Transgendered People of Color Take Center Stage
by Pauline Park
The Missive of the Audre Lorde Project (ALP)
winter 1998
(the following are excerpts from a longer article that appeared in LGNY’s November 19th issue)

The first conference specifically by and for transgendered people of color ever held in New York City, and to my knowledged, anywhere, was a historic moment in the life of the TG POC community. Sponsored by The Audre Lorde Project and the Gender Identity Project (GIP) of the Lesbian & Gay Community Services Center, Transworld — the Fourth Annual Transgender/Transsexual Health Empowerment Conference — took place at ALP in Brooklyn on October 24. Only a week before, ALP’s Arms Akimbo, the first confeence for lesiban, bisexual, two-spirit and transgendered women of color, featured the first workshop specifically devoted to transgendered women of color, facilitated by Carmen Vazquez and me.

Transworld was the fourth in a series of conferences that are the biggest annual event of their kind on the transgender calendar in New York City. As in past years, the conference was well attended, with over 200 people from throughout the metropolitan area and beyond in attendance. Some came from upstate locales such as Ithaca, others from as far away as Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

In addition to a focus on TG POCs, what made TransWorld distinct was the decentering of service provider as all-knowing authority figure — for the first time in the history of the annual TG/TS health empowerment conference, health professionals did not dominate the proceedings.

The all-day conference began with an opening plenary on transgender history and culture moderated by Javid Syed. I spoke on the role of the transgendered Korean shaman — the paksu mudang; Arlene Hoffman reviewed African American history; Christian O’Neill offered insights from the perspective of a transsexual black man; and Carmen Vazquez talked about her identity as a buth Puerto Rican lesbian of transgender identity. The early afternoon featured a series of workshops on transgenderphobic violence, facilitated by Victoria Cruz and Alex Gilliam; substance abuse, by Leona Williams and Caprice Carthans; transgendered youth, by Pagen and Reyana Quinones; government entitlements and immigration, by Isiris Isaac; and medical issues.

Perhaps the most innovative feature of the conference was the speak-out sensitively and expertly facilitated by Maura Bairley of Project Reach, who elicited personal experiences of discrimination and violence as well as suggestions for addressing the multiple oppressions that transgendered people of color face in this society…

Also noteworthy was the fact that medical issues of transsexual transition (especially access to hormones and SRS), the focus of one workshop, were not central to the conference, as is often the case at transgender conferences. It may be a mark of the growing maturity of the transgender community that these issues, while important, did not dominate the proceedings. Instead, the question of how to organizaed TG POC’s politically closed the conference’s formal discussion.

One would think that a conference whose aim — the health and empowerment of TG POCs — would win the embrace of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) people. Remarkably, some white queers stayed away based on the misconception that the conference ‘excluded’ white people. (In fact, the conference was open to all and about a quarter of the attendees were white.) The conference even prompted one nationally prominent transgender activist to denounce it as ‘racist’ for having limited the roster of presenters to people of color, despite the fact that POC-only spaces have become increasingly commonplace in LGB communities. Perhaps it is a measure of the need of the transgender community to address issues of race, ethnicity, nationality, and citizenship status more forthrightly that a conference featuring only people of color as presenters would create any controversy at all.

Pauline Park is coordinator of Iban/Queer Koreans of New York, policy coordinator of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy; she also served on the Transworld organizing committee.  The views expressed here are not necessarily those of these organizations.

This article originally appeared in the winter 1998 issue of The Missive (Vol. 2, Issue 4) of the Audre Lorde Project (ALP), and before that, in the 19 November 1998 issue of Lesbian & Gay New York (LGNY).

Woodside clinic offers legal aid to HIV patients

By Dustin Brown

Times-Ledger
10.24.2002

For people in Queens who are living with HIV, the options for finding legal guidance are limited.

Although they could find free services by going into Manhattan, job and family commitments often stand in the way. While legal clinics in their neighborhoods may cater to their communities, HIV can be a taboo subject they are afraid to broach because of possible discrimination.

Now a small storefront that is off the beaten path in Woodside — yet still within a thriving immigrant community — has introduced the borough’s first legal clinic to help people who are infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

Queens Pride House is partnering with the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, the oldest AIDS organization in the country, to provide free legal assistance every Friday out of its offices at 67-03 Woodside Ave.

“The partnership will enable us to better serve the needs of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered) people in Queens, including people who are HIV positive, many of whom are recent immigrants or people of color,” said Pauline Park, the secretary of Queens Pride House. “That’s a population that is generally reluctant to seek legal services within their communities of origin because of fears of discrimination.”

The legal clinic, which has been operating since Sept. 15, will officially open Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and reception with City Councilwoman Helen Sears (D-Jackson Heights).

