Gay City Health Project Offices Burgled Friday Morning

Sometime early Friday morning, May 11, 2012, between 1am to 4:30am, the offices of the Gay City Health Project at 511 East Pike Street on Capitol Hill was robbed of thousands of dollars worth of computer equipment and other goods. Robert Roth, the Marketing and Communications Manager of Gay City, which provides health and community services to the LGBTQ community, including HIV and STD testing in its clinic, called us Friday to report that the center had been illegally entered over night and the items stolen. The building was not broken into and there was no vandalism.

The majority of the equipment/goods stolen were computer related including both iMacs used primarily for designing graphics for Gay City; a back up drive; a video camera; 7 to 10 clip cameras; a digital projector and design software. While obviously the computers, camera and projector all have resale value, Roth was surprised that the majority of the items taken seem to indicate that the thief/thieves were intent on setting up their own design studio. No cash was removed from Gay City or the Kaladi Brothers Coffee Shop, but several hundred QFC gift cards, used for promotional purposes, were stolen, as well as Roth’s own personal iPod.

Gay City was also relieved that the health and wellness center was not targeted. While the center does not contain any pharmaceuticals, there are obviously confidential records on site that could compromise the identity of patients. The center stresses that no records were taken or accessed.

But, the loss of that much equipment, including hundreds of hours of stored work and data on the computers and hard drive is a blow for Gay City, both financially and for the lost data. Anyone with information on the theft is urged to contact Gay City Health Project at (206) 860-6969 and the Seattle Police Department’s East Precinct at (206) 684-5733.