From Pier 11 to Red Hook

Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful late August day in New York. The humidity was low. A refreshing breeze cleaned the air. And I spent the afternoon at Ikea in Red Hook picking up some long-delayed odds and ends for my apartment.

I am certainly not a fan of expansive box stores, but I confess I take a trip to Ikea or Target in Brooklyn or on Long Island once or twice a year. Part of the "fun" of the trip was the free water taxi from Pier 11 in lower Manhattan to Red Hook. There is truly no better way to see New York, and here are some snapshots from the afternoon.



Brooklyn Bridge from Pier 11



A crane along the Red Hook waterfront



The lower Manhattan skyline with Governor's Island in the foreground



Wall Street and lower Manhattan

Iowa and Maine investigate National Organization for Marriage

As the National Organization for Marriage and their allies continue to push for a repeal of nuptials for gays and lesbians in Iowa and Maine, ethics commissions in both states have called upon NOM to answer questions about those who fund their campaigns.

The Iowa Ethics and Commission Disclosure Board made the request to NOM in an Aug. 27 letter. And the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices wrote Stand for Marriage Maine PAC Treasurer Joseph Keaney and NOM executive director Brian Brown on the same day.

The much broader question is obviously why NOM and its supporters feel the need to overturn both the Iowa Supreme Court decision in April and the passage of legislation in Augusta in early May that extended marriage to same-sex couples in both states. The specific concerns, however, revolves around the role the Mormon Church, the Diocese of Portland [Maine] and other religious organizations continue to play in the anti-marriage campaigns in both states, and even allegations of money laundering. These questions are indeed disturbing, if not at all surprising.

Senator Edward Kennedy dies

The Lion of the Senate has died.

Senator Edward Kennedy [D-Mass.] lost his battle to brain cancer late last night at his Cape Cod home. His family released a statement shortly after he passed away.

“We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," it read. “We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness, and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him."

The White House issued a statement earlier this morning.

"Michelle and I were heartbroken to learn this morning of the death of our dear friend, Senator Ted Kennedy," President Barack Obama said. "For five decades, virtually every major piece of legislation to advance the civil rights, health and economic well being of the American people bore his name and resulted from his efforts."

Some of the groups that directly benefited from Kennedy's legislative agenda also mourned the senator's passing.

“The nation has lost its greatest champion and strongest voice for justice, fairness, and compassion," Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said. "The loss to our community is immeasurable. There was no greater hero for advocates of LGBT equality than Senator Ted Kennedy. From the early days of the AIDS epidemic, to our current struggle for marriage equality he has been our protector, our leader, our friend. He has been the core of the unfinished quest for civil rights in this country and there is now a very painful void. Our hearts go out to the Kennedy family."

Growing up in New England, it was almost impossible to escape the Kennedy family mystique. Kennedy himself was a man who saw unspeakable tragedy. His actions--especially those on Chappaquiddick Island in 1969--almost certainly revealed his darker side, but there is no doubt the Lion of the Senate leaves behind a tremendous legacy. He held a family together during many of its darkest moments. And Kennedy became a voice for millions of Americans who had none. May he rest in peace!

Hurricane Bill brushes Fire Island

It actually turned out to be a largely beautiful summer weekend on Fire Island, but many people who would have otherwise ventured to the beach stayed on the mainland because local officials closed the beaches ahead of Hurricane Bill.

The storm passed hundreds of miles southeast of Fire Island, but waves of more than 10 feet rolled onto the beach throughout the weekend. The strongest swells to buffet Fire Island came last night and early this morning. Bill caused some minor to moderate beach erosion in Cherry Grove, the Fire Island Pines and other areas. This reporter spotted mangled snow fencing, wooden planks and other debris scattered across the beach earlier today. And a four foot wave inundated the dune tongue around 8:45 last night as he stood on a beach access in the Grove.

All dramatics aside, Bill certainly demonstrated Mother Nature's power. It provided local surfers with a rare opportunity to hang 10 on the beach, but the majority of Fire Islanders who are accustomed to storms took Bill in stride.



