This week, New York’s Ali Forney Center announced that the New York City Council and Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer had designated $3.3 million to help create a shelter for homeless LGBT youth named after beloved actress and advocate Bea Arthur.
The proposed Bea Arthur Residence for Homeless LGBT Youth, an 18-bed facility in the East Village, was previously owned by the New York City Department of Housing and Preservation and Development.
Back in 2005, Arthur flew to New York City to give a special performance of her one-woman show which raised more than $40,000 for the center. “These kids at the Ali Forney Center are literally dumped by their families because of the fact that they are lesbian, gay or transgender,” Arthur said at the time. “This organization really is saving lives.”
She continued her support of the nonprofit until her death in 2009. And in her will, the Golden Girls star bequeathed $300,000 to Ali Forney. Her contribution allowed the center to stay afloat at a time when the nation’s economy was anything but golden.
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Thank you for being a friend, Bea!
Daez
What an amazing woman. She was truly a golden girl.
NormalAdjacent
The people from Ali Forney center are pretty damn amazing too.
seaguy
What a great tribute to such a great woman! Dorothy would approve!
Sparky
Maude Findley would also approve and as a leading woman of Tuckahoe is wondering what took so long for it to happen!