The It Gets Better Project is a nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe. It can be a challenging and isolating process — but, the good news is, no one has to do it alone. The National Center for Transgender Equality advocates to change policies and society to increase understanding and acceptance of transgender people.
NCTE envisions a society in which transgender people not only survive, but thrive, with accepting families and communities, full self-determination over their identities and bodies, and freedom from disrespect, discrimination and violence.
For this vision to become a reality, we must also create equity, equal opportunity, safety, health, and economic well-being for all people over their entire lifetimes. Through their league, their events and most importantly their members, they also seek to foster and augment the self-respect of all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and to promote respect and understanding from the larger community. While particular emphasis is placed on these specific goals, it is a fundamental principle of NGFFL that all activities, social and athletic, are conducted to be inclusive in nature and that no individual shall be excluded from participating on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political beliefs, athletic ability, physical challenge, HIV status or gender identity.
Teams representing these leagues participate in the national tournament titled Gay Bowl, hosted every Columbus Day Weekend in a different member city. The NGPA is the largest organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender aviation professionals and enthusiasts from around the world.
The National LGBT Health Education Center provides educational programs, resources, and consultation to health care organizations with the goal of optimizing quality, cost-effective health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT people.
The Lives Lost to Coronavirus
They provide a space for queer and trans people of color committed to improving mental health for our communities. Established in through a federal grant from the U. The center is led by SAGE, in collaboration with 18 leading organizations from around the country. According to the U.
Census Bureau estimates, there are 2,, people up from 2. There are 1,, housing units, with an owner-occupancy rate of In Brooklyn, the population was spread out to 7.
Brooklyn's lesbian community is the largest out of all of the New York City boroughs. Brooklyn has a high degree of linguistic diversity. As of , In total, Brooklyn's neighborhoods are dynamic in ethnic composition. For example, during the early to midth century, Brownsville had a majority of Jewish residents; since the s it has been majority African American. Midwood during the early 20th century was filled with ethnic Irish , then filled with Jewish residents for nearly 50 years, and is slowly becoming a Pakistani enclave. Brooklyn's most populous racial group, white, declined from The borough attracts people previously living in other cities in the United States.
Given New York City's role as a crossroads for immigration from around the world, Brooklyn has evolved a globally cosmopolitan ambiance of its own, demonstrating a robust and growing demographic and cultural diversity with respect to metrics including nationality, religion, race, and domiciliary partnership. In , Among the most prominent are listed below:.
Over , Jews , particularly Orthodox and Hasidic Jews , have become concentrated in Borough Park , Williamsburg , and Midwood , where there are many yeshivas , synagogues , and kosher restaurants, as well as many other Jewish businesses.
LGBTQ Groups
Over , Chinese Americans live throughout the southern parts of Brooklyn, primarily concentrated in Sunset Park , Bensonhurst , Gravesend and Homecrest. The largest concentration is in Sunset Park along 8th Avenue, which has become known for its Chinese culture since the opening of the now-defunct Winley Supermarket in spurred initial settlement in the area. Many Chinese restaurants can be found throughout Sunset Park, and the area hosts a popular Chinese New Year celebration. Brooklyn's African American and Caribbean communities are spread throughout much of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn is home to the largest community of West Indians outside of the Caribbean. Brooklyn has an annual, celebrated Carnival in the tradition of pre-Lenten celebrations in the islands. The Brooklyn Academy of Music also holds the DanceAfrica festival in late May, featuring street vendors and dance performances showcasing food and culture from all parts of Africa. Bushwick is the largest hub of Brooklyn's Latino American community.
Brooklyn's main Latino groups are Puerto Ricans, Mexicans , Dominicans, and Panamanians ; they are spread out throughout the borough. Mexicans now predominate alongside Chinese immigrants in Sunset Park, although remnants of the neighborhood's once-substantial postwar Puerto Rican and Dominican communities continue to reside below 39th Street. A Panamanian enclave exists in Crown Heights.
Brooklyn is also home to many Russians and Ukrainians , who are mainly concentrated in the areas of Brighton Beach and Sheepshead Bay. Originally these communities were mostly Jewish; however, in more recent years, the non-Jewish Russian and Ukrainian communities of Brighton Beach have grown, and the area now reflects diverse aspects of Russian and Ukrainian culture.
Brooklyn's Polish are historically concentrated in Greenpoint , home to Little Poland. Other longstanding settlements in Borough Park and Sunset Park have endured, while more recent immigrants are scattered throughout the southern parts of Brooklyn alongside the Russian American community.
Despite widespread migration to Staten Island and more suburban areas in metropolitan New York throughout the postwar era, smaller concentrations of Italian Americans continue to reside in the neighborhoods of Bensonhurst , Dyker Heights , Bay Ridge , Bath Beach and Gravesend. Less perceptible remnants of older communities have persisted in Cobble Hill and Carroll Gardens , where the homes of the remaining Italian Americans can often be contrasted with more recent upper middle class residents through the display of small Madonna statues, the retention of plastic-metal stoop awnings and the use of Formstone in house cladding.