Hurricane Bill caused rough surf and rip tides in Cherry Grove and across Fire Island on Aug. 22.



A woman swims in the rough surf off Corneille Estates on Aug. 22.



A man watches the surf from the beach in Cherry Grove on Aug. 22.



Rough surf pummeled Cherry Grove on Aug. 22.



Waves from Hurricane Bill eroded the sand around the Atlantic Walk beach access in the Fire Island Pines (as seen on Aug. 23.)



These wooden beams are among the debris on the beach in the Fire Island Pines.



Erosion near Doctor's Walk in Cherry Grove on Aug. 23.

Snapshots of Fire Island

A few snapshots of Fire Island from the past week...



Dawn begins to break over Ocean Beach on Aug. 17



Sunrise over Seaview on Aug. 17



Fire Island Lighthouse on Aug. 14



A Fire Island vista from the Fire Island Lighthouse on Aug. 14.

An upside to the dog days of summer?

After nearly two weeks in Fire Island, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and a few points in between, I have finally returned home to Bushwick. I actually came back from Fire Island late Monday night, but the dog days of summer have finally arrived in the five boroughs.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver's death on Cape Cod, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin rather ridiculous proclamation the White House's health care proposal includes so-called "death panels" and Cherry Grove's fascination (and love) of my sarong late last week are among the notable items from the past few days. August usually brings a slower news cycle. Politicians have left Washington for the confines of their home districts. New Yorkers who are able have traded the concrete jungle for Fire Island, the Hamptons or the Catskills. And a steady stream of substitute anchors have provided some temporary relief from the talking heads who normally dominate cable news. Who said the dog days of summer were all bad?

More Fire Island observations

Today is the fourth day of my extended vacation here on Fire Island. The pool at the Ice Palace felt refreshing yesterday against the heat and humidity that blanketed the beach, Monday night tea in the Pines was far more tolerable than on Saturday and a good friend arrived for a two day visit. One arguably odd observation of note, however, from the past weekend is the increased police presence in Cherry Grove for the Fire Island Blackout.

Thousands of LGBT people of color descend upon the beach for this annual beach party. Elaborate tents complete with table settings and even live fish (yes, it is true!) dot the Grove's beach. And the eye candy is admittedly amazing! One employee anecdotedly told me FIBO is among the best groups with which she works. The fact three Suffolk County Marine Bureau boats were docked on Saturday night, more than half a dozen SCMB officers patrolled the Grove's boardwalks--at a time many Fire Islanders continue to complain about the lack of law enforcement officials on the beach--and at least two businesses categorically banned bags from their establishments, however, left this blogger and reporter scratching his head a bit.

This observation is not meant to imply any of the businesses and SCMB officers in the Grove are racist in any way, shape or form. It is obviously necessary to have sufficient policing and other measures in place to ensure everyone on the beach enjoys themselves without incident. The above observations, however, are included merely to outline what this blogger and reporter saw over the past weekend... and readers can draw their own conclusions.

Ogunquit, Portsmouth and a dreadful drag queen

After a seemingly endless stretch of cool and rainy weather, summer has finally arrived in New Hampshire.

I've spent the last few days visiting my family ahead of my 28th birthday. I followed the Canadians and gays to Ogunquit yesterday before I had coffee with a college friend in downtown Portsmouth. And I even languished under a categorically dreadful drag queen's schtick at a downtown Manchester gay bar with a state representative and his partner. I leave for Boston (and my eventual return to New York) later this morning, but I must say this trip to New Hampshire has been rather enjoyable.



A thick haze envelops Ogunquit on Aug. 5.



Perkins Cove

Activists mourn Tel Aviv LGBT center attack victims

Activists and religious leaders in New York, Washington and across Israel continue to gather to mourn the two people a gunman shot and killed at a Tel Aviv LGBT center on Saturday night.

“We gather here tonight to mourn, to remember, and to make a promise. Here tonight, we mourn the inextricable reality of hate," Mark Pelavin, associate director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said at a Washington vigil earlier tonight.

"We mourn the persistence of apathy in the face of intolerance. But above all, we mourn the loss of two young Israelis who, while seeking love and support, were met with terror and violence."