The center is designed to cater to the people who are most difficult to reach. A typical client would be a closeted bisexual or gay man with limited English proficiency “who is afraid to seek social services, who is afraid to have an HIV test, who is afraid to get legal counseling about the implications of that,” Park said.

“They’re the ones who need the services most and they’re the most reluctant to come forward,” she continued. “That’s really who we hope to reach.”

People can set up appointments to visit Queens Pride House and consult with an attorney from GMHC, which investigates the situation and helps the client navigate through the legal issues.

“If you’re HIV-positive and you’re, let’s say, an immigrant or undocumented, or you have a housing problem or you have a family issue, there are certain things that the law will help you with,” said Evelyn Tossas Tucker, the legal director at GMHC.

Although the agency already offers such services in its Manhattan offices, the legal clinic in Queens provides access to a broader range of people.

“If you’re closer to the people in the community, it makes it a little easier for them, more convenient,” Tucker said.

Because many people still view AIDS as a disease that exclusively afflicts gay white men — the population that was hardest hit when the epidemic first surfaced more than two decades ago — minorities and immigrants often fail to recognize that they are at risk themselves, Park said.

“They may say … ‘I just don’t hang out with people who are likely to have AIDS,’” Park said. “That’s really extremely dangerous because anyone can be HIV-positive or become infected or transmit the virus.”

Although the service is provided in an LGBT community center, Park believes the site affords the anonymity many people desire because it is not in a heavily trafficked area.

“It’s a convenient location, but it’s a little bit removed,” Park said. “The fact that it’s not part of a visible commercial strip, that is in effect the Main Street for one of the immigrant communities, is helpful.”

This article originally appeared in the 24 October 2002 issue of the Times-Ledger papers.

]]> http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/07/woodside-clinic-offers-legal-aid-to-hiv-patients/feed/ 0 http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/07/gmhc-expands-legal-reach-to-queens-gcn-11-1-02/ http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/07/gmhc-expands-legal-reach-to-queens-gcn-11-1-02/#comments Mon, 12 Jul 2010 13:37:51 +0000 Pauline http://www.paulinepark.com/?p=1696

GMHC Expands Legal Reach to Queens

Pride House in Woodside home to effort focused on new Americans

By Matthew Coleman

Gay City News
1-7 November 2002

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GHMC) opened a new legal services program this week in Queens in cooperation with Queens Pride House and the City University of New York School of Law. The clinic, named GMHC@Queens Pride House, is positioned to help the borough’s under-served communities. The Woodside-based clinic, which offers a variety of services, specializes in providing free legal assistance for people living with “a triple whammy,” according to Ana Oliveira, executive director of GMHC.

“The triple whammy refers to people who are LGBT, HIV positive, and undocumented immigrants,” Oliveira said. “These are all obstacles to becoming a legal immigrant. Unfortunately, immigrants who are HIV-positive are at greater risk of deportation. This program will help advise people of their rights and assist with legal issues, such as deportation and naturalization.”

The legal clinic, which has been operating for the past two months, officially opened October 29 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Pride House. City Councilmember Helen Sears cut the ribbon and spoke of the need for these services in Queens. “It’s important to have such a program here at Pride House,” Sears said. “The storefront location lends itself to the sense of community these services will attract.”

The clinic is staffed with a paralegal, an intern from the CUNY Law School, and an attorney from GMHC’s Legal Services and Client Advocacy. The program provides legal assistance for a wide variety of services, including immigrant cases, discrimination cases, landlord/tenant issues, estate planning, and family law. The location at 67-03 Woodside Avenue will serve the large, immigrant LGBT population in Woodside, Corona, and Jackson Heights. Translators of Spanish, Chinese, and other foreign languages are provided for clients.

“Many of the clients we serve live right here in Queens,” Evelyn Tossas-Tucker, director of GMHC Legal Services and Client Advocacy, said. “Many of them are not comfortable going into Manhattan for GMHC’s legal services. This location is really an extension of our services already offered by GMHC.”

Pauline Park, a secretary at Queens Pride House and a representative of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, agreed that the program is important to the area. “We’re delighted to expand much-needed legal services for a marginalized population,” she said. “These services are desperately needed here. In addition to legal assistance, the clinic will help promote greater awareness and acceptance of people living with HIV/AIDS in the area.”

Like Oliveira’s “triple whammy,” Park also spoke of the added stigma of LGBT immigrants living with HIV/AIDS feel in accessing services from mainstream providers. “Often, people are so fearful of this stigma that it prevents them from venturing beyond their local communities for much help,” Park said. “The free clinic will address those concerns by offering an alternative right where the people

reside.”

