Directory/Civic/GLBTQ Community/Edit history
Edit history
Snapshots recorded when suggested edits were approved.
Version 1— Imported from RockWiki archive — April 9, 2026
Snapshot details
- Name
- GLBTQ Community
- URL slug
- glbtq-community
- Category
- religious
- Description
- The City of Rochester has a very large GLBTQ community. Some trace this back to George Eastman, who never married or had any known girlfriends and was subsequently believed by some to have been gay.1 (Either that or he was likely asexual.) By the 1950s Eastman Kodak was said to have a population of gay male employees who may not have been "out" in the way we think of it, but didn't entirely keep it a secret either. Two such individuals were prominent arts patron Earl Kage and his partner, Hamilton Driggs. 2 A point of pride for the Rochester GLBTQ community is The Empty Closet, founded in 1971 at the University of Rochester by a student group called the Gay Liberation Front. Today, The Empty Closet is the single oldest continuously-published GLBTQ newspapers in the world.3 All back issues of The Empty Closet may be viewed online courtesy of the Genesee Valley Gay Alliance and UR's Rush Rhees Library. In 1973 the Gay Liberation Front voted to split into two organizations: a UR student group (known as the Pride Network since 2002) and a community group called the Genesee Valley Gay Alliance. The GVGA remains active today as the region's premier GLBTQ organization. A full history is available on their website. The GVGA is also responsible for Rochester's annual Pride Week, kicked off by the unfurling of an enormous rainbow flag (some three stories long) in the City Hall atrium. The grand finale is a Pride Parade that is the second largest in New York State. The day after is the Pride Picnic, first held in a backyard in 1972. Today it is held in the Genesee Valley Park and hosts an estimated 3,000 attendees. 4 Another historical note is the 1986 election of Tim Mains to the Rochester City Council, making him New York State’s first openly-gay elected official. Prior thereto he had been active in the Gay Liberation Front and had written for The Empty Closet. Today, NYS Assemblyman Harry Bronson and City Councilman Matt Haag are both openly gay politicians representing Rochester and the surrounding region. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter remains a longtime staunch ally of the GLBTQ Community. According to a 2011 UCLA study, the Rochester area is #6 in the country for numbers of same-sex couples raising children under 18.5 Community profile site ePodunk gives Rochester a "gay index" of 161, with the national average being 100. Much of this population is concentrated in the southeast neighborhoods of Park Avenue, the South Wedge, the Neighborhood of the Arts, and Upper Monroe. On the west side, there is Maplewood, as well as a small tight-knit group in Plymouth-Exchange. Bars and Clubs 140 Alex Bar & Grill Abilene - GLBTQ-friendly Avenue Pub Bachelor Forum Lux - GLBTQ-friendly Tilt Vertex - Goth club with diverse crowd. Businesses GLBTQ-owned and GLBTQ-oriented businesses in Rochester and beyond. Edible's - Gay-owned restaurant. Ellenwood Electric - Sponsors of ImageOut. Equal=Grounds Coffee House & The Pride Connection - GLBT gift shoppe/coffee house offers unique Pride items, books, artwork, films, jewelry. Wi-Fi, coffee drinks, pastries. Clean, comfortable, affordable, courteous knowledgeable staff. Esther Brill Partner Dance Instruction - Dance instruction for same-sex couples. EvenOdd Creative - Local accessories brand designed by lesbian couple. Hedonist Artisan Chocolates and Hedonist Artisan Ice Cream - Gay-owned Hodge Podge Lodge - A Safe Zone Jones Pond Campground Just Juice - Gay-owned Outlandish Videos & Gifts PrintRoc - Gay-owned Renewing-Massage - "Providing accessible massage therapy services for the Rochester LGBT community." Rochester Spa & Body Club - All-male social and fitness club. Thomas Laurence Salon - Gay-owned Vanessa Q Studios - Trans-owned Events Bread & Water Theatre's Rainbow Theater Festival d.Y.k.e. picnic Empire State Pride Agenda Spring Dinner - The second largest annual gathering of GLBTQ folks and their allies outside New York City. ImageOut - Annual GLBT film festival Miss Gay Rochester Pageant Pride Week Red Ball Ride for Pride Rochester Erotic Arts Festival Organizations - Activism and Outreach Civil Rights Front (Not sure if still active. Website not updated since 2010.) Equality Rochester Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network - Rochester chapter. Interfaith Advocates for LGBT People LGBT Friends of Good Government (LBGTFOGG) LGBT Fund for Greater Rochester Lesbians of Rochester & Allies (LORA) Lilac Rainbow Alliance of the Deaf Log Cabin Republicans - Rochester/Finger Lakes chapter. Our Group - Advocacy and outreach for GLBTQ athletes. PFLAG Rochester Pride and Joy Families Rochester NOW - Greater Rochester Chapter of the National Organization for Women Organizations - Colleges OUTspoken - RIT Pride Alliance - MCC Pride Alliance - SUNY Geneseo Pride Network - UR Sexual Orientations United for Liberation (S.O.U.L.) - SUNY Brockport Organizations - Hobbies and Recreational Dykes on Bikes - Rochester chapter Empire Bears - An "organization created to promote social interaction for hirsute men and their male admirers." Flower City Pride Band Frontrunners/Frontwalkers - Rochester chapter of international group of GLBTQ walkers and runners. Lambda Car Club International - Rochester chapter Lez Play Roc - A "FUN and innovative organization that looks to provide entertainment/information for Gay Communities. We