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn echoed Pelavin.

"Saturday's shooting at the LGBT Youth Center in Tel Aviv was a shocking and horrendous hate crime," she said in a statement that announced a vigil to be held on Wednesday at Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in Manhattan. "My condolences go out to the family and friends of those who were taken too soon by the hand of hate, and my thoughts and prayers are with those still fighting for their lives."

Liz Trobishi and Nir Katz's murders are certainly an outrage that should motivate all fair-minded people to stand-up and proclaim loudly and with conviction anti-LGBT violence is completely unacceptable. The attack in Tel Aviv was also not only an attack against LGBT Israelis, but against those of us in Baghdad, Beirut, Boston, Bushwick and around the world. Our community has certainly made significant strides in recent years, but this attack provides yet another stark reminder we must double our resolve to ensure these tragic incidents of hate-fueled violence become a thing of the past.

White House hosts so-called Beer Summit

The visage of four men--President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cambridge [Mass.] police officer James Crowley--having a beer on the White House lawn is arguably surreal (or even absurd) depending upon whom you ask. The New York Times even live-blogged the much-anticipated meeting, but its implications almost certainly go far beyond the type of beer each man drank.

The facts that lead up to this meeting are all too known. Crowley arrested Gates outside his Cambridge home earlier this month after a woman reported a possible burglary. Authorities initially charged Gates with disorderly conduct, but the charges were subsequently dropped. And Obama sparked controversy with his assertion at a White House press conference on health care he felt the Cambridge Police Department acted stupidly by arresting Gates.

During what is traditionally a slow news cycle, this story simply keeps on giving. The subsequent brouhaha over the president's comments--and the arrest itself, however, clearly indicate the majority of Americans remain woefully reluctant to have any substantive discussion on race that does not extend beyond inflammatory sound bites or a steady stream talking heads from all political persuasions who want to add their two cents. This country has clearly made significant strides on this issue over the last decades, but Obama's election last November alone was not the long-awaited panacea that miraculously solved the continued scourge of racial injustice. And four men having a beer on the White House lawn alone will not eradicate it either.

Bomb kills two Spanish police officers

A little more than a day after a car bomb injured more than 40 people in Burgos, a second device killed two Spanish police officers on Mallorca.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais reported the bomb destroyed the car in which two Civil Guard members, aged 27 and 28, were riding shortly before 2 p.m. local time. The device detonated outside a Civil Guard barracks in Calvia. And the attack took place near a popular beach and within kilometers of the Spanish royal family's summer home.

Spanish authorities have blamed ETA for both attacks. And there is precedent to suggest members of the group potentially could have planted the Calvia bomb as a way to disrupt Spain's lucrative tourism industry.

Another factor that could potentially contribute to a possible upsurge in ETA attacks is tomorrow marks the group's 50th anniversary. The group violated its own self-imposed ceasefire in Dec. 2006 when its members detonated a bomb inside a parking garage at Barajas Airport in Madrid that killed two people. Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's government initially blamed ETA for the 2004 Madrid train bombings, but evidence quickly suggested Islamic fundamentalists orchestrated the attacks that killed nearly 200 people.

French and Spanish authorities have arrested a number of high-ranking ETA members in recent years, but this latest incident clearly demonstrates the group continues to pose a potential threat.

Veteran N.H. sports reporter arrested on prostitution-related charges

Police arrested a veteran Union Leader sports reporter at his Manchester home earlier today in connection with prostitution-related charges in Northern Massachusetts.

Officers took Kevin Provencher into custody for allegedly deriving income from prostitution. He reportedly waived arraignment in Manchester District Court before he was escorted to the Bay State to answer to the two felony charges the Andover Police Department filed against him.

The Union Leader reported on its Web site Provencher has been with the paper for more than 25 years. He has been the publication's beat reporter for the Manchester Monarchs--an American Hockey League team in the Queen City--since 2001. Provencher has been the Union Leader's primary NASCAR correspondent at the New Hampshire International Speedway in Loudon since 1990. And the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association have honored him for his reporting.

