09-06-2025
Ronan Farrow, Ladyfag and more back NYC's first-ever queer nightlife community center
New York's nightlife scene just got a bold new anchor.
The Queer Nightlife Community Center (QNCC) has officially launched in East New York, becoming the first nonprofit venue in the city—and possibly the country—specifically designed for and by queer nightlife workers. Think of it as a community center that keeps the lights on when everyone else clocks out. Part performance space, part support hub, QNCC aims to serve queer, trans and low-wage creatives where they live and labor: after dark.
Housed in a sprawling 28,000-square-foot warehouse complex at 100 Hinsdale Street, QNCC is a hybrid space for the city's most electric subcultures. The two-story site—complete with two adjacent warehouses—sits at the edge of the East New York Industrial Business Zone and is easily accessible via the A/C and L trains. By day, the venue will host public health and workforce development services. By night, it'll transform into a multi-sensory playground of performances, parties and programming.
Backing the effort is a star-studded board of creative directors that reads like a who's who of downtown cool: Ronan Farrow, Julio Torres, Telfar Clemens, Hari Nef, Ladyfag, Juliana Huxtable, Nita Aviance and more. The board of directors includes activists and academics like Madison Moore and Viva Ruiz, ensuring the center's mission remains grounded in equity and access.
At the helm are four nightlife heavyweights: Kyle Dacuyan, formerly of the Poetry Project and PEN America; Michael Falco, a producer with roots in both journalism and queer advocacy; artist and fabricator Breakfast Garbowski; and nightlife legend Seva Granik, known for SHADE, UNTER and ZERO CHILL.
More than just a venue, QNCC is a long-needed institution for a workforce that's historically been underpaid, underserved, and overexposed. As its founders put it, QNCC exists to 'empower queer, trans, and low-income communities through access, support and celebration.'