Queens Pride House was formed in 1996 to provide a safe space for LGBT individuals and to meet the special needs of populations, such as youth, women, and immigrants, who are often insufficiently supplied with services. Pride House and GMHC officials agreed that the clinic was a logical and important step toward reaching that goal. “As GMHC widened its scope over the years, we have gotten more involved with immigrant rights,” Marty Algaze, director of communications for GMHC, said. “Queens has a large ethnically diverse immigrant community. There is a real need in this neighborhood for these services.”

Funding for these free services comes from GMHC, the nation’s first AIDS services association, and the Stonewall Community Foundation, an LGBT advocacy organization.

In addition to on-site legal assistance, the program anticipates working with other local organizations, such as AIDS Center Queens County and Safe Haven, in providing services in Queens through cooperation and referrals.

The legal clinic at Queens Pride House is open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 718.651.4945 or 212.367.1040 or visit www.queenspridehouse.org or www.gmhc.org.

This article originally appeared in the 1-7 November 2002 issue of Gay City News.

]]> http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/07/gmhc-expands-legal-reach-to-queens-gcn-11-1-02/feed/ 0 http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/07/queens-pride-house-faces-funding-shortfall-7-6-10/ http://www.paulinepark.com/index.php/2010/07/queens-pride-house-faces-funding-shortfall-7-6-10/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 20:59:31 +0000 Pauline http://www.paulinepark.com/?p=1659

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more info., contact:

Daniel Castellanos
Executive Director
(718) 429-5309
(646) 285-6931
dcastellanos@queenspridehouse.org

Pauline Park
Vice-President, Board of Directors
(718) 424-4003
paulinepark@earthlink.net

Queens Pride House
76-11 37th Avenue, Suite 206
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
(718) 429-5309
http://www.queenspridehouse.org/

New York, 6 July 2010 — Queens Pride House is appealing to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community for support in the face of possibly devastating state funding cuts. The only LGBT community center in Queens, Pride House has not yet received a definitive response from Gov. David Paterson as to the disposition of approximately $80,000 in grants from the State of New York that are hanging in the balance as the governor threatens to veto funding appropriated by the state legislature for scores of community-based organizations throughout the state.

“As you may already know, many non-profit organizations are struggling with funding, and Queens Pride House has been as vulnerable as any to the negative impact of the downturn of the economy in general and the State of New York’s budget crisis in particular,” executive director Daniel Castellanos wrote to members of the Queens Pride House mailing list in a message posted to the list on June 30.

“In addition to the uncertainty over our current funding from the State of New York, we have received some very disappointing news regarding funding from the New York City Council and New York State Assembly,” Castellanos continued. “Due to these funding constrains, we have been forced to make some very painful decisions in order to keep our doors open. Most painful of all was the difficult decision to lay off two valued members of our QPH staff,” said Castellanos. “We have had to reduce our drop-in hours, eliminate some program activities, and postpone some upcoming events. Our services to Spanish-speaking immigrants have been also impacted by the loss of bilingual staff.”

“The consequences of a veto by the governor will be the most dire for the most vulnerable people we serve, including those with health and social service issues, especially for clients who are homeless or unemployed,” said Pauline Park, vice-president of the board of directors.

“Of the three state contracts totalling approximately $80,000, we have expended about $50,000 on the contracts, including payroll and other expenses,” noted Castellanos. “Loss of these contracts could force us to cut back on as much as one-third of our client services and dismiss one full-time and three part-time employees,” he added.  Queens Pride House has been awarded an Assembly grant through the LGBT Health & Human Services Network consecutively for eight years, with the current amount of that grant standing at $25,000.  QPH has also received a Senate grant in the amount of $40,000 and an grant of $15,000 from outgoing Senator George Onorato of Queens, who is retiring this year. “Our proposed workplans, contract period, and budget were approved by the New York State Department of Health and those contracts were issued,” Castellanos pointed out.

Queens Pride House was founded in 1997 and is based in Jackson Heights, which is part of Council District 25. In previous years, Queens Pride House had received funding from former Council Member Helen Sears, who was defeated in September 2009 by openly gay Council Member Daniel Dromm. The election of the first openly gay elected officials in the borough of Queens in November 2009 seemed to some members of the LGBT community to herald a new era in the history of the community, but both Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-25) and Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer (D-26) declined funding requests from Queens Pride House for fiscal year 2010-2011. In previous years, Queens Pride House had received funding from former Council Member Helen Sears (who was defeated in September 2009 by Dromm) as well as from her predecessor, John Sabini.

“The loss of any of our state or city grants would seriously compromise our ability to support partnerships with some groups serving underserved individuals and their families,” added Rosa Bramble Weed, a member of the Queens Pride House board who also runs the Positive Life program, a program for Latino HIV positive individuals supported by Queens Pride House. In fact, the community center also provides subsidized space to two substance use groups, two arts organizations, and several non-profit organizations serving immigrants.