The newspaper declined to comment on his arrest, but it did announce it had suspended Provencher due to the "nature and seriousness of the charges."

Summer finally arrives in Bushwick

It's currently 78 degrees at the Weatherbug reporting station near my apartment; that must mean summer has made a long-delayed appearance in Brooklyn. And the thunderstorms that have swept across Brooklyn over the last couple of days simply confirm the previous observation.



A downpour seen from Jefferson Street passes over Maspeth, Queens, earlier tonight.

A couple of garden variety storms popped up over Brooklyn and Queens earlier this afternoon. A short downpour provided even more water to the basil, lettuce, parsley and tomatoes growing on my fire escape. The humidity remains, but the storms that swept across the area yesterday sparked tornado warnings in Fairfield, Nassau and Queens.

A short, but drenching downpour hit shortly after 6 p.m. The bulk of the storm passed north of Brooklyn, but two more followed behind it over the subsequent hours. Attached is a link to a video I took from my bedroom window late yesterday afternoon. Notice the lightning bolts in the background--over Manhattan.

Authorities charge dozens of New Jersey lawmakers, rabbis in massive corruption sting

For those who may naively conclude New York lawmakers have a monopoly on less than ethical political practices, the arrest of dozens of politicians and rabbis yesterday across the Hudson River in a massive corruption sting has once again proven something continues to stink in New Jersey.

Federal authorities arrested Hoboken Mayor Peter J. Cammarano, III, who took office less than a month ago, Secaucus Mayor Dennis Elwell and Ridgefield Mayor Anthony Suarez early yesterday morning. Others taken into custody include Assemblymembers L. Harvey Smith [D-Jersey City] and Daniel Van Pelt [R-Ocean County], Mariano Vega, Jr., president of the City Council in Jersey City, Brooklyn Rabbi Saul Kassin and leaders of a synagogue in tony Deal in Monmouth County. Law enforcement officials took a total of 44 people into custody. And they have been charged with money laundering, accepting bribes and a host of other related charges.

This massive sting will certainly continue to have potentially serious repercussions in the contentious gubernatorial campaign between Gov. Jon Corzine and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie. Joseph Doria, Jr., commissioner of the state's Department of Community Affairs, resigned hours after authorities searched is Bayonne home in connection with the sting. Corzine has also called upon Smith and Van Pelt to resign.

The breadth of this massive corruption will continue to unfold, but the fact remains there is something endemically wrong with politics in New Jersey. And this sting simply highlights the unfortunate reality much work lays ahead to tackle this albatross that continues to rear its ugly neck around the state.

Proposal to allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons sparks outrage

Roughly a day after a Jersey City police officer succumbed to wounds he suffered during a wild shootout last Thursday, members of the U.S. Senate are debating an amendment to a Pentagon spending bill that would allow gun owners to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in the country.

Senator John Thune [R-South Dakota] put forth the proposed amendment, but New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is among those who have blasted the proposal.

"This bill is an anti-police, pro-gun-trafficker bill," he told fellow mayors on a conference call. "This is going to put a lot more guns on the street."

The death of Det. Marc DiNardo, the murder of three Newark residents earlier this week, the shooting death of a Bushwick woman sitting outside her building with her grandson earlier this month and two additional Jersey City police officers who suffered injuries last night are among the series of recent incidents in this area that highlight the unfortunate reality Thune is arguably woefully ignorant of the unacceptable toll guns continue to inflict across the country. Freshman U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-N.Y.], a self-described supporter of "hunter's rights," stressed to this reporter during an interview yesterday she remains a vigorous supporter of the Second Amendment. She testified against Thune's bill, however, on the floor of the U.S. Senate earlier today.

"In a city where 90 percent of guns used in crimes come from out of state, it is easy to see how Senate Bill 845 will pose a serious threat to New Yorkers," Gillibrand said.

Indeed!

Update: The Senate voted 58-39 in support of Senate Bill 845. It needed 60 votes for approval.

Man drowns off Cherry Grove

The beautiful weather that graced the beach this weekend did little to mask the tragedy that struck Cherry Grove late Saturday afternoon. A man police the Suffolk County Police Department later identified as Rahul Bhola, 22, of Flushing, Queens, drowned after he became caught in a strong current as he and another man swam.

