On Saturday, April 26, 171st Street between 33rd and 35th Avenues in Flushing, Queens, will be named “Jeanne, Jules, Morty Manford PFLAG Way” in honor of PFLAG and its founding family. All PFLAG supporters are invited to a naming ceremony at 12:30 p.m. co-sponsored by City Council Members Daniel Dromm and Paul Vallone.
The former Manford family home on 171st Street, Flushing (Photo by David W. Dunlap/The New York Times)
PFLAG NYC is deeply honored that the PFLAG movement is being recognized in the street name along with Jeanne, Jules and Morty Manford. The Manford family home was a safe space and shelter for many LGBT young people for 30 years, so it is a fitting tribute that the block on which it stands will be named for the family. The New York Times collected moving recollections about the home last year in an article, “How a Queens Home Became a Cradle of the Gay Rights Movement.”
The idea for PFLAG began in 1972 when Jeanne Manford marched with her son, Morty, in New York’s Christopher Street Liberation Day March, the precursor to today’s LGBT Pride March. She became the first parent to publicly march in support of a gay child.
Responding to pleas from many gay and lesbian people for help with their own families, Jeanne and her husband, Jules, together with a small group of other parents formed Parents of Gays the next year. The first formal meeting took place on March 26, 1973 at the Metropolitan-Duane Methodist Church in Greenwich Village (now the Church of the Village). Approximately 20 people attended. That meeting marks the beginning of a nationwide movement of parents and families which became PFLAG. PFLAG NYC is the direct descendant of that first group that met in the Village 41 years ago.
Jeanne and Jules’ son, Morty, was not only deeply involved in his parents’ group, but also was a gay rights pioneer as a founding member of the Gay Activists Alliance and campaigned for gay rights until his death from AIDS in 1992.
Join Us for the Street Naming Ceremony
City Council Member Daniel Dromm, who helped found PFLAG Queens with Jeanne Manford, is responsible for bringing this honorary street naming to fruition, working with PFLAG NYC, other community groups, Community Board 7, and Council Member Vallone, in whose district the street lies. The street naming was made official in one of the last pieces of legislation signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg at the end of last year.
Council Member Dromm and Council Member Vallone will host a celebration of the Manford family and PFLAG at the official co-naming ceremony. Representatives of the Manford family will be present and PFLAG NYC hopes for a large turnout of supporters.
If you would like to join us, please RSVP to PFLAG NYC by email to info@pflagnyc.org. Transportation options can be found below.
Official Street Co-Naming of “Jeanne, Jules, Morty Manford PFLAG Way”
Saturday, April 26, 2014 – 12:30 p.m.
Corner of 35th Avenue & 171st Street
Flushing, Queens
Transportation Options
The former Manford family home and the site of the street-naming ceremony can be reached by subway, bus, or LIRR. Here are three ways to get there:
LIRR
The most direct route is via & Fares”>Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to Auburndale Station. The ceremony site is a 10 minute walk from the station. The trip to Auburndale from Penn Station takes 26 minutes. Trains convenient for the ceremony depart Penn Station at 11:18 and 11:48 a.m. on Saturday.
7 Train & Bus
Take the 7 train bound for Queens and get off at the last stop, Main Street-Flushing. Exit the station and walk to 39th Ave. & 138th St. Take the Q28 bus towards “Bay Terrace Bell Blvd.” for approximately 15 minutes to Crocheron Ave. & 171st St.
F Train & Bus
Take the F train to 179th St.-Jamaica station. Exit the station and walk to Hillside Ave. & 179th St. Take the Q76 bus towards “College Point 20th Ave. via Francis Lewis Blvd.” for approximately 25 minutes to Francis Lewis Blvd. & 33rd Ave.