However, Queens Pride House has received a small grant from Council Member Julissa Ferreras (D-21) to continue Charla!, a support group for Latina lesbians offered in partnership with Las Buenas Amigas (a group for Latina lesbians in New York City). “Charla is a monthly discussion group that meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month at Queens Pride House and focuses on health and emotional issues of interest to Latina lesbians in New York,” noted Bramble Weed.

“We hope that our funding stabilizes,” Castellanos added. “However, these steps we have taken might not be enough to cover potential cuts to our funding.” Castellanos concluded the June 30 appeal with the recognition that “We know that this is a difficult time for many members of the community as well as for our community center, and we ask for your patience, understanding, and support during this difficult time of adjustment. We are more than ever in need of donations and the active participation of volunteers, who will play an important role in keeping our community center open so that we can continue to serve the LGBT community of Queens.”

# # # #

Gay City News
9 December 2004

On the day that The New York Times ran a front-page story reporting that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) was moderating its push for same-sex marriage rights and willing to entertain a discussion of supporting Social Security privatization in return for recognition of gay and lesbian partners in the program, dozens of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) leaders sent the following letter to every member of Congress. Matt Foreman, the executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), initiated the letter and HRC was invited to sign on, but declined.

December 9, 2004

Dear Member of Congress (or Senator):

First, know that we appreciate and value the thoughtful and visionary leadership so many of you have provided. As a community, we are proud to have allies in both parties.

There has been much speculation over the last month about the meaning of the results of the last election and its impact on the future of American politics. Some have even suggested that same-sex marriage was a major factor in the outcome. Upon reflection, thoughtful analysts have come to dismiss that notion and realize that terrorism and the War in Iraq were uppermost on people’s minds.

The powerful and revealing fact is that that over 60 percent of voters in November 2 exit polls said they supported either marriage or civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. What remarkable progress we have made over these last years.

The New York Times today reported that some in the LGBT community are ready to pull back on our struggle for freedom to make everyone more comfortable politically, or willing to bargain away the rights of others to make a deal for themselves. Specifically, the notion was advanced that we could make gains at the expense of senior citizens by privatizing Social Security.

For our part, we want to be absolutely clear and on the record: We specifically reject any attempts to trade equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, a group that includes many elders, for the rights of senior citizens under Social Security or, for that matter, the rights of any other group of Americans.

Finally, although the struggle for freedom can be difficult and painful for those without full equality, it would be an historic mistake to grow tired of the battle or surrender basic rights and equality in order to make the road easier. We have made it through some extremely harsh and challenging times, including losing thousands and thousands of our friends and family to HIV/AIDS. This is a community that has heroically walked its own path of tribulations and travail, determined to be free and proud American citizens.

We will not sacrifice our rights—or the rights of others like senior citizens on the altar of political expediency. Most of us, if confronted with that choice, would not even know where to begin. Which right would we give up?

The right to adopt children? The right to serve our country proudly and with honor? The right to be at our partner’s bedside in death? And how much would we be willing to hurt others like seniors as part of a cynical deal to help ourselves? We are not for sale to those who would undermine Social Security and we are not prepared to walk away from political leaders who have stood with us.

Nothing short of full equality and protection granted to all other American citizens is acceptable. We know that these are times that require wise and brave people who believe and love justice and freedom.

Given recent events, we wanted to restate our determination to do what’s right—for our community, for senior citizens, and for America. With the greatest respect,

Sincerely,

Diane Abbitt, Co-Chair, Equality California

David Barr

Roberta Bennett

Betty Berzon, Ph.D.

Steve Black, Political Director, The Pennsylvania Gay And Lesbian Alliance

David Bohnett

Craig A. Bowman, Executive Director, National Youth Advocacy Coalition

Howard Bragman

Kent Burbank, Executive Director, Wingspan (Southern Arizona’s LGBT Community Center)

Richard D. Burns, Executive Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center – New York

Alan Van Capelle, Executive Director, Empire State Pride Agenda

Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director, Lambda Legal

Josh Cazares and Nancy Wohlforth, Board Co-Presidents, Pride At Work, AFL-CIO

George Chauncey, Ph.D., Professor of History, University of Chicago

Bruce Cohen

Darrel Cummings, Chief of Staff, Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center

James Dale

Teresa DeCrescenzo, Executive Director Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services

Ann DeGroot, Executive Director. Out Front Minnesota

John D’Emilio, Professor of History. University of Illinois at Chicago

Sue Doerfer, Executive Director, Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland

Hon. John J. Duran, Mayor, City of West Hollywood, California

Randall Ellis, Executive Director, Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas

Paula Ettelbrick, Executive Director, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission

Laurent Fischer

Patrick Flaherty, Director of Community Relations, Milwaukee Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center

