The Ali Forney Center – an organization that works to provide shelter and support for the city’s homeless LGBT youth, held their 9th Annual Oasis summer benefit at Chelsea Piers at the Lighthouse on Wednesday, July 18th.

The cocktail party has become a staple in the summer calendar for an affluent crowd of New Yorker’s that can’t help but get excited to support the cause. While enjoying an evening of tasty hors-d’oeuvres and Milagro tequila cocktails, event-goers had the opportunity to bid on silent auction items and a raffle featuring a trip to Brazil.
Our host for the night was my #mancrush and the star of TV Land’s Younger Nico Tortorella – who mysteriously wasn’t around all that much, saving me from being that “fangirl” and embarrassing myself, which after all was not a bad thing, I guess.

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Speaker of the New York City Council and a City Council member for the 3rd District, Corey Johnson, was also in attendance to deliver the good news that the New York City Council recently changed the legislation to increase the maximum age for access to the youth homeless shelter system from 21 to 24.

While the three-year age extension might sound trivial, a dedicated group of advocates, including Carl Siciliano executive director of the Ali Forney Center; spent a decade pushing for it after watching countless clients struggle to adapt to the city’s adult shelters after turning 21.

What better way to celebrate those accomplishments than by being delighted by a performance from Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 10 Finalist and Dallasite Asia O’Hara! Who, coincidentally, I worked with at Metroball 2018 in Dallas a few weeks prior, which, appropriately, resulted in having our little catch up moment on the “red carpet”


The cocktail party ended when Marti Gould Cummings brought to the stage all the gorgeous models and announced the winner of the raffle. All in all, it was a fantastic evening; and the location couldn’t have been more perfect to watch the sunset and enjoy sundowners while making a difference for LGBTQ Youth.

See the full gallery below
Photos Wilsonmodels
Jorge Gallegos
Not just a pretty face
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