Center, The

The Center is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City, one of the most significant LGBTQ+ institutions in the United States. It opened in 1983 at the height of the AIDS crisis in a former school building at 208 West 13th Street in the West Village. Over the decades it has hosted countless community groups, served as an early meeting place for ACT UP, and offered health services, mental health and recovery support, youth programs, family services, and cultural events. It remains a working hub of LGBTQ+ life in the city. Many other cities run their own LGBTQ+ community centers, but in New York this one is simply known as The Center.