Michael Fleming, Executive Director, David Bohnett Foundation

Matt Foreman, Executive Director, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Matthew J. Gallagher, Executive Director, DignityUSA

Rick Garcia, Director, Equality Illinois

Penny Gardner, Ph.D., Program Director, Michigan Equality

Aimee Gelnaw, Executive Director, Family Pride Coalition

Steven Goldstein, Chair, Garden State Equality, New Jersey

Richard Gollance

Herb Hamsher

Richard S. Haymes, Executive Director, New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project

Sheila Healy, Executive Director, National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Centers

Rick Jacobs, California Co-Chair, Dean for President

Terry Kaelber, Executive Director, Seniors in a Gay Environment (SAGE)

Michael Kearns

Mara Keisling, Executive Director, National Center for Transgender Equality

Kate Kendell, Esq., Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights

Geoffrey Kors, Executive Director, Equality California

Anamaria Loya, Executive Director, La Raza Centro Legal

Bill Melamed, Board Member, American Foundation for AIDS Research

David Mixner

Jeffrey Montgomery, Executive Director, Triangle Foundation

Dave Noble, Executive Director, National Stonewall Democrats

Torie Osborn

C. Dixon Osburn, Executive Director, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network

Pauline Park, Co-Chair, New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy

Clarence Patton, Interim Executive Director, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs

Christopher J. Price

Jennifer Rakowski, Associate Director, Community United Against Violence

Warren Redman-Gress, Executive Director, Alliance For Full Acceptance

Doug Riley, Executive Director, Kansas City Anti-Violence Project

H. Alexander Robinson, National Black Justice Coalition

Eric Rofes

Mark M. Sexton and W. Kirk Wallace

Stacey L. Sobel, Executive Director, Center for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights

Jeff Soref

Jeff Soukup

Jonathan Stoller

Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

Olga Vives, Vice-President, National Organization for Women

Bernard Whitman

Phill Wilson, Executive Director, Black AIDS Institute

Evan Wolfson, Executive Director, Freedom to Marry

This open letter to the community was published in the 16 December 2004 issue of Gay City News.

More than 2,000 people rallied for equal rights in front of the capitol building in Albany.

New Yorkers Lobby Albany for Equality and Justice Day in Record Numbers
Constituents urge lawmakers to pass three key bills this session
By Kat Long
New York Blade
5.1.2009

Riding the momentum of recent victories for gay equality in Iowa, Vermont, Washington D.C. and other states, Empire State Pride Agenda sponsored its annual Equality and Justice Day in Albany on April 28. Pride Agenda, the statewide LGBT civil rights advocacy group, organized the daylong series of meetings with state legislators as well as a noontime rally at the foot of the capitol building. More than 2,000 New Yorkers from all corners of the state took part—the largest turnout in the event’s history. The number presented a huge increase from the first E&J Day, when 400 people participated.

“We were very strategic in identifying the districts where we wanted to make sure we had a good attendance, and we had conference calls prior to E&J Day with the individuals who had signed up to come, so we could talk to them about just how important their stories were going to be,” said Alan Van Capelle, Pride Agenda’s executive director. “Those districts included places on Long Island and in the North Country and western and central New York, so that [support] literally came from around the state.”

The day’s program was focused on having small groups of constituents meet with their elected Senators and Assemblymembers to tell their personal stories, with an emphasis on the difference pro-gay laws could make in their lives.

Three major pieces of legislation of concern to LGBT New Yorkers have a chance of passage in this legislative session, which ends June 22: the marriage equality bill re-introduced by Gov. David Paterson last month; the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA); and the Dignity for All Students Act. (See related articles in this issue for analyses of each bill).

“Anytime we’ve won something from Albany it’s because we’ve told our stories to legislators,” Van Capelle said. “The biggest goal we had to was to get as many people together to tell their stories to our elected officials.”

The groups of amateur lobbyists included heads of major labor unions, CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, and everyone in between, Van Capelle said, which showed a depth and breadth of participation that hadn’t been seen in previous years.

For some E&J Day participants, it was their first chance to meet face-to-face with their elected representatives and make a personal investment in the democratic process. For others, this year offered a chance to lobby with the wind at their backs.

Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA), told the Blade this was her eleventh year of lobbying in the capitol. She personally met with legislative directors for Senators Carl Kruger (D-Brooklyn), Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D-Queens) and Hiram Monserrate (D-Queens), the latter from her own district.

“I felt it was especially important, as the chair of a statewide transgender advocacy organization, to meet with centrist Democrats who have not yet taken a clear position on legislation important to our community,” Park said. “It is precisely with Addabbo, Kruger and a few other moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans that we will find the votes to bring marriage, GENDA, and Dignity bills to the floor of the Senate and get them passed.”

