It shows us how far we’ve come that the police and authorities do as much as they can to help us-and have more and more out LGBT officers in their ranks.”Ĭommissioner Bratton said it was his first visit to the LGBT Center. “It actually makes me feel safe, and very happy and thankful that the NYPD does such a great job of protecting us. The number of police, armed at that, on the March and around LGBT venues, did not alarm Studinski.
Anyone who has been through the coming out process knows that having that feeling of comfort and belonging is empowering.” “When you leave the event on Sunday, the goal is not just to feel great that day, but also to wake up on Monday morning and still having that feeling of pride, and have more of it every year.
We particularly want to reach out to trans, gender-non-conforming, and bisexual people, who are often marginalized, and suffer greater violence and discrimination. There’s no option there.” He hopes the mood on the March is positive: “It’s always someone’s first time, and means a lot to people because of that. “We will be remembering lost friends, and looking forward,” said Studinski. The Pride rally on Friday night and the March on Sunday will host Barbara Poma, the owner of Pulse nightclub, and Neema Bahrami, the club’s entertainment manager as “guests of honor.” Studinski said, for all those LGBT people who thought they were “over” Pride, the events of Orlando should act as a spur to support the March: “Having that togetherness and comfort is a really important reaction to counter some of those concerns.” The important thing is to come together as a group, and march with our allies.” But the important thing is that for the 49 people lost in Orlando, and to others in acts of violence and hate crime here and across the world, the last thing we should be doing is hiding. Heritage of Pride co-chair David Studinski told The Daily Beast: “I realize lots of people may be feeling worried and anxious. The anti-terror hotline, Gomez added-if anyone say anything suspicious-is 888-NYCSAFE.
Helicopters will monitor rooftops there will also be officers on rooftops looking down on to the crowds. There will, said Gomez, be heavy weapons teams, counter-terrorism personnel, and anti-radiation devices deployed. There would also be officers in civilian clothes mixing in with the crowds, to detect any suspicious behavior and activity. On Sunday, the policing presence-both visible and not-will be massive.Ĭhief of Patrol Carlos Gomez said there would be thousands of uniformed officers along the March route from Midtown through to Greenwich Village. Trans figureheads Jazz Jennings and Cecilia Chung, and Syrian refugee turned activist Subhi Nahas, will be the March’s grand marshals, intending to symbolize the day’s theme of “Equality Needs You.” “We have the most vibrant LGBT community in the world in this city,” said de Blasio. This year, many more are expected to celebrate Pride. Twenty-thousand attendees are expected to be on 85 floats last year 1.6 million watched. Yet, as de Blasio said, the Pride parade is huge, a day of celebration, with this year a mood perhaps of defiance and politics beating at its heart too.