Vibrant colors were on full display at the last in-person Queens
Pride March in 2019. Photo by Donna Aceto
2 TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JAN. 21 - JAN. 27, 2022
BY JULIA MORO
As of last month, the
Long Island City Hunter’s
Point South Park is home to
the Heart Monument, which
pays tribute to healthcare
heroes who are serving
their community during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The large red stainless
steel heart created by worldrenowned
Italian sculptor
Sergio Furnari was last installed
on the southeast corner
of Central Park in late
October 2021. NYC Parks
moved the monument to
Hunters Point South Park
in early December 2021, and
will be available for viewing
through February 2022.
Along the East River,
onlookers can see the panoramic
view of the city behind
the universal symbol
of love.
“This Sergio Furnari
masterpiece reminds us of
what COVID has inscribed
in our hearts: the love for
those we lost, the gratitude
for those who aided us in our
darkest hours, and the comfort
of a bond forged with
our neighbors as we came
together to face a once-in-alifetime
challenge,” said coordinator
Laurie Sheppard
in a statement.
Though the city continues
to struggle with
the spread of COVID-19,
it’s come a long way since
March 2020. As of Jan. 8,
Queens became the first
county in New York state
to have 2 million residents
receive at least one dose of
a COVID-19 vaccine, according
to the city’s Health Department.
Annalisa Iadicicco, a humanitarian
mixed media
artist and founder of The
Blue Bus Project, is helping
the NYC Parks Department
spread this message of love
through the Heart Monument
by moving the sculpture
to different locations
across New York City.
The Blue Bus Project is a
nonprofit arts organization
that operates out of a refurbished
school bus, bringing
art-centric programs to
underserved communities
throughout the city. During
the height of the pandemic
in 2020, Iadicicco drove the
bus throughout the city to
share messages of hope in
different New York neighborhoods.
To support the Blue
Bus Project, visit theblue
busproject.org/donate.
BY MATT TRACY
The LGBT Network, a nonprofit
organization in Queens
and Long Island, has assumed
leadership of the annual
Queens Pride festivities under
a new name: “The New Queens
Pride.”
The LGBT Network, which
has community centers
perched in Long Island and
Queens, issued an announcement
on Jan. 11 explaining
that it would be spearheading
Queens Pride festivities
beginning this year to commemorate
the 30th anniversary
of Pride in the borough.
The organization rolled out
a new Community Advisory
Council chaired by former
Queens Council member Daniel
Dromm, who co-founded
Queens Pride in 1992.
“We are beyond excited
and proud to be working with
Danny and the many community
leaders and advocates to
bring pride back to the largest
borough in NYC and the
most diverse urban area in the
entire world,” LGBT Network
CEO David Kilmnick said in a
statement.
The new organizers are
planning an in-person Pride
event in Jackson Heights on
June 5, which they say will
be “the largest celebration in
the 30-year history of Queens
Pride.” It is unclear, however,
how the pandemic will look
five months from now.
The LGBT Network has
opened registration for those
who would like to participate
in the march, reserve booths
at the festival, secure sponsorships
or volunteer.
Queens Pride festivities
have been scaled down since
the emergence of the coronavirus
pandemic. After a very
large turnout for the Queens
Pride March in 2019, the 2020
event was held virtually and
the pandemic continued to
hamper events into 2021 as
COVID-19 cases ticked up yet
again last summer.
A member of the existing
Queens Pride organization
told Gay City News that they
are excited about the future
and the continuance of the annual
parade. In a written statement,
Dromm also stressed
the importance of keeping the
annual event alive.
“The Queens Pride Parade
and Festival is integral to all
other LGBTQ+ organizing in
the borough. It must continue,”
Dromm said. “As Queens
Pride’s founder, I am proud to
work with the LGBT Network
and David Kilmnick to bring
back Pride bigger and better
than ever before. The last two
years without Queens Pride
have been difficult but the future
looks bright.”
When asked to elaborate
on the reasoning behind the
change in leadership, Kilmnick
echoed Dromm’s point
about the importance of securing
the future of Queens Pride.
“A diverse representation
of LGBTQ leaders and activists,
including former board
members and the founder of
the prior Queens Pride organization,
have come together to
ensure the 30th Anniversary
of Queens Pride takes place,”
Kilmnick told Gay City News.
The organization that led
Queens Pride until this point
had a board complete with two
co-chairs, a treasurer, secretary
and member-at-large. Only one
of those members — treasurer
Bill Meehan — is listed as a
member of the new 15-member
Community Advisory Council
on the LGBT Network’s website.
The other members of
the Community Advisory
Council are Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards,
State Assembly member Catalina
Cruz, Council members
Shekar Krishnan and Lynn
Schulman, Lesbian and Gay
Democratic Club of Queens
president Michael Mallon, District
Leader Melissa Sklarz,
Friend’s Tavern owners Eddie
Valentin and Casimiro Villa,
Caribbean Equality Project
Executive Director Mohamed
Q. Amin, AIDS Center of
Queens County executive director
Rosemary Lopez, former
Queens Pride co-chair
Andrew Ronan, activist Brendan
Fay, and Richard Lieberman,
who is the director of the
LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
at CUNY/LGCC.
“The voices of the Community
Advisory Council will truly
reflect that the New Queens
Pride reflects the world’s most
diverse borough that it embodies,
and that the celebration is
elevated for a community that
has waited nearly three years
for it to take place,” Kilmnick
added.
The Heart Monument will be on display at Hunters Point South
Park in Long Island City through February 2022.
Photo courtesy of Laurie Sheppard
Heart Monument in Long Island
City honors healthcare workers
LGBT Network claims leadership
of annual Queens Pride festivities
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