, we want to shine a light on
6806-423: Was the first award by a major American LGBT organization to be named after an openly bisexual person. The award, which is given annually, recognizes an individual whose work on behalf of the bisexual community and the greater LGBT community best exemplifies the vision, principles, and community service exemplified by Howard, and who serves as a positive and visible role model for the entire LGBT community. Howard
6889-513: Was turned off and the main lights were turned on. Approximately 205 people were in the bar that night. Patrons who had never experienced a police raid were confused. A few who realized what was happening began to run for doors and windows in the bathrooms, but police barred the doors. As Michael Fader remembered, Things happened so fast you kind of got caught not knowing. All of a sudden there were police there and we were told to all get in lines and to have our identification ready to be led out of
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