You are reading

Tribute To LGBT Rights Icons At Jackson Heights Post Office Passed By U.S. House Of Reps

crowley jackson heights post office lgbt jeanne jules manford

June 27, 2016 Staff Report

An effort to rename the Jackson Heights post office in honor of two beacons of the gay rights movement took an important step forward last week.

U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley’s legislation to rename the post office, located at at 78-02 37th Ave., after Jeanne and Jules Manford, who formed the organization Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives last Tuesday.

The Manfords founded PFLAG after their openly gay son, Morty, was beaten for protesting news coverage of the gay rights movement in 1972. Their mission was to promote the rights, health and well-being of LGBT people, as well their friends and family.

Today the organization has more than 350 chapters and more than 200,000 members in all 50 states.

“Jeanne and Jules were instrumental in the fight for equal rights, and their incredible legacy can be felt throughout Queens, New York, and the entire country,” Crowley said. “It is only fitting that we name the post office that sits along the route of the Queens Pride Parade in their honor and I’m thrilled we are one step closer to that becoming a reality.”

Jeanne Manford served as the first-ever grand marshal in the Queens Pride Parade. She passed away in January 2013.

Council Member Daniel Dromm, who founded the Queens Pride Parade, believes this is a fitting tribute to the two.

“Jeanne and Jules Manford were the ‘parents’ of the gay rights movement,” he said.

“They allowed their home to be used as the cradle for gay liberation and were the first parents of an openly gay child to support that child in public,” Dromm, who is openly gay, added. “Jeanne and Jules blazed new trails for the LGBT community by standing up for their openly gay son Morty Manford.”

The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.

email the author: [email protected]
No comments yet

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

Manhattan bouncer charged in New Year’s Day fatal stabbing in Elmhurst: NYPD

A Manhattan man was arrested on Saturday and charged in the fatal stabbing of an East Elmhurst man during the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in what notably became the city’s first homicide of 2024.

Torrence Holmes, 35, of St. Nicholas Place in Hamilton Heights, was taken into custody at his home and transported back to Queens, where he was booked at the 110th Precinct in Elmhurst on manslaughter and other charges on Saturday afternoon.