Teens Reign Supreme at The New York Public Library’s Anti-Prom on June 23

Hundreds of teens gather at inclusive, annual event at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building to celebrate the end of the school year 

Teens ruled last night at The New York Public Library’s annual Anti-Prom at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. The Royalty-themed event marked the end of the school year and provided hundreds of New York City’s teens with an opportunity to dance the night away with their peers in the beautiful and welcoming environment of the Library’s iconic Astor Hall.

Created by librarians in 2004, the annual summer party celebrates teens of all sexualities, gender identities and expressions. Open to young adults aged 12 –18, Anti-Prom featured a fashion show showcasing royalty-inspired designs by teen designers from the High School of Fashion Industries, music by DJ Gregory Wilson, dancing, snacks, free book giveaways, and more.  

The Library also hosted an Anti-Prom in the Bronx earlier this month at its Grand Concourse Library on June 9. The event was attended by dozens of young adults and featured music by DJ Gregory Wilson, dancing, button making, movies, board games, video games, and book giveaways.

Following the unparalleled challenges young adults faced during the pandemic, The New York Public Library has committed to enhancing services for teens across the system. Through  a unique public-private partnership with the City, Google, Best Buy, and the Joly Family Foundation, the Library is in the process of opening 19 newly-enhanced Teen Centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island. With state-of-the-art technology, 3-D printers, recording equipment, and more, these spaces offer holistic support for teens, including academic resources and mental health support. The teen centers are part of NYPL’s Teens 360º Initiative, part of the Tisch Youth Education Program. More information about the initiative and the programs and services created for teens is available here. 

Major support for children’s and young adult programming is provided by the Andreas C. Dracopoulos Family Endowment for Young Audiences.

These programs and initiatives are part of the Library’s overall commitment to our branch patrons and education programs, led by the Merryl and James Tisch Director of Branch Libraries and Education. Major support for educational programming is provided by Merryl H. and James S. Tisch.

About The New York Public Library

For over 125 years, The New York Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for the people of New York and beyond. With over 90 locations—including research and branch libraries—throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, the Library offers free materials, computer access, classes, exhibitions, programming and more to everyone from toddlers to scholars. The New York Public Library receives approximately 16 million visits through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org. To offer this wide array of free programming, The New York Public Library relies on both public and private funding. Learn more about how to support the Library at nypl.org/support.