One of the city's most diverse boroughs, Brooklyn now has a community center for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals -- and this weekend it plans to show its pride in an official "coming out" party.
The Brooklyn Community Pride Center offers physical and mental health services, social support, and recreational and cultural programming. The Center will also serve as a representative voice for the LGBT community.
Nearly 7,000 same-sex couples live in Brooklyn, which makes it the most densely populated area for that group next to Manhattan, according to the Williams Institute. Overall, LGBT people make up roughly 10 percent of the borough's population.
No hub of consolidated services for that burgeoning community currently exists in Brooklyn however, which is why advocates say the center is so crucial.
"Brooklyn has the highest concentration of LGBT couples in New York City. These voices deserve to be heard," the center's executive director, Marianne Nicolosi, said in a statement. "What better way to have a kick-off than with a party."
Details
What: The Brooklyn Community Pride Center's "Coming Out" Party
Where: The Brooklyn Academy of Music Cafe, 30 Lafayette Ave., Brooklyn
When: Saturday, June 12th @ 10 p.m.
While gay and lesbian couples can't get legally married in New York, city council speaker Christine Quinn wants the city clerk's office to officially inform those couples where they can go to get legally married.
Quinn introduced legislation Wednesday that would require the clerk to provide that information to same-sex couples registering domestic partnerships. It also would be posted online and in the city's marriage offices.
Quinn said the law would serve two purposes. First, it would help couples know where they could go to be legally married, since they cannot do so in New York state.
She said it would also send a message to state lawmakers that New York City wants same-sex couples to be fully recognized.
