Street co-naming ceremony honored the memory of a beloved LGBTQ rights advocate & Jackson Heights resident
Jackson Heights, NY – NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) joined Consul General of Ireland in New York Ciaran Madden and a host of elected officials, community leaders, LGBTQ activists and Jackson Heights residents to celebrate the co-naming of 91st Street between Northern Blvd and 34th Avenue as Mary Audrey Gallagher Way.
NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson and the Council passed legislation to co-name the street after Gallagher (9/6/32 – 1/4/18), an educator, equal rights crusader, and loving Irish American mom who called Jackson Heights home for many years. Several elected officials and other special guests paid tribute to Gallagher at the ceremony including Congressman Joseph Crowley; Irish Consul General Ciaran Madden; NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer; Queens Borough President Melinda Katz; Senator Jose Peralta; Senator Toby Ann Stavisky; Assemblyman Michael DenDekker; and Council Members Francisco Moya, Karen Koslowitz, Barry Grodenchik, Peter Koo, Donovan Richards, and Rory Lancman. Attendees were treated to traditional Irish music performed by the FDNY Emerald Society Pipe & Drums band and John Maynard. Gallagher’s daughter Marybeth Dromm and son Daniel Dromm gave closing remarks. After the speaking portion of the ceremony, the Dromm family and other attendees unveiled the Mary Audrey Gallagher Way street sign on the southeast corner of 91st Street and Northern Boulevard.
“Mary Audrey Gallagher was a fearless advocate for the LGBTQ community, starting with her unwavering devotion to her son Danny,” said Speaker Johnson. “She was a warm, loving woman who brought joy to all who met her and served as a maternal figure to many LGBTQ kids. Like my mom, Audrey was a PFLAG mom, and I consider myself lucky to have known her. It is a great privilege to have spearheaded legislation to co-name the southeast corner of Northern Boulevard and 91st Street in Audrey’s honor. Every person who walks past this corner will be reminded of Audrey’s legacy. Her spirit and advocacy will live on. I am proud to stand with my dear friend and colleague, Council Member Daniel Dromm, today as we unveil Mary Audrey Gallagher Way here in the neighborhood she and her son proudly call home.”
“My mother was really all about family,” said Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst). “That’s why she stood up for me when I told her I was gay in 1973 – a time when homosexuality was still on a list of mental disorders. She said she was most fearful that I would be discriminated against in life. She fought hard not only for me but for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth because she understood what family support means to all young people. Over the years, my mother became a mother to many other LGBT folks whose families had rejected them. Her presence at all the LGBT events in Queens and her LGBT activism touched many lives and gave hope to thousands of LGBT people.”
Gallagher passed away peacefully on January 4, 2018 after enjoying time with her loved ones during the holidays. Gallagher’s life truly embodied the spirit of a hard working, loving Irish American, as she nurtured strong bonds in her communities while fighting for the rights of the disenfranchised. Born on September 6, 1932, Gallagher’s honesty and integrity were formally recognized when she graduated from The Mary Louis Academy in Queens with the Character, Loyalty, and Spirit of Study Award, one of the academy’s highest honors.
Upon graduating high school, Gallagher attended and graduated from St. John’s University, where she was captain of the school’s cheerleading squad. After leaving a lasting mark on her campus community as a promising prospective instructor, she became a public school teacher. Some years later, Gallagher married Warren Dromm. Her son, NYC Council Member Daniel Dromm, was born soon after. She was also mother to Lori, Marybeth, John, and Joseph. Her exemplary record of service continued: after opening a nursery school, Gallagher went on to become the director of multiple day care centers in NYC. She was instrumental in unionizing workers and she helped secure much-needed pay raises for paraprofessionals. Her courage and dedication changed lives. Gallagher’s support of her son, an openly gay man, greatly advanced the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community through his advocacy and by founding the Queens chapter of Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), of which Gallagher was an active participant.
Gallagher, along with her son Dromm and PFLAG founder Jeanne Manford, worked to use their voices to fight the good fight against bigotry and intolerance in Queens and throughout NYC. But her support did not stop there: Gallagher became a venerable presence in the Queens LGBT community, attending parades, advising the parents of LGBT youth, and wholeheartedly supporting her son in his own endeavors to improve Queens. Having served as PFLAG Queens’ hospitality chairperson, Gallagher believed in the special role that parents of LGBT children play. It is evident that her love for her son helped make him the strong advocate he is today for the people of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst.
“Audrey was a life-long advocate of social justice and equal rights for all,” said Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “We miss her dearly, but her proud legacy lives on in the work of Councilman Dromm and through our community’s shared commitment to progressive values. Of particular note is her work on behalf of the LGBT community and Councilman Dromm continues to lead that fight today as one of the community’s most influential leaders.”
