WorldPride Welcome Center Opens In The West Village

WEST VILLAGE, NY — The New York State WorldPride Welcome Center opened Saturday in the West Village at the start of LGBTQ Pride month in New York.

The welcome center opened Saturday at 112 Christopher St. a few blocks from Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 Stonewall riots paved the way for the LGBTQ rights movement.

As the city readies itself for the United States' first WorldPride celebration alongside the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, the welcome center highlights LGBTQ destinations, events coinciding with WorldPride, travel kiosks for tourists and a "selfie wall" with the "I LOVE NY LGBT" logo. It also features a timeline of New York's LGBTQ movement — from the 1950s through 2010s, when Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Marriage Equality Act.

"As millions of people visit our state this June, the WorldPride Welcome Center will highlight the roots and accomplishments of the LGBTQ rights movement in New York and promote the state as a safe, welcoming destination with no place for hate," Cuomo said in a statement.

Some four million visitors are expected to visit New York City this month.

The welcome center was created in partnership with NYC Pride/Heritage of Pride and The LGBT Community Center to promote tourism and travel for Pride month.

"50 years ago, the Stonewall Uprising in Greenwich Village sparked a movement for LGBTQ rights that spread throughout the world, so it's fitting that this year's WorldPride is in New York," City Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement. "I'm proud that this welcome center, which is located blocks from the Stonewall Inn and in my Council district, will help visitors for WorldPride navigate Greenwich Village and all the wonders of New York."

Here's a guide to WorldPride 2019 in New York.