NEW YORK — On World AIDS Day 2016 (Dec. 1), advocates and members of the HIV/AIDS communities will come together to remember those lost to AIDS, to honor the lives of those living with HIV, and to hold the vision for an end to the AIDS epidemic in New York.
The New York City AIDS Memorial Board of Directors and representatives, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State Department of Health, and the END AIDS NY 2020 Coalition (comprised of over 70 community-based organizations who are working towards an end to the AIDS epidemic by 2020 through expanded testing, treatment, and prevention) have joined forces to host a public dedication of the newly completed New York City AIDS Memorial. The event opens to press at 10:15 a.m. and the program will begin at 11:00 a.m.
The Memorial is the primary feature of a new public park, the New York City AIDS Memorial Park at St. Vincent’s Triangle. The park sits between Seventh Avenue, Greenwich Avenue and West 12th Street in Manhattan’s West Village neighborhood and is the culmination of five years of planning and development. The Memorial project was launched in 2011 by Christopher Tepper and Paul Kelterborn to recognize and preserve the history of the AIDS crisis through the creation of a memorial to honor New York City’s 100,000+ men, women and children who have died from AIDS, and to commemorate and celebrate the efforts of the caregivers and activists who responded heroically to the crisis and continue to work towards the end of AIDS today. More than $6 million has been raised for the design, construction and maintenance of the Memorial, which has benefited from the generosity of many notable contributors, including world-renowned visual artist Jenny Holzer.
This World AIDS Day program will be emceed by Tony Award-winning performer Billy Porter. The program will feature a formal dedication by the New York City AIDS Memorial Board of Directors, words from elected officials, a memorial reading of names, a poetry reading by Kamilah Aisha Moon, and a performance by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus. Representatives from the State and City Health Departments will also speak.
For more information or to contribute to the New York City AIDS Memorial, visit nycaidsmemorial.org.