All of the aforementioned neighborhoods have retained Italian restaurants, bakeries, delicatessens, pizzerias, cafes and social clubs. Today, Arab Americans and Pakistani Americans along with other Muslim communities have moved into the southwest portion of Brooklyn, particularly to Bay Ridge , where there are many Middle Eastern restaurants, hookah lounges, halal shops, Islamic shops, and mosques.
Earlier, the area was known predominantly for its Irish, Norwegian, and Scottish populations. Beginning in the early 20th century, Syrian and Lebanese businesses, mosques, and restaurants were concentrated on Atlantic Avenue west of Flatbush Avenue in Boerum Hill ; more recently, this area has evolved into a Yemeni commercial district.
Third-, fourth- and fifth-generation Irish Americans can be found throughout Brooklyn, with moderate concentrations [ clarification needed ] enduring in the neighborhoods of Windsor Terrace , Park Slope , Bay Ridge , Marine Park and Gerritsen Beach. Historical communities also existed in Vinegar Hill and other waterfront industrial neighborhoods, such as Greenpoint and Sunset Park. Paralleling the Italian American community, many moved to Staten Island and suburban areas in the postwar era. Those that stayed engendered close-knit, stable working-to-middle class communities through employment in the civil service especially in law enforcement, transportation, and the New York City Fire Department and the building and construction trades, while others were subsumed by the professional-managerial class and largely shed the Irish American community's distinct cultural traditions including continued worship in the Catholic Church and other social activities, such as Irish stepdance and frequenting Irish American bars.
Brooklyn's Greek Americans live throughout the borough, especially in Bay Ridge and adjacent areas where there is a noticeable cluster of Hellenic-focused schools and cultural institutions, with many businesses concentrated there and in Downtown Brooklyn near Atlantic Avenue.
Chairman Jerrold Nadler | U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee
Greek-owned diners are also found throughout the borough. Brooklyn is home to a large and growing number of same-sex couples. Same-sex marriages in New York were legalized on June 24, and were authorized to take place beginning 30 days thereafter. Brooklyn Liberation March, the largest transgender-rights demonstration in LGBTQ history, took place on June 14, stretching from Grand Army Plaza to Fort Greene , focused on supporting Black transgender lives, drawing an estimated 15, to 20, participants.
However, rents and costs of living have since increased dramatically in these same neighborhoods, forcing artists to move to somewhat less expensive neighborhoods in Brooklyn or across Upper New York Bay to locales in New Jersey, such as Jersey City or Hoboken. Since consolidation with New York City in , Brooklyn has been governed by the New York City Charter that provides for a "strong" mayor—council system.
The centralized government of New York City is responsible for public education , correctional institutions, public safety, recreational facilities, sanitation, water supply, and welfare services. On the other hand, the Brooklyn Public Library is an independent nonprofit organization partially funded by the government of New York City, but also by the government of New York State , the U.
The office of Borough President was created in the consolidation of to balance centralization with the local authority. Each borough president had a powerful administrative role derived from having a vote on the New York City Board of Estimate , which was responsible for creating and approving the city's budget and proposals for land use.
In , the Supreme Court of the United States declared the Board of Estimate unconstitutional because Brooklyn, the most populous borough, had no greater effective representation on the Board than Staten Island, the least populous borough; it was a violation of the high court's "one man, one vote" reading of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Since , the Borough President has acted as an advocate for the borough at the mayoral agencies, the City Council, the New York state government, and corporations. Adams replaced popular Borough President Marty Markowitz , also a Democrat , who partially used his office to promote tourism and new development for Brooklyn. Democrats hold most public offices, and the borough is very liberal.
Defending Civil Liberties
As of November , Each of the city's five counties coterminous with each borough has its own criminal court system and District Attorney , the chief public prosecutor who is directly elected by popular vote. Thompson following his death in October Brooklyn has 18 of the city's 59 community districts, each served by an unpaid Community Board with advisory powers under the city's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure.
Each board has a paid district manager who acts as an interlocutor with city agencies. As is the case with sister boroughs Manhattan and the Bronx, Brooklyn has not voted for a Republican in a national presidential election since Calvin Coolidge in In the presidential election , Democrat Barack Obama received In , Barack Obama increased his Democratic margin of victory in the borough, dominating Brooklyn with One congressional district lies entirely within the borough. Brooklyn's job market is driven by three main factors: the performance of the national and city economy, population flows and the borough's position as a convenient back office for New York's businesses.
Forty-four percent of Brooklyn's employed population, or , people, work in the borough; more than half of the borough's residents work outside its boundaries.
Governance
As a result, economic conditions in Manhattan are important to the borough's jobseekers. Strong international immigration to Brooklyn generates jobs in services, retailing and construction. Since the late 20th century, Brooklyn has benefited from a steady influx of financial back office operations from Manhattan, the rapid growth of a high-tech and entertainment economy in DUMBO , and strong growth in support services such as accounting, personal supply agencies, and computer services firms.
Jobs in the borough have traditionally been concentrated in manufacturing, but since , Brooklyn has shifted from a manufacturing-based to a service-based economy. In , , Brooklyn residents worked in the services sector, while 27, worked in manufacturing. Although manufacturing has declined, a substantial base has remained in apparel and niche manufacturing concerns such as furniture, fabricated metals, and food products.