Stefon Royce escorts Marty Markowitz Borough Hall President into Borough Hall June 11th

On Thursday, June 11, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz marked the weeklong Brooklyn Pride celebration by honoring outstanding members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. BP Markowitz recognized three individuals and an organization that have made strides to improve the lives of all Brooklynites: the Lesbian Herstory Archives; Scot Medbury, Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Ricky Nacipucha, Trattoria Mangia; and Tracy Hobson, Center for Anti-Violence Education. Brooklyn is proud home to the city’s largest LGBT population, and BP Markowitz is a proud supporter of efforts to establish Brooklyn’s first-ever LGBT Center, which will build on the great work of all our Brooklyn LGBT service organizations.
“Brooklyn has one of the biggest and most diverse lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities in the United States—including New York City’s largest lesbian population—and the Brooklyn Pride Celebration and Multicultural Festival embraces all that makes our borough ‘proud home to everyone from everywhere’—with emphasis on proud,” said BP Markowitz. “This year we celebrate progress in establishing Brooklyn’s first-ever LGBT Center, as well as the historic strides in Iowa, Maine, Vermont and, hopefully soon, New York State to make marriage equality a reality for all Americans. How do you spell Brooklyn? L-G-B-T.”
The night of celebration also featured the launch of the LGBT art exhibit Identities, on display in the Borough Hall Community Room through June 30. This new work from six Brooklyn-inspired artists—Peyrotau & Sediles, Gregg Evans, Darren Jones, Emily North and Jesus Lapuente—examines how both gender and sexuality can define a community and its individuals. Branching across the media of painting, drawing, photography, video and installation, they represent varied identities within the LGBT community living and working in Brooklyn. The curator is Jorge Martin.
Additional guests and entertainers included Stefon Royce, Appolonia Cruz, India. M., Switch n’ Play, Graziella, “Tina Turner” and Xavier-Raye.