participate and facilitate various community events in the Upstate, NY area." Lilac Squares - GLBTQ square dancing. Line Dancing at 140 Alex Men's Cooking Group Rainbow Amateur Radio Association - Finger Lakes Chapter (Rochester and surrounding area). Roc City Roller Derby - "Rochester, N.Y.'s first all-women, flat-track roller derby league." GLBTQ-friendly. Rochester GLBTQI Bikers Rochester Gay Men's Chorus Rochester Historical Bowling Society - GLBTQ bowling league. Monday evenings, September through April at Clover Lanes. The Rochester Kink Society - GLBTQ-friendly. Rochester Rams - Motorcycle group. Rochester Women's Community Chorus - GLBTQ-friendly. Women Outdoors - Finger Lakes - GLBTQ-friendly. Women's Hiking Group Women's Silver Sneakers Womyn's Drum Circle Womyn's Fishing Group Organizations - Social Come Out and Play GALAXe (Gays and Lesbians At Xerox) Just Us Guys - For gay and bisexual men. Maplewood Rainbow Social Club - For GLBTQ residents of the Maplewood neighborhood. Rainbow SAGE at the Center - GLBTQ seniors. Rochester Butch/Femme Connection Rochester Gay Fathers Group - Contact the GVGA at 585 244 8640 for more information. Rochester Gay Moms Upstate NY Women4Women - For lesbians & bi women (join weekly coffee meetups). Organizations - Trans* Community Gender Identity Youth Support Group Genesee Valley Gender Variants Guys' Night Out - Trans men. Rochester Crossdressers Network Rochester Grrlz - Trans women and crossdressers. Rochester Trans Group - For gender-variant people and their friends. The Self Made Men - Trans men. Support Group for Parents of Transgender & Non-Conforming Teens Resources Adolescent Transgender Healthcare Team at Golisano Children's Hospital AIDS Care - Now Trillium Health, formerly AIDS Rochester CNY Fertility Services - Sponsors of ImageOut. Center for Disability Rights - GLBTQ-friendly. Center for Youth - Counseling, emergency shelter, homeless youth outreach, and other programs for teens. GLBTQ-friendly. Conifer Counseling - Substance abuse counseling for members of the GLBTQ community. The Empty Closet and online archive Everybody's Good - From AIDS Rochester Inc.: links to GLBTQ-friendly healthcare providers/organizations/worship, health-related info & blogs, free STD testing, more. Huther-Doyle - Substance recovery with GLBTQ-only groups and experience with GLBTQ issues. MOCHA Center - Rochester office (drop-in center for GLBT Youth). Out & Equal Workplace Advocates - Rochester has third largest chapter in the country. Planned Parenthood - Women's health services. Rochester Area Task Force on AIDS Rochester Gay Men AA - Also has Park Avenue sub-group. Rochester Victory Alliance - HIV vaccine research. Therapists in the Rochester area who specialize in GLBTQ issues (from Psychology Today). Threshold Center for Alternative Youth Services - Confidential HIV and STD testing and general healthcare for ages 12-25. Transgender Alliance - Umbrella group for trans and gender variant organizations in Central and Western New York. Trillium Health - HIV services and beyond, specializing in LGBT healthcare Woods Oviatt Gilman - Law firm whose services include estate planning for same-sex couples. Youth Gay Alliance Worship Religious institutions that welcome and support the GLBTQ community. Atonement Lutheran Church Brighton United Church of Christ Calvary St. Andrews Presbyterian Parish Christ Church Rochester Church of the Blessed Sacrament Community Christian Church Dignity-Integrity Rochester - LGBT Roman Catholics, Episcopalians, and friends. Downtown United Presbyterian Church - Home of the RWCC and RGMC Episcopal Diocese of Rochester Committee for Gay and Lesbian Ministry - find a welcoming congregation near you! First Baptist Church of Rochester - Member of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists First Unitarian Church of Rochester First Universalist Church of Rochester Fortunate Families - Catholic families with GLBTQ children. Immanuel Baptist Church - Member of the AWAB Lake Avenue Baptist Church - Member of the AWAB Mary Magadalene Church - "In the Catholic tradition." Messiah Lutheran Church New Life Presbyterian Church Open Arms Metropolitan Community Church Rochester Zen Center Spiritus Christi Church Temple B'rith Kodesh Temple Beth El Temple Emanu-El Temple Sinai Third Presbyterian Church United Church of Christ, Congregational of Webster Unity Fellowship Church of Rochester Other AIDS Education Posters - Permanent online exhibit of the world's largest collection of AIDS posters. Presented by the UR Rush Rhees Library Dept. of Rare Books & Special Collections. Ant Hill Cooperative - GLBTQ-friendly cooperative housing. Archive of posts by Andreas Rau, gay Republican and Maplewood resident, for the Democrat and Chronicle Rochester Blog. Darienne Lake - Famous local drag queen. DonnaRose.com - Story of a trans woman originally from Rochester. University of Rochester admissions brochure for prospective GLBTQ students. For more organizations and resources, please visit the GVGA Resources page. Links Drag World - Article about the local drag scene in Rochester Woman (2013-08-02) Being LGBT in the city of Rochester . . . what's it like? - Discussion on everybodysgood.com GLBT and Diversity Resources from Nazareth College GayCities.com page for Rochester. Is Rochester a gay friendly city? - Discussion on City-Data.com (Feb. 2009) Rochester Gay Pride Parade 2012 - Information on GayTravel.About.com Shantay, you stay - Article in City Newspaper about local drag queens (2014-02-19) VisitRochester.com on the city's GLBTQ community.
- Status
- Active listing
- As of snapshot
- 4/9/2026, 8:28:54 AM