NYC Officials Seek Information on Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was among the officials who distributed flyers at a Brooklyn intersection earlier on Tuesday, Sept. 27, about a reported anti-gay attack earlier this month.

Police say Julius "Stinky" Wright sexually assaulted a 24-year-old while shouting anti-gay slurs at him on Myrtle Avenue around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5. Wright allegedly stole the victim's cell phone before he asked him about his sexual orientation as he pretended to hold a gun.

Photos by Robin Levine.

NYC Officials Condemn Reported Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

New York City officials late on Friday, Sept. 23, condemned a reported hate crime against a gay man who was walking home in Brooklyn earlier this month.

The man was walking in Bedford-Stuyvesant at 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5 when he was attacked. The man's assailant or assailants reportedly used anti-gay slurs during the attack.

“We are disgusted and horrified to hear about this incident. Hate crimes hurt everyone, and any act of violence against one member of the LGBT community is an act of violence against us all," said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilman Albert Vann in a joint statement. "Too often we hear about acts of violence committed against LGBT people in our city. We must put an end to the intolerance that breeds this hatred. New York City prides itself on diversity and acceptance of all its residents and this act goes against the very fiber of what our city stands for."

The New York Police Department's Hate Crimes Task Force continues to investigate the incident.

Snapshots of Marriage Equality in New York

Marriage equality is officially a reality in New York!

I was on the dock in Cherry Grove when the law officially took effect at midnight, and the marvels of Twitter and Facebook allowed me to read that Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd had become the first same-sex couple to legally marry in New York. The DJ at Cherry's played Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" shortly after midnight, but there were no outward celebrations of the historic milestone.

A few hours later, I was finally able to board a water taxi from Ocean Beach. A large rainbow flag flew above an American flag on the end of the dock in Grove. In the Pines, an ecstatic Robin Byrd proclaimed in the harbor that it "was about damn time" that same-sex couples could marry. Florist Erin Black was busy putting the final touches on a flower assortment and matching boutonnieres for a gay couple who went to the Brookhaven Town Clerk's office in Farmingville to get married.

I ended this historic day at the LGBT Community Center in lower Manhattan where state Sens. Tom Duane [D-Manhattan] and Diane Savino [D-Staten Island], New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry, Ross Levi of the Empire State Pride Agenda and Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah joined dozens of same-sex couples who married earlier in the day.

Here are some snapshots that capture the day.



Newlyweds Stacey Minondo and Barbara Tremblay shortly after they stepped out of a cab at the LGBT Community Center in lower Manhattan. The Brooklyn women were the first same-sex couple to marry at Borough Hall in Brooklyn on Sunday, July 24.



Eufemio and John Torres of Brooklyn attend the LGBT Community Center's wedding reception on Sunday, July 24.



Pride and patriotism flew high in Cherry Grove on Sunday, July 24.



This message certainly resonated among some of those who celebrated marriage equality in New York on Sunday, July 24.

City Unveils Lottery to Accommodate Expected Crush of Same-Sex Weddings

With five days to go until gays and lesbians can legally marry in New York, city officials earlier today unveiled a lottery designed to accommodate the expected crush of same-sex weddings on the day the marriage equality law takes effect.

The lottery, which will accommodate 764 same-sex and heterosexual couples, opened at noon. It will close at noon on Thursday, July 21.

"We are going to make history on Sunday, with the eyes of the nation once again turning to New York City," said Bloomberg as he spoke at City Hall alongside City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Clerk Michael McSweeney. "We’ve done our homework, and it’s clear that the number of couples who want to marry on Sunday is more than the City Clerk’s offices could possibly handle. And the last thing we want is for couples to wait on line for hours and hours, only to walk away upset on what was supposed to be the happiest day of their lives. The fairest way to determine who gets the chance to wed on Sunday and ensure everyone can properly plan for their own big day is through an even-handed lottery system."

Log onto the City Clerk's website for more information about the lottery.

Quinn: We Made History Because We Never Lost Faith

Speaking at the Dream Hotel in Chelsea earlier tonight, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn once again applauded those who spurred state lawmakers to support the marriage equality bill.

The presumptive 2013 mayoral candidate told supporters that they made history "because we never lost faith," referring to the state Senate's 24-36 vote against a marriage equality bill in Dec. 2009.

