Kerrie Joyce 
During Pride Month, there are plenty of LGBTQ+ events throughout the summer to look forward to. But it is also crucial to have spaces where people can find community year-round. With NYC only a PATH, ferry or bus ride away, it may seem like there are endless opportunities for finding Queer community, however, there is also a vibrant community right here in Hudson County in need of support—although it might be a bit harder to find. Read on for more information about LGBTQ+ spaces and resources in Hoboken and Jersey City.
Hudson Pride Center | 3000 John F. Kennedy Boulevard Suite 306, Jersey City + 4428-30 Bergenline Avenue, Union City
Hudson Pride Center’s office location in Jersey City, a short walk from the Journal Square PATH station, is the largest LGBTQ+ center in the state. The space is adorned with artwork by local LGBTQ artists, with each room paying homage to a different revolutionary figure in the community, including Harvey Milk, Marsha P. Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Audre Lorde, and Bayard Rustin. The Hudson County Pride agency has been around for 30 years, and the Jersey City center has been open for two and a half years, with the recent addition of the Union City location in December of 2024. Speaking with Executive Director Elizabeth Schedl, they said that the goal of the center is to “service anyone who needs some form of support or help, regardless of if it’s a service we offer. If it is, then absolutely. If it’s not, then we have so many partners throughout the county and in the state that we have a large list of referrals, too.”
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These services can include primary care, OBGYN, HIV/PreP/PEP/Prevention, HRT, any kind of gender-affirming care, letters of medical necessity, name-change assistance, and more. The center also provides no-cost mental health therapy sessions for youth and individuals who are HIV+. This initiative aims to guarantee that “Folks wanting to receive mental health services are getting it from affirming and supportive providers” without needing to worry about insurance or citizenship status, waitlists, copays, or being able to find a provider who is LGBTQ+ allied.
The Hudson Pride Center also does outreach with local schools to ensure that schools feel safe for LGBTQ+ students, which helps spread the word about the center’s youth program. There are youth workshops at 6PM-8PM Friday evenings, which have been focused on self-care, artistic activities, movie nights, or even bowling. Other groups the center hosts include Beyond the Binary for the gender diverse community, a Latinx group, in addition to partners like Lez Fest which organizes Queer Women’s events.
Elizabeth highlighted the purposes of Pride as both celebration and protest, saying, “All of these places raising Pride flags, which is extremely important because of the political climate we’re in, and the administration saying ‘Not only should you not be raising Pride flags but we’re going to try to strip away your rights and your existence.’ So when you have a county and cities within it really pushing forward and saying, ‘No, we are going to continue celebrating and acknowledging this community.’ That’s really great, I think overall, because a lot of areas throughout this country are not doing that, and companies as well are pulling back from supporting.”
Jersey City Pride | Jersey City
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In addition to the festival in August, Jersey City Pride organizes year-round events dedicated to uplifting, celebrating, and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community in Jersey City. Jersey City LGBTQ+ Pride Festival Producer and creator of Gayborhood Jersey City, Eddie Baez, shared that Jersey City Pride events covering a wide range of queer experience — from Protecting Our Pride legal protection zoom webinars to a celebratory Steel n’ Sumony WorldPride Meetup Brunch. The Protecting Our Pride: LGBTQ+ Empowerment in Uncertain Times webinars co-hosted by Jersey City Pride and Giampolo Law Group illustrate the complicated nature of hosting this year’s Pride in the face of legal setbacks for the community, focusing on educating couples and individuals on how they can protect themselves through legal documentation such as estate planning. Eddie further stated that despite uncertainties about the future status of federal Marriage Equality, New Jersey is one of the few states with codified laws recognizing LGBTQ+ marriages.
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Eddie described the Festival’s 2025 theme as “Speak Up, Stand Firm, and Stay Strong,” inspired by Stacey Abrams’ keynote speech at the United States Association of Pride Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, saying, “It’s the 25th anniversary of the event, so my idea going into the year was that it would be celebration, but the reality is that we’re in different times now.”
Eddie also noted that the festival lost two of its platinum sponsors due to federal spending cuts on HIV Prevention and D.E.I. initiatives. To make up for the lost funding, amounting to $20,000, the festival is hosting its first-ever fundraising events while still aiming to keep events affordable for the community. Fundraising events include a rooftop party with live music on July 17th at Six26 and a Pride on the Pier kickoff event at Pier 13 in Hoboken on August 3rd. Jersey City Pride is also partnering with Six26 for a vow renewal ceremony for married LGBTQ+ couples to commemorate the June 26th anniversary of the Marriage Equality Act of 2015, for which the bar is named.
Little City Queers at Little City Books | 100 Bloomfield Street, Hoboken
Little City Queers is a book club organized by Little City Books’ staff members Sophia and Bless had this to say about their role in providing a space within the 100 Bloomfield Street store in Hoboken for people to find LGBTQ+ community:
“Sophia and I met while working at Little City Books in 2022. We quickly discovered that we had similar tastes in queer books, but that there were no book clubs near us that specifically celebrated books by and about queer people. While queer spaces exist in Hoboken, they can be difficult to find. Sophia and I wanted to ensure that our space wasn’t only used to talk about our book picks but also to connect with queer people in our area. We just passed our first anniversary in April and are currently planning an event or two for Pride Month! We are super proud of the community we’ve fostered so far and look forward to welcoming new people into the group! If anyone wants to stay up to date, they can follow our Instagram @littlecityqueers or email us at [email protected] to get added to our newsletter.”
Hoboken Pride Advisory Committee
The Hoboken Pride Advisory Committee is a City Municipal Board made up of local public officials and business owners, established in 2024 by Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla. According to its website, the Committee’s mission is to “Promote inclusiveness of LGBTQIA+ members of the Hoboken community and all Hoboken residents, workers, and students.” According to Cathy Williams, the City of Hoboken is partnering with the Hoboken Pride Advisory Committee for an expanded list of Pride events compared to previous years, saying, “I think I would love to highlight that more is being offered by the City this year than there has been in the past”. However, the Pride flag-raising event will not be taking place this year due to ongoing construction at City Hall. Cathy added that the Hoboken Pride Advisory Committee exists year-round and is encouraging residents to submit suggestions to their email, [email protected].
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Hoboken Rainbow Family
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Hoboken Rainbow Family is a group that was founded in 2021 to create a queer community in Hoboken. According to its website, the mission is to “increase visibility and normalize the presence and lives of LGBTQ+ (rainbow) individuals and families in Hoboken.” The group also focuses on mentorship, connecting families with LGBTQ+ parents and/or children. Events can be found on the group’s Instagram @hobokenrainbowfamily or the Facebook group.
