NEW YORK (NY)
Coterie Hudson Yards [New York NY]
June 9, 2025
“It was a night of bravery. A night of people finally standing up and saying, ‘Enough,’” shares Mary Caplan, a resident at Coterie Hudson Yards.
It was June of 1969, and Mary stood outside the Stonewall Inn. She was out with friends – a group of people with mixed backgrounds and orientations who often gathered in the neighborhood. After a spat with her boyfriend, she stepped outside for a smoke. That’s when four police wagons rolled up as part of a raid.
“It was like being slammed into a wall. I thought, ‘This can’t be happening.’ Most of the people arrested weren’t even from New York. They were kids from Jersey or Long Island who had come in just to be themselves. They thought they were in a safe place.” The protest that followed would become known as the Stonewall Uprising – a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in America. She remembers someone refusing to be arrested. “A beautifully dressed man said, ‘No more. I’m not going.’ And people joined him. It was like it had all been building under the surface, just waiting for someone to say it out loud. People poured out – us from across the street, others from the neighborhood. We were all yelling, ‘Stop it! Stop!’”
Mary returned night after night. “For the same reason it’s important for me to go out and stay engaged now – you don’t know something until you see it. That night – those nights – those were my people. And that’s how I feel about New York to this day. Whatever your religion, your sexuality, your age – we’re the same. These are my people.”
Continued Advocacy
That belief in the power of showing up never left her. When the AIDS crisis hit, Mary took action. As a trained nurse and newly minted counselor, she began volunteering at Miracle House, offering support to families coming to terms with their sons’ diagnoses – and identities.
“That experience probably had the greatest impact on my life,” she says.
Mary’s work didn’t stop at counseling. She served as board chair for SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests), helping push legislation that lifted statutes of limitation. She even spoke at the United Nations in Geneva. “It was another moment in my life where I saw change happen.”
Still Showing Up
Now Mary is passionate about the importance of communal living for older adults. “I think when we really get to know each other – when we live and work together – the differences start to fade.”
She’s lived at an Atria Senior Living community for almost 10 years. Most recently, she moved to Coterie Hudson Yards, where she’s quickly connected with others.
“The other night at dinner, two women and I stayed after the rest of the table left. All of our husbands had passed. And we weren’t just saying, ‘Oh, he was wonderful.’ We were really talking – in a raw, honest way.”
Mary is enjoying everything the Hudson Yards location has to offer. “Everything I love about New York is here. I used to live in the Village, so I can go to Chelsea and the Village. I can go to the theater. I’m right in the middle of everything.”
Mary considers herself one of New York’s biggest fans, loving the diversity and character of the bustling city. “I like to sit outside on my balcony at night and take it all in. One evening, I saw a murmuration – the birds moving in patterns across the sky,” she shares.
Keep Going
For the next generation of activists, Mary encourages them to hold on to Anne Frank’s belief that “people are basically good.”
“Even when you feel discouraged – even when the loudest voices are the ones clanking and shouting nonsense – you have to keep going. It’s hard to watch rights being rolled back. I fought for those rights. But I’m still glad I did. Because the next generation needs to know it can be done again.”
And one more piece of advice?
“Get a dog.”