Quinn's partner, Kim Catullo, was among those in attendance.

Video: Christine Quinn predicts marriage equality vote will happen later this week

Speaking at the LGBT Community Center's annual Garden Party at Pier 54 in Manhattan earlier tonight, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said she expects the state Senate will vote on the marriage equality bill on Wednesday, June 22, or Thursday, June 23.

Marriage equality activists are also planning to rally at noon on Tuesday, June 21, in Albany.

New Yorkers hold vigil for murdered Ugandan gay activist

Hours after LGBT activists protested outside the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., New Yorkers held vigil for murdered Ugandan gay activist David Kato near the United Nations.

Bill Alatriste sent Boy in Bushwick these shots of City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Councilmember Daniel Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] and others who took part.

Sucuzhañay family, elected officials react to Hakim Scott verdict

As a Brooklyn jury continues to deliberate Keith Phoenix's fate, José Sucuzhañay's brother and other elected officials criticized Hakim Scott's acquittal on second degree murder as a hate crime during a press conference outside the court house on Friday, May 7.



From right; Diego Sucuzhañay, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and City Councilmember Daniel Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] speak at a press conference in downtown Brooklyn on May 7. [Photo courtesy of William Alatriste]



Members of the Sucuzhañay family join activists and elected officials in downtown Brooklyn on May 7. [Photo courtesy of William Alatriste]

A jury convicted Scott of manslaughter in connection with José Sucuzhañay's death on Dec. 7, 2008. He faces up to 25 years in prison, but the International Ecuadorian Alliance is among the groups that continue to urge their members to stand in solidarity with the Sucuzhañay family and to demand an end to hate crimes.

More than 100 rally against vandalism at LGBT Community Center

More than 100 elected officials, activists and others rallied outside the LGBT Community Center yesterday afternoon to denounce those who placed a torched gay flag on the front of the West 13th Street building last week.

The rally coincided with the second day of the trial of the two men who allegedly beat José Sucuzhañay to death here in Bushwick in Dec. 2008. And City Council Speaker Christine Quinn highlighted this fact during her remarks.

Delegation of activists and politicians meet with murdered gay Puerto Rican teenager's family

A delegation of activists and legislators from Chicago and New York City met with murdered gay teenager Jorge Steven López Mercado's family earlier today in San Juan.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Illinois state Sen. Iris Martinez, who chairs the Democratic National Committee's Hispanic Caucus, Cary Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Pedro Julio Serrano were among those who traveled to Puerto Rico. They also met with fellow activists, legislators and religious leaders earlier in the day.

Quinn, who announced the trip at a fundraiser for López's family on the Lower East Side last Tuesday night, posted pictures of today's meetings on her Twitter page. And at a press conference earlier today, she, fellow Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito and others once again blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño's continued failure to publicly respond to the teenager's brutal murder.

“We in the delegation certainly hope that Governor Fortuño will hear our message loud and clear, that his response to Jorge Steven’s murder has been absolutely unacceptable," Mark-Viverito said in an e-mail. "I am profoundly disappointed in the Governor’s lack of leadership on this matter. We must expect greater accountability and responsibility on the part of our elected officials.”



New York City elected officials pose with Jorge Steven López Mercado's family at a San Juan restaurant. [Photo courtesy of Latino Commission on AIDS]



From left; Karlo Colon, Miriam Mercado, Guillermo Chacon and Jorge López.




New York City Councilmembers meet with Puerto Rican lawmakers and others in San Juan.

New York City Councilmembers to meet with slain gay Puerto Rican teenager's family

On the eve of a hearing to determine whether Jorge Steven López Mercado's accused killer is competent to stand trial, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced she and other lawmakers from the five boroughs and Chicago will meet with the slain gay teenager's family and activists in Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

Quinn, who announced the trip at a fundraiser for López's family earlier tonight at the Nuyorican Poets Café on the Lower East Side, once again blasted Gov. Luis Fortuño for his continued failure to publicly condemn López's brutal death.

"There are a lot of people who are extremely angry about how the governor has responded to this situation," she said to applause. "There are people in New York, in other cities and in Puerto Rico who are not going to tolerate it. And I assume, though I don't know, that the governor expects that the LGBT community in Puerto Rico might be afraid or nervous or might be... trepidacious about getting involved, but we can do is back that community up and support them."

