[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 97 (Thursday, July 12, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1326-E1327]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IN HONOR OF THE REOPENING OF THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER 
                      COMMUNITY CENTER OF NEW YORK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 12, 2001

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, today the Lesbian, Gay, 
Bisexual and

[[Page E1327]]

Transgender Community Center of New York will reopen after a two-year 
renovation. The Center is housed in a historic former high school in 
Greenwich Village. The Food and Maritime Trades High School was built 
in 1844 and became the spiritual home of the Gay and Lesbian community 
of New York in 1983.
  Since its founding, the Center has served as a meeting place for 
those committed to improving the lives and assuring the rights of those 
who suffer because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The 
Center is an inclusive organization that recently changed its name to 
demonstrate a commitment to serving the Bisexual and Transgender 
community.
  Newcomers to New York have always joined together in fraternal and 
social groups. Just as some organizations help immigrants adjust to 
life in the City, so too, the Center helps newcomers from the gay 
community as they adjust to a new life in New York. Quarterly 
orientations and regular support groups for young people are some of 
the Center's most important programs.
  The Center is the ``heart'' of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and 
Transgender community in New York City. Each week, more than 5,000 
people visit the center to take advantage of the numerous services and 
programs it offers. It has also become a social center for many people 
in the community. The monthly schedule at the Center includes more than 
100 political and social groups. The AA program alone provides 
counseling and support for several hundred people in recovery. The 
Center Library is a valuable resource for both the gay and straight 
community.
  The Center's real contributions can be seen in the lives of those who 
have been transformed by the Center. The HIV positive patient who is 
strengthened through the AIDS support group, the counseled teen who is 
empowered to stand up to taunts, and the participant in a 12-step 
program who can face the future with friends from the Center, have all 
improved their quality of life through Center programs.
  I am honored to salute the many people who work so hard at the 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center of New York. 
The reopening of the Center is indeed a cause for celebration.

                          ____________________