Slambient: Opening the Queer Nightlife Community Center
Outside of the QNCC, October 5th, 2025
On October 5th, 2025, the Queer Nightlife Community Center, QNCC (pronounced “kink”), made its debut with Slambient, their soon to be recurring Sunday program dedicated to providing resources and community to appreciators and workers of queer nightlife. The sold-out, all-day affair from 7am-6pm was teeming with DJs, educators, nightlife elders, vendors, and a vibrant diversity of queer representation. From a lineup of experimental ambient music to an afternoon of panelists discussing the many hardships embedded in the queer nightlife scene, Slambient was as much a celebration of belonging as it was an admission of the challenges to come.
The QNCC is a nonprofit that incorporated only nine months ago, this past January 2025. The project is led by Executive Director Michael Falco–longtime director at Columbia University and founder of Columbia’s Insight program–and Creative Director Seva Granik–notorious party producer of event series such as SHADE and UNTER. With both a board of directors and a board of creative directors, the QNCC’s ensemble of over two dozen directors is comprised of influential and acclaimed individuals such writer and comedian Julio Torrez, Ladyland founder Ladyfag, and fashion designer Telfar Clamens.
According to their press release, the QNCC aims “to empower queer, trans, and low-income communities through access, support, and celebration. From public health services and work-based training by day to cutting-edge programming and performance by night.”
Henry “Henri B” Bram – DJ/Member of the Board of Directors for QNCC
The obstacles surrounding queer nightlife are abundant and long standing; from being victims of otherism, alcohol, drug addiction, to scarce safe spaces for creative experimentation; from lack of guidance to the crushing reality of high real estate prices threatening existing and potential recreational spaces from remaining/becoming spaces of assembly. This is partly why the establishment of the QNCC could be a substantial step at providing the queer nightlife community a much-needed home.
“If there's anything that we hear from folks in nightlife, and especially queer folks in nightlife, is that it can [be hard] to find a space that's right for them,” says Jose Soegaard, Deputy Director of the NYC Office of Nightlife. Specifically, Soegaard cites “space for them to express themselves freely, or space for exchange of ideas, or space for pushing the boundaries with respect to different kinds of performance, or space for rehearsal. And I think [what's] really exciting about the QNCC… is that I think it has a capacity to potentially do all those things.” Although Soegaard did acknowledge just how wide the category of “queer nightlife” is, lending to no true one-size-fits-all solution.
When you walk into QNCC, after you pass through the graffitied facade of the monolithic building, past the giant, black, freezer curtain strips you are immediately thrust into the illuminated, industrial, foggy interior. Soft ambient music echoes throughout. The assortment of minimalist cushioning on the floors and padded benches sprawled throughout provide ample room for lounging, sleeping, and yapping. The dance floor feels more like a living space, and the partygoers more like cats in an elaborate cathouse. The inclusivity in the house is inescapable, from people in erotic puppy-play masks to a group of deaf friends, cheerfully signing with one another, to dozens of people draped in designer clothing taking the chance to make a statement.
“I think part of the magic of QNCC is that it's taking stock of a kind of a potential energy that already existed," says Henri B., a DJ and member of the QNCC board. "All of these incredibly talented, amazing people were already gathering on the same dance floors and coming together periodically…We have trailblazing academics. We have leading doctors. We have talented architects. We have lawyers… We have poets… QNCC is kind of figuring out, to what end could that incredible assemblage of people be put to.”
Kay Gabriel (left) and Shawn Dickerson (right) talk to QNCC members about the NYC queer nightlife.
A clear goal of the QNCC is to preserve that community, and to this aim, a key component of their operation is creating platforms to address issues surrounding mental health, alcohol, and drug addiction. Providing specialized panelists on the subject is just the beginning, as the QNCC also upholds a vision of a queer nightlife scene where alcohol sales are not instrumental in their business model – unlike so many clubs today. As Soegaard put it “They're not looking to be… reliant on alcohol sales as a core aspect of… how they sustain the project.”
