Tag: NYC

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NYC: T Oliver Reid opens tonight at Feinsteins

My fab friend, T. Oliver Reid, who has appeared in more Broadway shows than I can count,  a 2012 MAC award recipient for Best Debut-male and the 2011 Julie Wilson award, will open tonight at Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency, 540 Park Avenue in NYC.  Additional performances will be on Sunday December 2, Monday December 3 and Sunday December 9, 2012. All performances will be at 10:30 PM.

Reid’s new show, “Drop Me Off In Harlem”is an evening of club-hopping to the music of Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington and Andy Raza through the elegant nightclubs and working class speakeasies that made uptown gay and delightful, however dull and depressing downtown Manhattan could be.

Stephen Holden of The New York Times (THE NEW YORK TIMES people!) said of Reid, “the wistfulness of his tone and the smoothness of his delivery are all his own… a soulful crooner with resemblances to the young Bobby Short”

T. Oliver’s Broadway shows include some of the Great White Way’s biggest, splashiest hit musicals: “Kiss Me Kate”, “Chicago”, “Follies,” “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, “Never Gonna Dance”, “La Cage Aux Folles”, “The Wedding Singer”, “Damn Yankees”, “Mary Poppins”, “Sister Act” and the upcoming “Cotton Club Parade”.

The music charge for the show is $20 with a one drink minimum.

For reservations, please call 212-339-4095.

For more information or the order online, visit www.feinsteinsattheregency.com. Feinstein’s at the Loews Regency is located at 540 Park Avenue @ 61st Street, New York, NY 10021

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Empire State Building to go red or blue as election results are determined

As CNN projects winners in each state, the Empire State Building will be exclusively displaying the race to 270 electoral votes with a vertical LED illuminated “meter” on its spire—blue for President Obama, and red for former Governor Romney.

And when CNN projects a winner in the presidential election, the full spire and upper floors change colors to either red or blue.

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NYC: Health warning – meningitis alert

Via press release: The NYC Health Department is currently investigating a cluster of invasive meningococcal disease, commonly known as meningitis, among gay men and men who have sex with men.

Invasive meningococcal disease is a severe bacterial infection that has a high fatality rate.

Within the past four weeks, there have been four cases; one died and one person is in critical care. The cases are spread across several boroughs and among men ages 31 to 42 years old.

Read here for more information.

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New World Trade Center – Time lapse video

In honor of the 11th anniversary of September 11th, EarthCam is premieres this commemorative time-lapse video with cinematic views of the World Trade Center site from multiple webcams.

The movie focuses on the rise of One World Trade Center, New York’s tallest building, and has amazing shots of the entire downtown New York City skyline.

The footage was captured between February 2010 and September 2012.

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NYC AIDS Memorial at St. Vincent’s Hospital Park

The final design appears more casual than the first design (which I loved), but at least it looks like an inviting place to sit and reflect.

The design for the future New York City AIDS Memorial at St. Vincent’s Hospital Park was approved by Manhattan Community Board 2. The coalition will now work to seek approvals from the Department of City Planning and the Landmarks Preservation Commission. We will continue to develop the design as we also manage the capital campaign to raise the funds to build the memorial and ensure that it is beautifully and well-maintained into the future.

(Via Zack Ford)

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Fifth grader prohibited from giving speech on marriage equality

A Queens, New York fifth-grader named Kameron Slade won a class competition and was slated to deliver a speech as part of a school-wide competition at PS 195.

However, because Kameron’s speech was to be about same-sex marriage, his principal told him he would be removed from the contest if he did not choose a different topic. Here are some excerpts from Kameron’s “inappropriate” speech:

SLADE: Some people are for same-gender marriage, while others are against it. Like President Obama, I believe that all people should have the right to marry whoever they want. Marriage is about love, support, and commitment. So who are we to judge? If we judge people like this, this is a form of prejudice. We must learn to accept all differences.[…]

My mom is very open to me about same-gender marriage. However, some adults may feel uncomfortable and think it’s inappropriate to talk about this to children. I think adults must realize that as children get older, they become aware of these mature issues that are going on in the world. If children read or watch the news, they can learn about things like same-gender marriage, so what’s the point in trying to hide it?

In conclusion, I hope that everyone understands how important it is to respect everyone for who they are. Same-gender marriage is becoming more popular. I believe that same-gender marriage should be accepted worldwide and that parents and teachers should start to discuss these issues without shame to their children.

Some parents agreed with the principal that the topic was an “adult conversation” that didn’t belong in school, but Kameron’s own speech addresses this hollow complaint. In addition to the fact that young people can easily learn about this issue from the President of the United States, many are bound to encounter same-sex families among their friends and classmates. To censor such topics is an attempt to erase gay and lesbian people from communities entirely.

Numerous studies have found that schools are safer for LGBT students when curricula are LGBT-inclusive. Young Slade should be applauded for doing for his peers what his school community refuses to do. Supposedly, he will have the opportunity to give this speech in some sort of different assembly, but in the meantime, he is preparing a speech for the competition about preventing animal cruelty.

(Via ThinkProgress)

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NYC budget cuts will eliminate 160 youth shelter beds

Carl Siciliano
Carl Siciliano

NYC Mayor Bloomberg’s newly released budget cuts $7 million to the city’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Services, and plan to eliminate 160 youth shelter beds.

Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center, NYC’s largest LGBT homeless youth shelter, released a statement this morning:

“Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to throw 160 homeless children out of their shelter beds and into the streets is cruel, reckless and contemptible. These cuts create an even bigger crisis for the LGBT teens who are thrown out of their homes and forced to endure homelessness on the streets of our city. The LGBT community needs and demands political leaders who will protect our children. Instead, Mayor Bloomberg has proposed eliminating more than half of their shelter beds. The Ali Forney Center, and all those who work with and care about LGBT homeless youth, will not be silent in the face of this decision, which offends us as a community and needlessly puts our young people in harm’s way.”
 

According to the Center:

Today’s cuts come in spite of the fact that the need for youth shelter beds continues to grow; in 2011 alone, the waiting list for AFC’s 77 shelter beds grew to 199 youths – an increase of 40 percent over the prior year.  In total, the city only funds 250 shelter beds, for a population of 4,000 homeless youth.   In response to this crisis, the Ali Forney Center and a number of allied LGBT organizations have launched the Campaign for Youth Shelter.  This initiative calls on New York City and State to back an additional $3 million in annual funding, set aside to create 100 new shelter beds every year.  The Campaign today calls for the city to raise its Runaway and Homeless Youth Services budget from the just-announced $5 million to $13.5 million, both revoking today’s cuts and including the city’s half of the annual $3 million.
(source)
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New gay hotel to open in Times Square: Out NYC

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New York City is set to welcome its first gay hotel.

The new complex on West 42nd Street, “Out NYC,” bills itself as a “place for gays and their friends and family to have a good time, to stay, play, eat, relax and revive,” according to owner Ian Reisner.

Reisner told 1010 WINS’ Al Jones that he prefers not to call the new place a gay hotel, but rather a straight-friendly hotel catering to the gay lifestyle.

“We’re built as a gay-oriented hotel, where straight friends and family can come in and enjoy themselves as well,” Reisner said.

Rooms at the mid-town Manhattan hotel will go for between $200-300 per night and come complete with nightclub, bar, cafe, restaurant and a 5,000 foot wellness center.

Reisner said the atmosphere at the “urban resort” will “feel almost like a cruise ship” for “everyone to enjoy and relax.”