The event will be held at the amazing Museum of the City of New York (1220 5th Ave. @103 St.) from 6PM-8PM. Drinks (see signature cocktail below), hors d'oeuvres from the fabulous Food Trends and DJ Nico DiMarco. Dress Code: Business Casual with a touch of floral.

Click the Donate & Tickets button to learn more about sponsorship or contact info@bflnyc.org to discuss exciting sponsorship opportunities.

**Barrier Free Living (BFL) offers comprehensive support services for survivors of domestic violence with disabilities at our fully accessible BFL Freedom House domestic violence shelter, award-winning BFL Secret Garden domestic violence counseling program, and BFL Apartments that offer permanent homes with support services to survivors with disabilities and their families. BFL is based in New York City.

The Museum’s accessible ramp entrance is available on East 104th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues. All levels of the Museum and our auditorium, Ronay Menschel Hall, are accessible by elevator. Museum's accessibility information page.

Barrier Free Living is committed to providing universal access to all of our events. Please contact Scott Hess at info@bflnyc.org to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Our Event Special Guest Star Tony Nominated Actor Daniel J. Watts!

Daniel J. Watts has been nominated for a Tony Award® for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his performance as Ike Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. He is an accomplished spoken word artist, whose solo-show, The Jam: Only Child, was a tremendous success at The Public Theater’s 2020 Under TheRadar Fest. Daniel J. Watts has been nominated for a Tony Award® for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his performance as Ike Turner in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. He is an accomplished spoken word artist, whose solo-show, The Jam: Only Child, was a tremendous success at The Public Theate. He will be performing live at our event!

Mixologist Zach Cordasci will unveil a new Journey to Freedom cocktail inspired by this year's floral theme of growth & vitality.

A mixologist and hospitality professional for over fifteen years, Zach Cordasci has pursued his passion for culinary forward cocktails and sustainability. Zach's cocktail programs have focused on local New York products at restaurants and bars across Brooklyn and Manhattan.Education behind the bar while having a good time building community is where Zach shines.He is currently the head of R&D at the Brooklyn based cocktail company Muddling Memories and Founder of the community cocktail collective, Shaken Stones. (Instagram: @shaken_stones)

Above, our event signature cocktail The Garden Sour!

DJ Nico DiMarco will be spinning at the event!

Nico DiMarco is a third generation Deaf person who relies on feeling the beat of the music to DJ. Since his first gig in 2010, he has gained popularity and traveled all over the world to perform-10 countries so far (many inviting him back multiple times) with more county gigs coming in the near future. With Deaf DJ Nico DiMarco, you’ll never have a dull moment and you willlearn you shouldn’t underestimate someone with a ‘disability’, because the talent that exists in the community will blow your mind.

Read about Nico here.

Guests will have special VIP access to the museums enthralling photography exhibit New York Now: After Dark.

Spanning from 1840 to the present day, the collection is housed in a state-of-the-art facility and serves as an unparalleled visual record of the city’s transformation across nearly two centuries.

Barrier Free Living is proud to honor Lynn Benoit, CPA, with this year’s Jack Fritts Award

Lynn joined Barrier Free Living in late 2024 as a volunteer to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of our finance team. In just a short time, she has had an extraordinary impact—introducing systems to improve workflows, providing deeper insight into spending, and building additional structure and accountability into our financial operations. Her expertise and generosity have strengthened our foundation and set us up for long-term success. Read more about Lynn Here.

Barrier Free Living is proud to honor Mels Halpern with the Theresa A. H. McIntosh Advocate Award

Mels Halpern is a writer, artist, blogger, and advocate who began sharing her journey of healing and growth through an online platform. She is the creator and facilitator of Finding Power in Our Words, an expressive arts and creative writing initiative at BFL’s Freedom House that helps survivors of domestic violence reframe their words as works of art and imagine new possibilities for healing. She is currently pursuing her Master of Social Work at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work and completing a clinical internship at HELP USA, where she supports single-parent homeless families and will help develop expressive arts–based programming to foster resilience and reinvention.Mels has served on advisory boards and advocacy committees including the Voices of Women (VOW) Steering Committee, the New York Cyber Abuse Task Force, and Montefiore’s Bronx Health Collective Advisory Council. She was previously Vice Chair of NYC’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Consumer Advisory Board and now serves as an Advocacy Ambassador at NAMI New York.

Barrier Free Living is proud to honor Lisa Santiago with the Paul B. Feuerstein Employee Excellence Award

Lisa was born and raised on the Lower East Side of New York City, New York. She has been a Residential Aide with Barrier Free Living Apartments since July of 2018. Lisa brings both compassion and dedication to BFLA; where her specialized experience in substance abuse and harm reduction serves our most vulnerable groups in feeling safe and supported. Since being with BFLA, Lisa takes pride in helping the residents feel seen, understood, and empowered. Her joy comes from watching tenants accomplishing their goals here, while working alongside her team.When she's not working, Lisa enjoys leisurely travel, listening to music, and spending time with her loving kids & grandchildren.

Special thanks to M&M Schmalberg for donating hand-crafter fabric flowers to the event.

Journey To Freedom 2025: Vitality Blooms

By Barrier Free Living

Journey To Freedom 2025: Vitality Blooms

Our Impact is Growing: More Housing, More Healing, More Hope!