Our Story

In 1996, several activists in Queens decided to do something about the egregious lack of services and resources for LGBT folks in their neighborhood; they incorporated as the Queens Lesbian & Gay Community Center. In January 1997, the Board of Directors was established and began the process of creating a community center, naming the center Queens Pride House. Queens Borough President Claire Shulman generously provided Queens Pride House with an office in Queens Borough Hall, where the organization was located until May 2001.

In May 2001, Queens Pride House proudly opened its own space in the heart of Western Queens. The Board hoped that moving to Woodside would improve the organization’s ability to serve as a resource center for the diverse LGBT communities. Five years later, the community center had flourished and was outgrowing its spot on Woodside Avenue.

In July 2006, QPH entered into a new collaborative venture in Jackson Heights called the Diversity Center of Queens. The Diversity Center of Queens is made up of three organizations: The Humanist Center, Andolan—Organizing South Asian Workers, and Queens Pride House. Through this center, we aim to forge an awareness of our common goal, which is to create a community free of discrimination, whether it is based upon nationality, race, immigration status, sexual orientation, or gender. With our strong ideals and committed organizational partners, Queens Pride House packed up the Woodside office and headed deeper into the heart of Queens.
Since September 2006, QPH has been growing even more rapidly. At Diversity Center, QPH is more centrally located to public transportation and enjoys enhanced community ties which draws more participants to our activities and increases the possibilities for developing innovative programming.

Over the past 10 years, QPH has directly impacted the lives of thousands of community members, as well as business & educational institutions, health care institutions, community based organizations, and political and civic leaders. Some of our accomplishments include:

• Providing over 3,000 health referrals since 2001.
• Heightening our community’s awareness about public health issues by distributing over 5,000 pamphlets since 2002.
• Involving over 4,000 participants in our educational & social events since 2002.
• Organizing the wildly popular Annual Queens Queer Cultural Festival for the past 5 years.
• Successfully advocating for additional resources for LGBT programs from NYC & NYS elected officials in 2006.