Based on her meetings, Park felt that the Dignity for All Students Act would be the easiest of the three to pass, “as it is difficult for even the most homophobic or transgenderphobic politician to argue that kids should be subject to bullying in school.” She also had high hopes for GENDA based on polls that suggested most New Yorkers support laws banning discrimination, but felt marriage equality could be the biggest hurdle, based on feedback from legislators.

Van Capelle said that while we as voters have no control over which bills come up for votes first, it’s our responsibility to work the legislation we want to see made into law.

“This is a unique moment in our movement that did not happen by accident. We’ve worked for this moment, and we saw the fruits of it on Tuesday.”

He added, however, that E&J Day 2009 was the “starting point, not the finish line.”

This article originally appeared in the New York Blade on 1 May 2009; the Blade is now defunct.

New Yorkers Join National Fight for Trans Equality
By Brett Krutzsch
NY Blade
Friday, May 18, 2007

Personal stories of harassment and discrimination were a uniting theme Tuesday night at the LGBT Center in Chelsea during a panel titled “Clock In/Speak Out: Gaining Momentum for Workplace Equality in New York and the U.S.”

Almost 50 people attended the discussion on transgender rights, sponsored by the LGBT legal advocacy group Lambda Legal. The debut program was one of seven flagship events across the country that took place on Tuesday to raise awareness for the  Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Introduced in Congress on April 24, ENDA could make it illegal to fire, prevent promotion, or refuse to hire anyone based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

At Tuesday’s event, the panel discussed key issues facing the transgender community, including problems with the healthcare system, workplace discrimination, and harassment of transgender youth in New York City schools.

“As an American citizen, I can work just like anyone else,” said panelist Elizabeth Rivera, Program Coordinator of TransJustice at the Audre Lorde Project. Rivera, who is transgender, said it can be very difficult to get a job when you are in an “in-between state” of male and female.

New York is one of 17 states that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. However, explicit statewide employment protection for transgender individuals does not exist.

Transgender youths are also at risk, and are not protected under New York State  law. Truman High School student Andy Santana, who identifies as “gender queer,” has been verbally and physically assaulted by other students, and said complaints to school officials have fallen on deaf ears. Santana said that when he was jumped by another student in a stairwell, “There was a security guard who saw me screaming, and walked away.”

“Fear of going to school harms people,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. “You are less likely to be hired if you don’t have the skill set you need.”

Panel moderator and chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights and Advocacy (NYAGRA), Pauline Park, said that, “Since so many transgender people are forced out of high school, they don’t go to college. It’s no surprise that so many transgender people are forced into sex work or extremely low-paying work.”

Santana’s experience at Truman High School in the Bronx captured the attention of the audience and became a focal point for much of the evening.

“Gay bashing definitely happens,” Santana said. “Gay and transgender students in my school get their names posted on a wall by other kids. After a student gets jumped, their name gets crossed off.”

Park said her group has sponsored trainings related to transgender issues at Truman High School, but, “The principal has been hostile since day one,” and that the “Department of Education doesn’t do anything to take these issues seriously.”

Hayley Gorenberg, the deputy legal director of Lambda Legal, wanted the audience to know that transgender people can still take cases to court in states such as New York where there aren’t specific laws to protect transgender individuals.

“People are discriminated against all the time without knowing we have tools to fight,” she said.

The evening ended with a call to action. People were encouraged to sign a petition in support of ENDA. Everyone was also given information about New York State’s Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) that would protect against discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and education. Those present were given phone numbers of State Assembly members on the Codes Committee who will be voting on the issue.

Marcy Farrell, who volunteers with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, said that panel gave “all of us enough courage to be public about our transgenderness and to advocate for understanding, to be seen as human beings, despite our gender issues.”

Maurice Harrison, who was also in the audience, wished that the event could have been held somewhere other than the LGBT Center. “We have problems with the heterosexual community,” Harrison said. “And they have no idea about these meetings.”

Leslie Gabel-Brett, director of education and public Affairs at Lambda Legal, said she hopes Santana’s and others’ stories “raise visibility of transgender issues, and generate more activism on the state and national level.”

As Santana said before the panel ended, “If I had transferred out of the school, I would have shown my bashers that they had won.”

Now Santana’s story is inspiring others to fight for transgender individuals.

This article originally appeared in the New York Blade on 18 May 2007; the Blade is now defunct.

Trans Health Fair Debuts at Center

By Brett Krutzsch
New York Blade
Friday, June 01, 2007

Robert Eads, a female to male transsexual, died from ovarian cancer after being turned away by more than two dozen physicians who worried that taking him on as a patient might harm their practices. A documentary released in 2001, “Southern Comfort,” chronicles Eads’ struggles to navigate the health care system as a transgender individual.

