The Occupy Movement and the Accountability Question

What does accountability look like?

This was one of the many complicated questions that came up at a panel discussion about the Occupy Wall Street movement that WNYC host Brian Lehrer moderated at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, Nov. 1. Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer; Crain’s New York Business contributor Greg David; Occupy Wall Street organizer Jesse LaGreca, who blogs at the Daily Kos and Kathryn Wylde of the Partnership for New York City, who is deputy chair of the New York Federal Reserve’s Board of Directors, certainly offered a variety of opinions and insights into the grassroots movement that has increasingly captivated the country in recent weeks. The panelists agreed that economic inequality in this country is unacceptable, and they suggested to varying degrees that the so-called 99 percent are justifiably angry at corporate America and their surrogates on Wall Street and on Capitol Hill.

Democracy is not an neatly packed form of government as a stroll through the Occupy Wall Street encampment in Zuccotti Park near Ground Zero earlier today literally proved—corporate money in American politics, war, unemployment and even civil rights were among the topics to which Occupiers drew attention. One can certainly argue that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. The question remains, however, whether organizers within the Occupy movement are able to offer tangible solutions to the country’s social, economic and political inequalities that can effectively hold the powers that be accountable.

The answer is as complicated as the form of government under which the Occupy movement is able to expand.

Final Thoughts from Bushwick

I have never been one for long, drawn-out goodbyes, but I continue to struggle to find the appropriate words to adequately describe the last seven years and three months that I have lived in the greatest city in the world.

A few moments stand out—covering the protests over the 2004 Republican National Convention, working on Fire Island for six summers and riding my then-roommate Christian’s bicycle over the Williamsburg Bridge to get to my Midtown office during the 2005 Transit Strike and interviewing same-sex couples who married on the day the state’s marriage equality law took effect in July. Other perhaps less obvious moments also come to mind. These include walking through Chinatown on a Saturday afternoon, taking the subway to Rockaway Beach, strolling through the Union Square Farmers Market with a $1.25 bag of broken pretzels and simply admiring the Manhattan skyline from the roof of my building here in Bushwick on a balmy summer night.

I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing some of the most kind and generous people I have ever met in my life here in New York. I have also had the distinct misfortune of knowing some of the most self-centered and morally bankrupt people I have ever met in my life here in New York. And while the city and some of those within it have not always proven particularly kind to this New Hampshire native, I will close this chapter of my life in a few hours with absolutely no regrets.

Thank you, New York.

The View from Jefferson Street

One last view from Jefferson Street before the move to Washington, D.C., is complete.

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.

NYPD Identifies Suspect in Anti-Gay Attack in Brooklyn

Police say a 21-year-old man used anti-gay slurs against a man as he sexually assaulted him on a Brooklyn street earlier this month.

Julius "Stinky" Wright allegedly approached the 24-year-old man on Myrtle Avenue around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5. WABC reported the New York Police Department said that Wright stole the victim's cell phone before he asked him about his sexual orientation as he pretended to hold a gun. Wright allegedly proceeded to sexually assault the victim while shouting anti-gay slurs at him.

WABC reported that the man was treated at Woodhull Medical Center and released.

"We must put an end to the intolerance that breeds this hatred, said New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and City Councilman Albert Vann in a joint statement they released after news of the attack broke late on Friday, Sept. 23. "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."

Quinn, Vann and City Councilwoman Letitia James plan to distribute flyers about the incident to passersby on the corner of Myrtle and Throop Avenues at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27.

Video: Panorama from a Soho Rooftop

I shot this video from the James Hotel's rooftop pool deck on Tuesday, Sept. 13.

Does the Tea Party Actually Matter?

Is the Tea Party a Ponzi scheme?

More than a few progressive Democrats may have already come to this conclusion, but Republican presidential candidates who participated in last night’s debate in Tampa certainly went out of their way to curry favor with Tea Party voters. Some had more at stake than others.

“I know we can do so much better in this country,” said Minnesota Congressman Michele Bachmann in her introduction. “That’s why I’m the chief author of the bill to repeal Dodd-Frank, the bill to repeal Obamacare. And that’s why I brought the voice of the Tea Party to the United States Congress as the founder of the Tea Party Caucus.”

Bachmann described herself as “the leading voice in the wilderness of Washington all summer” against raising the country’s debt ceiling, but Texas Gov. Rick Perry continued to take more wind out of her sails as he fended off attacks from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Congressman Ron Paul on the economy, taxes, Social Security and immigration. She found her Tea Party mojo, however, when she blasted Perry over his executive order that requires HPV vaccines for girls as young as 11.

“I’m a mom. And I’m a mom of three children. And to have innocent little 12-year-old girls be forced to have a government injection through an executive order is just flat out wrong,” said Bachmann. “That should never be done. It’s a violation of a liberty interest.”

Rhetoric and strategic one-liners aside, last night’s debate raises the obvious specter of whether the Tea Party will emerge as a tangible force in 2012. Voters will obviously answer this question at the ballot box, but today’s special election in New York’s Ninth Congressional District for could potentially prove a harbinger of things to come.

The View from Jefferson Street

Good riddance Irene!

Video: Hurricane Irene Bears Down on Bushwick

I shot this from my bedroom window on Jefferson Street in Bushwick around 7:50 a.m. as the center of Hurricane Irene passed within 30 miles of the city.

Leaves and some tree branches have come down, while the sunflowers that were in the garden across the street from my building have fallen. There is some garbage and debris on the street, but we still have electricity.

Video: Hurricane Irene Bears Down on Bushwick

The brunt of Hurricane Irene continues to bear down on Bushwick.

The lights have flickered a couple of times here on Jefferson Street, but we thankfully still have electricity. A tree in our backyard continues to lean. The wind has also shredded a canopy that covered an outdoor patio in the building next to mine.

