Medina were among a few hundred people who gathered in a sweltering Crotona Park for a daylong festival of drag performances, speeches from elected officials and tables providing free condoms and H.I.V. “For people in my community, there’s no place for us now.” “It was like I was by myself, because I didn’t know anybody,” Ms. She said she “felt betrayed” by the closing. She had just come out as gay, and went there for support after being rejected by her family.
Soraya Medina, 42, discovered the center four months before it closed. “Even if you didn’t use the center, just knowing it existed gave you a sense of home.” “It’s like a part of me doesn’t exist anymore,” said Fabio Cotza, 46, a clinical social worker who was a regular there. When its gay and lesbian center closed down last year, after 16 years, it left a hole in the daily lives of many in the borough. The Bronx has 1.4 million residents and no full-time gay bar.