In commemoration of World AIDS Day 2006, a memorial quilt, created by Brooklyn’s Church of the Open Door in Fort Greene is on display through Friday, December 1, in the Brooklyn Borough Hall Community Room Gallery. World AIDS Day, officially observed December 1, originated in 1988 to raise awareness of the global AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection. This year’s World AIDS Day theme is “Stop AIDS: Keep the Promise.”

The AIDS Memorial Quilt began in 1987 and is the largest ongoing community arts project in the world. Sections of the national quilt travel around the country. The quilt on display at Borough Hall was created by Church of the Open Door members, and each panel represents a loved one lost to AIDS.

According to the NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene, there are an estimated 96,829 New York City residents living with HIV/AIDS, including 23,888 Brooklynites, or nearly one-third of city cases. On Thursday, November 30, in advance of World AIDS Day 2006, Brooklyn Deputy Borough President Yvonne Graham addressed the current state of HIV/AIDS in Brooklyn at “Speak Out 2006,” a day of action to bring attention to the effects of HIV/AIDS on New York City’s young people.

On World AIDS Day 2006 Brooklyn mourns the lives lost as we raise awareness of HIV/AIDS education and work to provide the knowledge that can make the difference between life and death.