Ciarán Madden, Consul General of Ireland in New York, said, “The Irish in America have a long and important tradition of public service. Mary Audrey Gallagher was part of that proud tradition, both as a public school teacher and as an activist supporting LGBT rights. Her work in this area meant that she was ahead of many of her generation and so provided leadership to others, helping replace uncertainty and anxiety with acceptance and support.”
“Mary Audrey Gallagher was a great champion of education, fair pay and equality who had a hugely positive impact all across Queens,” said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz (D-Queens). “She was especially valued as a great supporter of our borough’s LGBT community, which much admired her for her fierce opposition to anti-gay bigotry and her strong advocacy on behalf of equal rights for our LGBT residents. Today’s street co-naming in recognition of the great work of Mary Audrey Gallagher is an appropriate and much-deserved honor for a woman whom we all treasured for her strong devotion to her family and to her community.”
“Mary Audrey Gallagher was an extraordinary woman who always made the best of every situation and instilled great values in her children. She will always be remembered–not only as Danny’s mom–but as someone who would brighten up any room with her vibrant presence. We will miss her, Ms. Gallagher. Her greatness will live on forever.” State Senator Jose Peralta (D-13th Senate District) remarked.
“Mary Audrey Gallagher’s legacy will be long lasting,” said NY State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing). “Audrey was a caring and loving mother to Danny. She was so proud of his accomplishments as a teacher, elected official and as a warm loving son. Audrey was a distinguished educator and humanitarian in her own right, fiercely determined to ensure respect and dignity for all. There is no better place to honor her than by naming a street in the Jackson Heights community.”
“Audrey Gallagher was a shining example of a loving mother and friend. Her support of the LGBT community can’t be matched. Audrey’s legacy lives on through loving children. She is missed by many,” said Assemblyman Michael Den Dekker (D-Jackson Heights).
NYC Council Member Karen Koslowitz said, “Only a select few leave an indelible imprint behind as a testament to their lifetime of good works and accomplishments. Mary Audrey Gallagher was one of these special individuals and I was privileged to have known her.”
“I am honored to attend the street co-naming for Mary Audrey Gallagher,” said Council Member Barry S. Grodenchik. “Receiving her high school and college education right here in Queens clearly inculcated Queens values in Audrey. I admire her work as a lifelong educator, a union organizer, and a parent advocate who fought passionately for equality for the LGBTQ community.”
“As a gay man and fellow Irish American, I am proud to have known Mary Audrey Gallagher and grateful for her remarkable advocacy on behalf of the LGBTQ community,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. “Her legacy of love and compassion is forever memorialized by the newly named Mary Audrey Gallagher Way and by the leadership of her son, Council Member Danny Dromm.”
“Mary Audrey Gallagher was a tireless champion and advocate,” said former NYC Council Member Elizabeth Crowley. “Her leadership embraced causes from workers rights to strengthening LGBT rights and advocating for families, Mary Audrey Gallagher’s work impacted countless New Yorkers and her good deeds will live on as an example to others with the honor and celebration in this street co-naming.”
Brendan Fay of the Lavender and Green Alliance and St. Pat’s For All said, “In Ireland we have a song: ‘a mother’s love is a blessing.’ Well, this is very true as we remember Mary Audrey Gallagher. Her support and embrace of her gay son Danny (Dromm) extended to his friends and the LGBT community of Queens. We became her extended family. She was a familiar face and welcome presence at every Queens Pride parade, St. Pat’s For All parade, and Queens PFLAG gatherings for the last quarter of century. She had a hug and a word of encouragement for everyone but especially for those who needed it most: parents and LGBT children struggling in a world of prejudice. She warmed a room with her stories, humor and a song. Her love of Irish music is reflected in her story of naming Danny after her favorite Irish ballad ‘Danny Boy.’ She told stories of her own Irish American upbringing and her years as a New York City public school teacher. Audrey was a strong supporter of our Irish LGBT group, the Lavender and Green Alliance and our efforts to march in the Fifth Avenue St. Patrick’s Day Parade. When we held our first St. Pat’s For All parade in 2000 and letters appeared in Queen’s newspapers from conservative members of her own family, she responded and spoke her mind and heart. She was there at all of our St. Pat’s For All parades, and celebrated with us when Lavender and Green Alliance marched in the NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade for the first time on March 17, 2016. When the history of the LGBT movement in Queens is told, there will be the story of a community activist and gay man Danny Dromm and of an Irish American mother, Mary Audrey Gallagher, who embraced us and our cause for equality as her own. As the Irish phrase says, ‘Ní bheidh a leithéid ann arís’ – her like will never be seen again.”
Gallagher’s energy and light is forever memorialized in the LGBT parents and children that can find support in her community today. Gallagher served as a remarkable example that love can, and should, triumph, and that there are few undertakings more rewarding than devotion to family and civic service. This street co-naming serves as a fitting memorial to her legacy.
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