New York City Councilmembers Melissa Mark-Viverito [D-East Harlem,] Rosie Mendez [D-Lower East Side,] Danny Dromm [D-Jackson Heights] and Jimmy Van Bramer [D-Sunnyside] are among those who will travel to Puerto Rico.

"Never doubt that the support from New York and from the community in New York enhances the struggle in Puerto Rico; we saw this with Vieques and we will do it for justice for Jorge Steven López Mercado."

Quinn further stressed there will be more trips to the island if necessary.

"We hope when we’re there we’ll make it very clear we’ll keep coming back every time we need to," she said.

Quinn endorses Thompson

With a week to go until New Yorkers cast their votes in the mayoral race, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn announced late yesterday she has endorsed Comptroller William Thompson, Jr.

Quinn was rumored to have been a potential candidate herself until the City Council's slush fund scandal broke last year. She has faced criticism over her decision to support a proposal to allow the mayor, City Council members and other local elected officials to seek a third term, but the question remains whether Quinn's endorsement of Thompson, who continues to trail Bloomberg in opinion polls, will actually make much of a difference next Tuesday.

The New York Times described Quinn's decision to back the comptroller as a "low-key endorsement" in its headline. One can further describe it as an example of curious political bedfellows because Thompson continues to base his campaign on his opposition to the extension of term-limits without a public referendum. Either way, one can once again question whether Quinn's decision to back Thompson actually matters.

Bloomberg announces appointees to LGBT homeless youth commission

In what arguably was a campaign speech designed to court LGBT voters ahead of this year's general mayoral election, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced last night at the annual Ali Forney Center fundraiser at the Chelsea Art Museum he had appointed 25 activists and others to the city's Commission for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning Runaway and Homeless Youth.

These appointees include Ali Forney executive director Carl Siciliano, Ana Oliveira, president of the New York Women's Association and former executive director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis, incoming LGBT Community Center executive director Glennda Testone, Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum of Congregation Beth Simchat Torah, Hetrick-Martin Institute executive director Thomas Krevor and Rickke Mananzala, executive director of FIERCE.

“New York City may be one of the most tolerant places on earth, but LGBTQ youth still face daily discrimination that forces many of them to leave home and sometimes make risky decisions,” Bloomberg said in a prepared statement released before he spoke at the fundraiser. “Today we are opening up a new front focused on serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning young people. The Commission’s recommendations will address the root causes of homelessness among this population and provide a blueprint for innovative and evidence-based solutions.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, comedian Sandra Bernhard and singer Rufus Wainwright were among those in attendance, but this announcement comes nearly a year after the city threatened to slash federal Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) funds that the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene had awarded to Ali Forney to operate its Chelsea drop-in facility. The City Council unanimously voted in December to restore the organization's HOPWA funds.

In spite of these cuts, Quinn praised the committee appointees.

“LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth face a unique set of challenges – from greater exposure to HIV/AIDS – to being ostracized by their families and communities,” Quinn said. “The group of experts serving on the New York City LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth Commission give me great hope that we will be able to develop innovative solutions to confront these challenges.”

New York City Council Honors Hate Crimes Victims

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn [D-Chelsea] paused to remember Michael Sandy, Rashawn Brazell, Eddie Garzon and other victims of anti-LGBT hate crimes during last night's annual City Council LGBT Pride event at City Hall. Perhaps the most poignant moment came as Rashawn Brazell's mother, Desire Brazell, emotionally accepted a plaque from Quinn and City Council Member Rosie Mendez [D-Lower East Side] for her work to establish a memorial scholarship in memory of her murdered son.

"This is another example of a family in tragedy who came together," Quinn said before she honored Brazell and Larry Lyons. "This is another example of people who could have let themselves be defined as victims who defined themselves as survivors."

Pride remains a time to more or less celebrate the LGBT movement and LGBT Americans themselves. Debate continues to rage as to whether this annual pink fete remains relevant in 21st century gay America. Quinn and her City Council colleagues chose to remember those who lost their lives because of hate violence in their city. Pride also presents gay New Yorkers a reminder they are not immune to discrimination -- and even persecution -- simply because they live in the city. Everyone has a responsibility to stand up and to work to end these horrendous atrocities. Desire Brazell herself served as that stark reminder last night.