New York on Saturday cemented its place as the center of the LGBTQ universe for 2019.
State, city and community representatives officially opened the WorldPride Welcome Center at 112 Christopher St. WorldPride is the world’s largest international LGBTQ celebration and will feature a series of events in New York in June.
This is the sixth WorldPride event, and the first in the United States. Its debut on American soil will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, seen as a transformative event in the fight for gay rights.
“Four million visitors are expected for World Pride. It’s important that all visitors have a focal point,” State Sen. Brad Hoylman, the only openly LGBTQ member of the New York Senate, told the Daily News.
Hoylman, who brought his 21-month-old daughter Lucy to participate in the fun, was one of the voices to officially announce the opening of the rainbow-colored headquarters of WorldPride in Manhattan’s West Village, just steps away from the Stonewall National Monument.
“I can’t think of a better place,” he said, referring to very spot where, nearly 50 years ago, a series of violent protests by trans women of color, homeless queer youth, lesbians, drag queens, gay men and allies fought against oppression and sparked a global movement of LGBTQ liberation.
“As millions of people visit our state this June, the WorldPride Welcome Center will highlight the roots and accomplishments of the LGBTQ rights movement in New York and promote the state as a safe, welcoming destination with no place for hate,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement.
The center is “a beautiful installation with plenty of Pride swag,” said Shijuade Kadree, chief advocacy officer of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Center in New York, who also spoke at the event.
The WorldPride Welcome Center was created in partnership with NYC Pride/Heritage of Pride and the LGBT Community Center.