Dromm celebrates LGBTQ pride and 50th anniversary of Stonewall

By Victoria Merlino

Councilmember Daniel Dromm hosted an LGBTQ pride celebration and honored the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion at the Queens Center Mall on Monday.

Dromm, who represents Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, recognized three individuals at the event who have contributed to the LGBTQ rights movement: New York State Sen. Tom Duane, the first openly HIV positive and the first openly gay man elected to pubic office in New York; Lindsey Duel, director of LGBTQ youth service organization Generation Q and activist and social worker Brian Romero.

Former NY State Senator Thomas "Tom" Duane (standing, far left); top row: LGBTQ activist and social worker Brian Romero, Council Member Daniel Dromm, dance artist Rajeev Singh; bottom row: dance artist Sean Kulsum, vocalist Anthony Wayne, and Generation Q Director Lindsey Duel celebrate LGBT Pride at Dromm's annual event at Queens Center Mall. Photo courtesy of the Office of Daniel Dromm.

"It was a thrill to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion alongside so many LGBTQ leaders at Queens Center Mall," Dromm, who chairs the Council's LGBT Caucus, said in a statement. "This year's honorees have all done so much to drive our movement forward in their own special and unique ways. It was a pleasure to recognize their work publicly."

The Stonewall Rebellion, also known as the Stonewall riots, occurred on June 28, 1969, when police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, and LGBTQ activists fought back and protested.

In the years since, Stonewall has grown as a symbol of resistance and LGBTQ empowerment and is considered a seminal moment in the modern LGBTQ-rights movement.