On August 7, 2021, the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History Project made history of its own when it installed the first LGBTQ-themed historic marker in Western New York.

The marker commemorates Bob Uplinger, a gay man who was arrested at the corner of North Street and Irving Place in the early hours of August 7,  1981, after inviting undercover police officer Stephen Nicosia back to his apartment. With the help of local attorney William H. Gardner, Uplinger took the case to the New York State Court of Appeals. On February 23rd, 1982, the court ruled in Uplinger’s favor, striking down the loitering law used by Buffalo police to entrap gay men and criminalize their pursuit of consensual sex.

Forty years to the day following Uplinger’s arrest, the History Project held an unveiling ceremony to reveal the marker to the public. Friends of Uplinger, present-day activists, and local politicians were invited to reflect on the historic significance, both of Uplinger’s arrest and the installation of a historic marker commemorating the arrest.

The marker is viewable today on North Street, across the street from the site of Uplinger’s arrest. The History Project intends to install many more LGBTQ-themed historic markers across Western New York in the years to come–starting with a marker commemorating Conde Peoples III, whose fight against state sodomy laws made Uplinger’s activism possible.