“Transgender people, like Robert, face a tremendous amount of discrimination in the mainstream health care system,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF). “And, as a result, many of them have checked out of the system.” In an effort to meet the health care needs of transgender individuals, various community organizations have joined together with St. Vincent’s Hospital to sponsor New York’s first-ever Transgender Health Fair.

From 5:30–8 p.m., Wednesday, June 6, at the LGBT Center in Manhattan, transgender men and women will have the opportunity to get free health screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure, and more.  Information will be provided about hormone therapy, smoking cessation, nutrition and mental health. Individuals will also learn about health insurance opportunities and how to enroll in Medicaid.

“This is a historic event,” said Pauline Park, chair of the New York Association for Gender Rights and Advocacy (NYAGRA). Park, who is one of the key organizers of the event, hopes the health fair will “signal to the transgender community that our partnership with St. Vincent’s is a trans-affirming one.” According to Park, “Many transgender people don’t have health insurance, and many don’t go to the doctor because they fear discrimination because of past incidents.” Park hopes the health fair will show that resources are available to transgender men and women, and that crucial partnerships are being formed with St. Vincent’s health care providers.

“Transgender people are one of the most marginalized communities in the health care system,” said Dr. Dennis Greenbaum, chair of St. Vincent’s Department of Medicine. “It is essential that they have access to the same respectful, high quality care that all people expect.”

Park said that transgender individuals face three major impediments when trying to obtain medical care: intentional discrimination (i.e. being told “we don’t serve people like you”), inadvertent/unintentional discrimination (i.e. not having the proper resources to serve the transgender population) and institutional discrimination (i.e. only asking for male/female on in-take forms or not providing gender-neutral bathrooms).

Silverman, who is also instrumental in organizing the health fair, said, “We have transgender people all of the time who complain they are called the wrong name, or pronoun, or just made fun of” when seeking medical attention.  “I’m currently working with two transgender people who went to a local emergency room, and some security and maintenance workers referred to them as faggots,” Silverman said. “It shocks the conscience that this is what transgender people face.” Silverman and Park both maintain that the medical establishment needs to become better informed of the existence and needs of transgender people. Male-to-female transsexuals have a high rate of HIV infection, according to Silverman. And all transgender individuals have unique health issues.

“The health fair will provide information that transgender people often don’t get,” Park said. For example, information will be given to individuals who identify as female but who also should be getting routine prostate exams.  Advice and information about hormone therapy will also be available at the health fair. The issues can become tricky, as Park notes: “If you get estrogen-based hormones and your legal sex is male, most insurance companies won’t cover it even though they cover estrogen for post-menopausal women.” The health fair may not be able to change the insurance industry, but it will provide people with more options and access to transgender-friendly care.  Hopefully, the transgender health fair will connect a traditionally disenfranchised group with necessary services and treatments. “The real point of the health fair,” Silverman said, “is to show people that there are providers for the transgender community.”  The Transgender Health Fair 5:30–8 pm., Wednesday, June 6, at the LGBT Center, 208 W. 13th St., in Manhattan.

This article originally appeared in the New York Blade on 1 June 2007; the Blade is now defunct.

Jimmy Van Bramer, Tom Duane, Christine Quinn & Danny Dromm

When the Working Families Party burst on the scene a decade ago, I was excited to see a new political party in New York that was explicitly committed to pursuing a progressive political agenda. The WFP seemed like a refreshing alternative to politics as usual, especially politics in the borough of Queens, which remains dominated by the Queens County Democratic Party organization, a.k.a., ‘the Queens machine.’

New York is unusual in permitting candidates to run on more than one party line — sometimes called ‘fusion voting‘ — which gives small third parties such as the Conservative Party an influence disproportionate to their size, enabling it to anchor the Republican Party on the right and prevent a drift to the center. Unfortunately, until the formation of the WFP ten years ago, there was no countervailing force on the opposite end of the political spectrum. With the debut of the WFP, there appeared to be  a progressive party capable of influencing public policy through its ability to hold the Democratic Party accountable for its choices of candidates. The Working Families Party’s stated public policy agenda is a progressive one: affordable housing, good jobs at living wages, green jobs and green homes, universal health care, clean elections, and ‘the extension of civil rights to gays and lesbians,’ including marriage equality

Over the years, I have voted for many WFP candidates, including those who ran on both the Democratic and WFP lines, in order to support an alternative to the Democratic Party machine. But no more. November 2009 represented the moment at which the scales fell from my eyes.