I shot this video from my bedroom window around 6:20 a.m.

Outer Bands of Hurricane Irene Reach Bushwick

The outer banks of Hurricane Irene have begun to reach Bushwick.

A steady and increasingly torrential rain began about 20 minutes ago. The breeze has begun to freshen, but it remains well under 20 mph.

The checkout lines at the Associated Supermarket on the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Starr Street were more than a dozen people deep earlier this morning. They were even longer at the dollar store on the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Troutman Street, but everyone was calm and orderly as they stocked up on canned foods, candles and other supplies. I even purchased some Bacardi Gold at a nearby liquor store to make some hurricanes during the storm.

Several windows on my block on Jefferson Street have tape on them, but restaurants, Chinese take-outs, the supermarket and even the laundromat on Knickerbocker Avenue were open around 6:30 p.m.

Earthquake Shakes Bushwick

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 shook large swaths of the East Coast shortly before 2 p.m.

The earthquake’s epicenter is near Charlottesville, Va., but I certainly felt the tremor here in Bushwick. I was actually on the phone with my boyfriend in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C., when the pots and pans hanging above my stove suddenly began to sway. I initially thought that a gust of wind had caused them to move, but I realized it was an earthquake when the floor started shaking. I grabbed my keys, walked outside and watched several other people come out of buildings on Jefferson Street.

Aside from no cell phone service, everything appears to have returned to normal here in Bushwick. Social media networks remain uninterrupted. And the tremor managed to push Dominique Strauss-Kahn from the headlines.

Back to work...

Man Charged in Murder of Camila Guzman

DNAinfo.com reported late on Wednesday, Aug. 17, that police have arrested a Brooklyn man in connection with a transgender woman’s murder inside her East Harlem apartment earlier this month.

Equan Southall, 25, allegedly stabbed Camila Guzman on Aug. 1. DNAinfo.com reported that Southall and Guzman, who emigrated from Chile in 2001, had been dating for four months. The National Coalition of Domestic Violence Programs most recent report indicated a 15 percent increase in domestic violence incidents in LGBT relations in 2009—and a 50 percent increase in domestic violence-related homicides from 2007 to 2009.

“As a community we must openly and honestly discuss this problem and create an environment where victims of domestic violence can access the support they need to be safe,” said Sharon Stapel, executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

Transgender Woman Found Murdered in East Harlem Apartment

Spending the summer on Fire Island can certainly insulate one from the outside world, but news of another transgender person's death provides an all too sobering reminder of the reality that LGBT people continue to confront.

Camila Guzman was found brutally murdered in her East Harlem apartment on Monday, Aug. 1, but news of the trans woman’s death comes less than two weeks after Lashai Mclean was shot to death on a Washington, D.C., street. Another trans woman was shot on July 31 a block away from where Mclean was gunned down.

Amanda Gonzalez-Andujar was found strangled to death in her Queens apartment in March 2010. Karlota Gómez Sanchez is among the 18 LGBT Puerto Ricans who have been killed over the last year and a half.

A report that the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Project issued last month found that 70 percent of known victims of anti-LGBT violence in 2010 were people of color. Forty-four percent of them were trans women.

"Camila Guzman's murder and the series of violent attacks against transgender women of color in Washington, D.C., highlight the disproportionate impact of severe anti-LGBT violence on transgender people of color," said Ejeris Dixon of the New York City Anti-Violence Project in a statement that her organization, the Audre Lorde Project, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force released on Thursday, Aug. 4. "These murders are a wake-up call for all organizations that work to end hate violence. We must work collaboratively to create specific strategies to prevent violence against transgender people of color and to ensure that survivors receive the support they need."

As I have previously reported, there is no easy solution to reducing these disproportionate rates of violence. There is a collective responsibility, however, to ensure LGBT people can safely live their lives with dignity and respect.

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.

The view from Jefferson Street

It's 9:12 a.m., and it's already hot!

An Excessive Heat Warning will be in effect in the five boroughs from noon to 8 p.m. The temperature could reach 95-degrees in Bushwick today, while the heat index could eclipse 102. Tomorrow's high temperature in the city could surpass the century mark.

Let's hope that I get everything done the to-do list so I can make a hasty retreat to Fire Island in the morning.

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.

Young cyberbullying summit panelist: Words can hurt

Sticks and stones can break your bones, but words can hurt.

An eight-year-old girl who is wise beyond her years provided this concise, yet powerful sound bite during a cyberbullying summit at the Times Center in Manhattan earlier on Monday, July 18. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance City Councilmembers Robert Jackson and Lew Fidler, Parry Aftab of WiredSafety.org, New York Times reporter Jan Hoffman and Jason Dzepka of MTV were among those who took part in the event. I honestly had very few expectations going into the Times Center earlier tonight, but the summit quickly evolved into something more than another potential article or blog post I had to write once I arrived home in Bushwick.

As I’ve previously written, some of my middle and high school classmates routinely taunted me about my weight and sexual orientation. More than a decade later, I continue to enjoy the life I have chosen to live. Periodic feelings of inadequacy and insecurity that undoubtedly stem from my experiences in middle and high school, however, continue to linger to this day.

Bullies are nothing more than cowards. Their “short-term action” can have “a long-term effect” as Joshua correctly pointed out during one panel. And I remain among those who continue to come to terms with this aftermath long after it ended.

The view from Jefferson Street

Good thing I found my keys!

A sudden downpour descended upon Bushwick shortly after 7 p.m. I had just arrived home from the supermarket when a strong gust front forced me to frantically shut my bedroom and office windows. And then the rains came--and hard for about 10 minutes.

So what does any good journalist do when a sudden downpour inundates his neighborhood?

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.