Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center

The Center's facade on 13th Street

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center is a nonprofit organization serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population of New York City and nearby communities.

History

The Center is located in the West Village at 208 West 13th Street , an historic building which formerly housed the High School for Food Trades.

Use

Groups

Every week, 6,000 people visit the Center, and more than 300 groups meet in the building.^{[citation needed]} These groups range from political activist organizations to social clubs. The Center also frequently hosts speeches, performances, workshops, and commercially sponsored information sessions. ACT-UP arose from discussions held at the Center, and it continues to serve as a spawning ground and/or incubator for new groups.

Numerous Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and other twelve-step recovery groups meet at the Center. The Center's Mental Health and Social Services division also sponsors support groups focused on coming out, transgender issues, bereavement, and other topics of concern to the LGBT community.

The Center also houses Y.E.S., the Youth Enrichment Services. This organization provides services and support for queer and questioning youth. Programs such as both a young men's and a young women's discussion group, a gender exploration group, a safe schools network, and a variety of support groups are available to youth free of charge.

Art and history

Another important part of the Center's mission is to host and document the artistic and historic contributions of members of the LGBT Community. This includes the Center’s museum program, including the Campbell Soady Gallery, named in honor of major donors William Campbell and William Soady, that provide space for artwork that celebrates the diversity of LGBT life and supports the work of emerging queer artists. The Center is also home to a repository of manuscripts, personal papers, organizational files and records of the Center itself. Archivist Rich Wandel oversees this all-volunteer project.

Israeli Apartheid Week controversy

In February 2011, the Center became embroiled in a controversy over a pro-Palestinian group that was to have a party in the building on March 5th during "Israeli Apartheid Week." The group, Siegebusters, planned to train activists and raise funds for another vessel to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.^[1][2][3] Advocate columnist and porn producer Michael Lucas threatened a boycott, claiming that Israel is the only gay-friendly country in the Middle East, that the group was anti-Semitic, and that LGBT people in the Palestinian territories are tortured and killed.^[1][2] The Center cancelled the party, stating that Siegebusters was not an LGBT-related group.^[4] Siegebusters protested the decision by organizing an online petition; whereas Lucas hailed the decision in an interview with The Jerusalem Post.^[3]

In May 2011, the Center announced that it would allow the group Queers Against Israeli Apartheid to meet in their building.^[5] The Center defended the move, stating that it "provides space for a variety of LGBT voices in our community to engage in conversations on a range of topics."^[5] In the beginning of June 2011, the Center decided to place a "moratorium" on renting space to "groups that organize around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."^[6]

See also

LGBT portal

• List of LGBT community centers

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Michael Lucas Says LGBT Center Pressed Jewish Group to Move Meeting, Duncan Osbourne, Gay.com news, February 2011
2. ^ ^{a b} LGBT Center Cancels Israel Apartheid Event, The Advocate, February 22, 2011.
3. ^ ^{a b} NY gay center pulls plug on Israel-Apartheid event NY gay center pulls plug on Israel-Apartheid event, Gil Shefler and Benjamine Weinthal, The Jerusalem Post, February 24, 2004.
4. ^ Don’t Mess With Jewish Porn King Michael Lucas, Michael Kaminer, The Jewish Daily Forward, February 23, 2011.
5. ^ ^{a b} N.Y. gay center rapped for renting space to anti-Israel group, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, May 26, 2011; accessed May 26, 2011
6. ^ New York LGBT center ejects Queers Against Israel Apartheid

External links

• The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center — official website