Queens LGBT Center Opens In Long Island City

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS -- A new LGBT center opened its doors in Long Island City, bringing with it a safe space, counseling services, HIV testing and more to the Queens LGBT community.

The Queens LGBT Community Center - "Q Center" for short - hosted its grand opening on Thursday. The center, at 37-18 Northern Blvd., is part of a larger group called The LGBT Network, which launched 25 years ago to serve the LGBT community of Long Island and Queens.

The Long Island City center is the network's first in Queens, though it operates three other Long Island locations in Woodbury, Bay Shore and the Hamptons.

According to its website, the Q Center will serve all ages, offering resources like HIV/STI prevention, senior services, CARE counseling and support groups. In another program, the Safe Schools Initiative, the center will work with local schools to establish gay-straight alliance clubs and offer educational workshops for students and faculty.

Visitors can get free on-site HIV tests at the center starting in March, along with help enrolling for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act.

The Q Center also recently partnered up to protect the LGBT community against hate crimes in a program with the NYPD and Queens County District Attorney.

Representatives from the LGBT Network and the Q Center did not immediately return requests for comment.