Two things happened. First, the WFP has endorsed several candidates who were clearly not the progressive choice in their races. While the party made some very good choices in the 2009 election cycle, endorsing Bill Thompson for mayor of New York (who ultimately lost to incumbent Michael R. Bloomberg) and Richard Aborn for Manhattan District Attorney (who unfortunately lost his primary race in September) as well as Bill de Blasio for New York City Public Advocate and John Liu for City Comptroller (both of whom went on to win both their primary races and the general election), the WFP also endorsed Daniel (’Danny’) Dromm over incumbent Helen Sears in the 25th Council District in Queens and Jimmy Van Bramer over Deirdre Feerick in the 26th Council District in Queens, as well as Council Speaker Christine Quinn over insurgent Yetta Kurland in the 3rd Council District in Manhattan. Other problematic candidates that the WFP endorsed in 2009 include Elizabeth Crowley (the incumbent Democratic Council Member representing the 30th Council District in Queens) and James Oddo (the incumbent Republican Council Member representing the 30th Council District in Queens).

Second, the WFP set up Data and Field Services, a secretive private company used manage field operations for the party’s endorsed candidates. In early December 2009, City Hall News published “All In The Family,” a five-part investigative series posted to www.cityhallnews.com about the Working Families Party. As City Hall explains, the party has created a web of party organs that work in tandem to help elect its candidates. “There are, in fact, four arms: a political party, a for-profit and two different kinds of non-profits, each of which is separate and distinct under the law,” as Edward-Isaac Dovere explained in part one of the investigative series. “While standing for ethics in government and campaign finance reform, Working Families has non-profits groups and a for-profit entity that lack donation caps, disclosure requirements (in terms of frequency and detail) and other regulations that political parties face. Leading politicians, political operatives and other experts complain that Party-supported candidates are as a result given an unfair advantage over their rivals,” Dovere adds, noting that the WFP’s organizational structure is unprecedented not only in New York state politics but anywhere in the United States.

the Working Families Party structure (courtesy of City Hall News)

The complicated structure of the Working Families Party raises serious questions about its commitment to ‘clean elections,’ as stated in its public policy agenda, rife as it is with potential conflicts of interest. There remain lingering questions about the WFP, as City Hall News editorialized on Dec. 15. “There is legal, and there is right. The Working Families should be living up to both,” City Hall News declared. “And enough people have their doubts about whether the leadership needs to do more than simply pay Skadden Arps to do a private review. There need to be some explanations publicly, and directly from the leadership.” Indeed.

There are implications for the LGBT community as well, since the WFP helped elect the first two openly gay elected officials in Queens, Daniel Dromm and Jimmy Van Bramer, who take office in January as Council Members representing the 25th and 26th Council Districts in Queens, including the district I live in (the 25th). While neither Dromm nor Van Bramer have been charged with any crime or indicted (as of yet), they have both been subpoenaed by federal prosecutors investigating the WFP scandal. And barring unforeseen circumstances, the openly lesbian Chris Quinn will almost certainly be re-elected Speaker by her City Council colleagues, continuing her role as the second most powerful person in New York City government, with its budget of $59.4 billion, which is larger than that of all but two states — California and New York State itself.

Given that Quinn herself is at the heart of a slush fund scandal in which Council staff members have already been indicted for illegal activity, the WFP’s support for her in the September 2009 Democratic primary and November 2009 general election must be accounted one of the most cynical choices in the relatively short history of an increasingly cynical party, whose values seem to be much closer to those of the Queens machine than I ever imagined.

On July 21, the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA) published the first public directory of transgender-sensitive providers in the New York City metropolitan area. The Gender Identity Project (GIP) of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (208 W. 13th St. in Manhattan) hosted a special event from 7-9 p.m. at which hundreds of copies of the provider directory were distributed to members of the transgender community. The directory – which includes of physicians, mental health professionals, acupuncturists, and AIDS agencies as well as other health care providers – is a project of the Transgender Health Initiative of New York (THINY), a community organizing project whose goal is to ensure that transgendered and gender non-conforming people can access health care in a safe, respectful and non-discriminatory manner. THINY was established by the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), NYAGRA, and the Center GIP in 2004 and has been coordinated by TLDEF staff since then.

Transgendered and gender-variant people face pervasive discrimination and insensitivity when trying to access on health care in New York City and its metropolitan area. Up until now, community members could access transgender-sensitive physicians and other health care providers through referrals from the GIP and other social service providers, but there has never been a published directory of such health care providers available to the general public. The 26-page NYAGRA directory was compiled by Kelly White under the direction of Pauline Park, chair of the NYAGRA board of directors. White is a Cornell University student who joined NYAGRA in June 2009 as part of a paid summer internship through the Cornell Urban Scholars Program (CUSP).

While similar provider directories for other cities (Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul) have been made available on-line, the NYAGRA directory may well be the first directory of transgender-sensitive health care providers published in a print edition anywhere in the United States.

The NYAGRA provider directory is now available on-line through the TLDEF website.