Activists and elected officials say the city is closing STD clinics, leaving some people unable to get the testing they need.
They gathered at a town hall meeting to protest the closure of one in Chelsea at Ninth Avenue and 23th street.
The Health Department is closing it down for renovations that may take a few years.
Activists say that will have adverse effect on the neighborhood's fight against HIV and AIDS.
"We do not want to lose the opportunity of ending the epidemic just because of the failures of the STD clinics in New York City," said Jim Eigo of Act Up.
"If they actually respected the underserved populations that disproportionately went to these clinics, they would have done more work to actually replace the services, finding perhaps another clinic to have the services in," said Jeremiah Johnson of Treatment Action Group.
The activists want services restored at the Chelsea location.
Some say other clinics around the city are not as welcoming to the LGBT community.