Attached is the story I just filed for EDGE and the Fire Island News.

A man from Queens drowned Saturday afternoon while swimming near Ivy Walk in Cherry Grove.

The Suffolk County Police Department identified the man as Rahul Bhola, 22, of Flushing. Bhola was swimming in chest deep water with another man around 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 18. Police said he stepped further into the water and a strong current pulled him out to sea. The man with whom Bhola was swimming unsuccessfully tried to rescue him.

Members of the Cherry Grove Fire Department and lifeguards from Sailors Haven were among those who responded to the scene. They performed life saving measures on Bhola on the beach. A Suffolk County Police helicopter transported Bhola to Stony Brook University Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Ismael Flores of Astoria, Queens, told the Fire Island News he saw a number of firefighters pull someone out of the water as he lay on the beach. He said hundreds of people were on the beach at the time, but a persistent southwesterly flow had kicked-up the surf. Flores further described the man firefighters pulled out of the ocean as having a bloody eye and cuts around his eyebrow and near his hairline.

"He looked like wax," Flores said.

Members of the Cherry Grove Community Association held a moment of silence in Bhola’s memory at their annual summer meeting yesterday.

"I was just begging to God not to take him," Flores said. "It was just a tragedy."

Syracuse jury convicts man accused of killing Lateisha Green

An Onondaga County jury has just found Dwight R. DeLee guilty of manslaughter as a hate crime in connection with the murder of Lateisha Green last November.

DeLee shot and killed Green outside a Syracuse house party on Nov. 14. He reportedly targeted Green because he thought she was gay--although she was transgender. The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation are among the groups that have worked with Green's family since the murder.

"It took a long time for Teish to live her life openly and proudly," Lateisha's mother, Roxanne Green, said in a press release earlier this year. "When she finally stood up and began living as who she was, she was taken away from me. I can't understand how anyone can hate someone so much because of who they are, and I hope that no other mother has to mourn a child killed because of who she was. I hope that justice will be done."

Boy in Bushwick will provide additional details of the verdict as they become available.

Congress debates hate crimes bill

While members of the Senate Judiciary Committee continued to question Judge Sonia Sotomayor during her Supreme Court nomination hearing, lawmakers also debated a bill that would add sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, among other things, to federal anti-hate crimes statutes.

Lawmakers could vote on the bill, dubbed the Matthew Shepard Act, by the end of the week. Legislators have attacked the proposed legislation to a $680 billion defense spending bill. And U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer [D-N.Y.] was among those who spoke in support of the bill yesterday.

Schumer evoked Ecuadorian immigrant José Sucuzhañay, who was allegedly beaten to death by Hakim Scott and Keith Phoenix on a Bushwick street corner last December as he and his brother walked home arm-and-arm from a nearby bar, during his testimony.

"This bill sends a clear message to those perpetrators and others that in America we don't tolerate violence against vulnerable communities," Schumer said.

A vote on the bill could come as early as this afternoon.

July on Fire Island

With summer finally in full swing, an increasing number of New Yorkers (and others) have begun to make the weekly trip to Fire Island. This past weekend was no exception with mild weather, low humidity and clear skies. The beach was packed over the last couple of days, and here are two videos from the last few days... even the deer have fun on Fire Island!



Sunset over the Great South Bay on July 12.



Even deer have fun in Cherry Grove!

Espada to be named Senate Majority Leader

After more than a month of gridlock, the New York State Senate could finally return to business with dissident state Sen. Pedro Espada's return to the party from which he defected.

Albany sources have confirmed media reports Espada will become Senate Majority Leader. This flip will once again give the Democrats a 32-30 majority. And this development could have a positive impact on the future of a bill that would extend marriage for same-sex couples.

One Albany insider told Boy in Bushwick earlier this afternoon Espada would allow the proposed legislation to go before the full Senate for a vote. State Sen. Malcolm Smith [D-Queens] repeatedly maintained he would not bring the bill to the floor unless he had enough votes to secure its passage. Stay tuned...