New York City Glbt Travelers

New York is one of America’s most tolerant and welcoming cities, with large, visible GLBT populations, which are hardly confined to Chelsea and Greenwich Village. As everywhere, however, GLBT travelers should trust their instincts and exercise caution, particularly when in more conservative areas of the outer boroughs. For general information, the Spartacus International Gay Guide 2008 is a good place to start. Listed below are contact organizations, mail-order catalogs, and publishers that offer materials addressing some specific concerns. Out and About (www.planetout.com) offers a weekly newsletter addressing travel concerns and a comprehensive site addressing gay travel concerns. The online newspaper 365gay.com also has a travel section (www.365gay.com/travel/travelchannel.htm).

Gay’s the Word, 66 Marchmont St., London WC1N 1AB, UK (☎+44 20 7278 7654; http://freespace.virgin.net/gays.theword). The largest gay and lesbian bookshop in the UK, with both fiction and non-fiction titles. Mail-order service available.
Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St., Philadelphia, USA (☎+1-215-923-2960; www.queerbooks.com). An international lesbian and gay bookstore with mail-order service (carries many of the publications listed below).
International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), Avenue des Villas 34, 1060 Brussels, Belgium (☎+32 2 502 2471; www.ilga.org). Provides political information, such as homosexuality laws of individual countries.

Additional Resources: Glbt
Spartacus Internation Gay Guide 2008. Bruno Gmunder Verlag (US$22).
Damron Men’s Travel Guide, Damron Road Atlas, Damron Accommodations Guide, Damron City Guide, and Damron Women’s Traveller. Damron Travel Guides (US$18-24). For info, call ☎800-462-6654 or visit www.damron.com.
The Gay Vacation Guide: The Best Trips and How to Plan Them, by Mark Chesnut. Kensington Books (US$15).
Gayellow Pages USA/Canada, by Frances Green. Gayellow Pages (US$20). They also publish regional editions. Visit Gayellow pages online at http://gayellowpages.com.

New York City has a plethora of publications dedicated to the queer community. Gay City News is the primary weekly newspaper for the local GLBT population (www.gaycitynews.com). HomoXtra (www.hx.com) and Next both have listings of nightlife and activities, and are available free at gay hangouts around the city. Go NYC promises to be a “cultural roadmap for the city girl.” The free LGNY (no, that’s not Let’s Go NY, but Lesbian-Gay NY ) and the New York Blade News are community broadsheets and are distributed throughout the boroughs. Free copies of MetroSource (www.metrosource.com), a GLBT-oriented magazine with a wider scope including movie reviews, travel, and national news, can be found around Chelsea. The nationally distributed Advocate magazine (www.advocate.com) has New York articles in its travel section; also check out the Village Voice (www.villagevoice.com) for events, services, and occasional feature articles of interest to gays and lesbians. Some websites will give you info that the printed rags don’t reveal. Check out www.pridelinks.com for a host of GLBT-related websites.

Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, 356 W 18th St. (☎212-271-7200; www.callen-lorde.org) between Eighth and Ninth Ave. S A, C, E to 14th St.; L to Eighth Ave. Comprehensive general health services for the queer community and those living with HIV/AIDS, plus counseling and a health resource department. Offers a sliding-scale fee structure for individuals without insurance, and no one is turned away. Open M 8:30am-8pm, Tu 8:30-11:30am and 2:15-8pm, W 12:30-8pm, and Th-F 9am-4:30pm.
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), 119 W 24th St. (☎212-367-1000; Geffen Center ☎617-367-1100, hotline 800-243-7692 or 807-6655; www.gmhc.org), between 6th and 7th Ave. S 1, F to 23rd St. Health care, support groups, physician referrals, and counseling for men and women with HIV and AIDS. Walk-in counseling generally available M-F 11am-8pm, but call to verify hours. GMHC’s Geffen Center provides free confidential (but not anonymous) HIV testing M-Th. Call to schedule an appointment; walk-in testing also available on certain days. Hotline hours M-F 10am-9pm, Sa noon-3pm.
Gay and Lesbian National Hotline (☎888-843-4564; www.glnh.org). Provides email and phone peer counseling about relationships, coming out, and safe sex. Maintains large database of gay-friendly businesses, sports leagues, and other resources for the GLBT traveler. 24hr. recording. Open M-F 4pm-midnight, Sa noon-5pm.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center, 208 W 13th St. (☎212-620-7310; www.gaycenter.org) between 7th and 8th Ave. S A, C, E, to 14th St. The second-largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community center in the world, this enormous resource provides information, referrals services, and space for 300 groups, 27 programs, and over 5,000 visitors each week. Center hours M-F 9am-9pm. Closed holidays. Lobby open daily 9am-11pm and 5-11pm on holidays.

Religious Services

Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, 263 86th St. (☎212-362-3179; www.spsanyc.org), at West End Ave. S 1 to 86th St. Check out the octagonal tower and the angles in the spandrels of this United Methodist church dating from 1897. Su 11am.
Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, 57 Bethune St. (☎212-929-9498; www.cbst.org). S A, C, E to 14th St. This synagogue caters to the NY GLBT communities. Main services F at 7pm at the Church of the Holy Apostle, at 296 9th Ave. and 28th St. Additional services F at 8:30pm at Bethune St. location. Check website for additional service times and locations as well as holiday information.
Metropolitan Community Church of New York, 446 W 36th St. (☎212-629-7440; www.mccny.org) between 9th and 10th St. S A, C, E to 34th St. This Christian church has been serving the queer community for 28 years. Services Su 9am (traditional), 11am (ASL interpreted), and 7pm (praise and worship). W 7pm movie night.