Rockland Pride Center To Hold Rally In Response To Vandalism

NYACK, NY — In light of the vandalism found Wednesday at the Rockland County Pride Center on Franklin Street, center officials and supporters are planning a rally at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The graffiti was found Wednesday morning, spray-painted in blue on the Pride Center’s white wall, just underneath banners that say, “Fight for Our Future,” along with the words, “Rockland County Pride," according to Nyack Mayor Don Hammond. He said the incident was reported to the Town of Orangetown Police Department.

“Nyack is a safe space for everyone, and the Village of Nyack is proud to call the Pride Center a neighbor,” Hammond said. “We condemn this act of hate and stand together in strong support of our LGBTQ+ community.”

In a statement, the board of directors of the center said:

Remember when men jokingly said “no homo” to prevent their kindness from being mistaken for queerness? This morning, staff discovered someone had graffitied that phrase on the front of the Pride Center. Incidents of hateful graffiti, threats, and intimidation are rising at LGBTQ+ community centers around the country.

These are the inevitable expression of a political moment charged with violence and hatred of LGBTQ+ people. We’ve already seen what happens when elected officials embolden individuals to take action to 'protect children.' We saw it at Club Q in Colorado Springs. We saw it when Boston Children’s Hospital received bomb threats for providing healthcare to LGBTQ+ youth and their families. We see it locally in threats against the Pride Center for working with schools.

No matter what happens: We’re here. We’re queer. Period. Nothing will change the reality that we are your teachers, neighbors, doctors, and pastors. We are your children whether you choose to see us or not. To hate us is to hate a part of yourself.

It's is the second time in two months that the Pride Center has been the target of local anti-LGBTQ+ activists.

In November, the Pride Center issued a statement in response to the shooting at Club Q. In this emailed statement, executive director Brooke Malloy wrote, "When those in elected positions locally, nationally, and on school boards, engage in anti-LGBTQ+ propaganda ... YOUR ACTIONS LED TO VIOLENCE AGAINST THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY."

The center's board issued a statement a week later, saying "Local bad actors are now threatening Brooke Malloy personally, demanding an apology for the statement, parroting the lies fueled by radical national groups that view working with LGBTQ+ youth as 'grooming,' and a demand that schools distance themselves from her and the Pride Center."

At that time, a call for the Nyack school district "to step away from its close relationship with Brooke Malloy and the Pride Center of Rockland County having so much influence on our Board and its policies" was made on Facebook by resident Antonia Sambevski, who ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the school board last spring on a culture-wars platform. Sambevski said that Malloy blamed the shooting on all "those who don’t agree with the trans agenda being pushed in schools" — specifically "on parents who don't want pornographic books in our school libraries, Drag queens reading to and performing for students or our children being forced to choose pronouns before they even understand how to write a sentence."

She demanded Malloy apologize for the Club Q shooting statement in light of the news that the shooter "came from 'her' own community."

In her November post, Sambevski also called Malloy an instrument of hate and intolerance and said Malloy's positions stood in the way of finding any common ground.

Two Rockland County legislators condemned the vandalism.

"This is completely unacceptable language and behavior and like all hate speech, I condemn it in the strongest way possible,” Rockland County Legislature Chairman Jay Hood Jr. said in a written statement. "It is hard to see that in 2023, there are still bullies and haters out there who think nothing of spewing such horrible language toward other people. It is wrong and I want everyone who works or uses the services at the Pride Center to know that I stand with them and against the animosity someone has hatefully put on display."

Rockland County Legislator Harriet Cornell, who represents Nyack, also condemned the use of the slur.

"The people who work at the Rockland Pride Center, and who use its vital services and attend its wonderful events, are our friends and neighbors and they do not deserve to be attacked with hateful words,” Cornell said. “I denounce this horrible action, which not only upsets but frightens people – gay and straight - and I stand against this repulsive behavior.”

Here are the details about the rally:

• WHAT: Stand with Pride: ‘We’re Here’ Rally
• WHEN: 3 p.m. Jan. 15
• WHERE: in front of the Pride Center, 28 S. Franklin St., Nyack, NY

SEE ALSO: Pride Center Vandalized In Nyack