City Councilmember Stephen DiBrienza was the overwhelming choice for Public Advocate, as L.I.D. kicked off the heated 2001 election season at its first endorsement meeting in January.
The early support for DiBrienza is a sign of commitment to one of the club's oldest allies and an early supporter of lesbian and gay rights in Brooklyn. L.I.D. has supported DiBrienza in each of his campaigns over the past 19 years.
"DiBrienza's willingness to be a watchdog, to hear complaints and be responsive, not only to LGBT concerns, but for all people he has served in his district, makes him the best candidate," said L.I.D. co-president Dan Tietz.
DiBrienza's campaign against Council-member Tom Cuite, a vocal opponent of the city lesbian and gay civil rights bill, was crucial in the eventual passage of the bill in 1986. He has been a leader in passage of domestic partnership legislation, wrote the law which mandates the provision of assistance through the Division of AIDS Services, and is currently sponsoring legislation to included transgendered people in the city Human Rights Law.
You can contact the campaign to volunteer or make a contribution at:
Our next endorsement meeting is scheduled for April 5th, when L.I.D. will decide who to back for Mayor and City Comptroller. The Borough President's race may also be considered at this meeting, though that decision was not finalized as Lambda Line went to press. The meeting will be held at Camp Friendship (8th Street at 6th Avenue) in Park Slope.
Please note that the deadline for become a member of L.I.D. and be eligible to vote at the April 5th endorsement meeting is March 6th. Any membership application postmarked by that date will be deemed eligible to vote at the endorsement meeting. In addition, if your membership has la psed since April 2000, you are eligible to renew at the door and vote at the meeting. Please mark your calendar for April 5 and remember to join or renew if you wish to vote in these heated contests!
Current L.I.D. members may receive a mailing prior to the endorsement meeting from candidates. The L.I.D. board has voted to allow each city or borough-wide candidate the option of communicating directly with our members one time prior to an endorsement meeting. Our list is not being shared with any campaign, however. Candidates are required to provide L.I.D. with stamped, sealed envelopes, and L.I.D. board members are affixing labels. Our policy of strictly guarding our list remains intact.
L.I.D. board members representing various campaigns are also being
granted access to the phone list of our members on a confidential basis.
You can opt out of either pre-endorsement communication by emailing or
calling us.
Stellar Group to be Honored at
Lunch with Lambda
An extraordinarily distinguished group of individuals will be honored by L.I.D. at Lunch with Lambda, celebrating the club's 23rd anniversary on April 1st at the Montauck Club in Park Slope.
Longtime L.I.D. members Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz will receive the Peter Vogel Award in recognition of their pioneering 1988 law suit against the New York City Board of Education for equal benefits as a couple. The landmark litigation led to domestic partnership benefits for all New York City employees.
Brooklyn Lambda Awards will be presented to the Brooklyn AIDS Task Force, James Dale and Duncan Osborne. Dale brought suit against the Boy Scouts of America and sparked the case that led to last June's disgraceful Supreme Court decision allowing BSA to discriminate against lesbians and gays. Osborne is a longtime journalist, currently writing for LGNY. His dogged coverage of the Lauren Schenley murder case was singled out by L.I.D. for recognition. Both Dale and Osborne are Brooklyn residents.
Finally, the Clyde Moss Award, for outstanding volunteer service to L.I.D. will be awarded to former L.I.D. co-president and current recording secretary Lola Simmons.
Please join us for a wonderful celebration on April 1st! Watch for
your invitation in the mail.
Park Slasher Strikes Again
A gay man was brutally stabbed in broad daylight in Prospect Park on January 15, in an attack reminiscent of those perpetrated last June and July in the Veil of Cashmere section of the Park. Police at the 78th precinct are investigating the incident as a bias crime and linking the attack to last summer's four assaults by the "Ninja Slasher."
The assailant is described as a 6 foot tall, black male in his 40's, weighing about 185 pounds, and wearing a black, three-quarter-length coat. A $12,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of the attacker has been offered. If you have any information, contact the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit at 800-444-HATE, the NYPD special tips line at 800-577-TIPS or the 78th precinct at 636-6411. All calls will be kept confidential.
Because of this attack, there is an increased NYPD presence in Prospect Park. The police may be stopping and questioning people. Additionally, if you are found in the park after the 1AM curfew, you may be handcuffed, taken to the precinct, questioned, put through the system to determine whether you have a prior record,and at the very least, issued a summons for trespassing in the park.
The incident also sparked renewed calls for the inclusion of lesbians
and gays in federal hate crimes legislation. L.I.D. president Dan Tietz
joined Congressman Anthony Weiner and representatives from the
Anti-Violence Project at a Prospect Park news conference in late January
calling for an expanded federal hate crimes law. Both President Bush and
Attorney General Ashcroft have opposed such expansion in the past. We
applaud Congressman Weiner's continuing leadership on this issue.
Clinton, Schumer Oppose Ashcroft
We are proud to report that Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer were among the 42 Democrats who opposed the confirmation of John Ashcroft as Attorney General. As reported in last month's Lambda Line, L.I.D. urged our senators to vote "no" on Ashcroft in letters dated January 2nd.
Of particular note is the fact that, in announcing her decision to vote against Ashcroft , Sen. Clinton highlighted his appalling anti-gay record, including his opposition to the nomination of James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg simply because Hormel was openly gay and the fact that he asked a prospective employee about his sexual orientation.
We are proud that our Senators stood up and refused to support the
most conservative Attorney General nomination in 20 years.
LID Elects New Board
L.I.D. welcomes new officers and board members, following annual elections in January. Bethany Joseph is L.I.D.'s new co-president, joining Dan Tietz in that role. Dan was elected to his third term, a record-breaking tenure for an L.I.D. president.
Re-elected officers include: Peter Fleming, First Vice President; Seth Slade, Second Vice President; Renee Cafiero, Corresponding Secretary; and Lola Simmons, Recording Secretary. Harley Diamond was elected Treasurer.
Re-elected to the board were: Ken Diamondstone, Alan Fleishman, Frances Miller, Liz Schalet, David Shanton, Joe Tanzi, Imogen Taylor, and George Waffle.
Newly elected to the board were: Andrea Batista-Schlesinger, Jill Harris, and Robert Troeller. Batista-Schlesinger is the Education Policy Analyst and Liaison to the Lesbian and Gay Community for Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer. She previously served as the student member of the New York City Board of Education. A lifelong Brooklynite (born in Sea Gate), she currently lives in Park Slope.
Harris was the first openly lesbian or gay elected official in Brooklyn history when she won a seat on the District #15 school board in 1993. She was reelected, later serving as Board President. She is currently a political consultant residing in Cobble Hill.
Born and raised in Park Slope, Robert Troeller has been a New York City Board of Education School Custodian Engineer since 1992. He is also a union activist, serving as Welfare Fund Administrator for Local 891 International Union of Operating Engineers. He has also served as Chairman of Hospitalization Committee and as an elected auditor for the local. He is a father of four.
We also wish to express our deepest gratitude to four individuals who
chose not to seek re-election this year: former President Rodrick Dial;
Tom Flood; former First Vice President Beth Robinson; and former Treasurer
Adam Weinstein. All served L.I.D. with dedication and great distinction.
Many, many thanks!
SONDA Passes by
Record Margin
For the 9th straight year, the New York State Assembly passed legislation February 12th outlawing anti-gay discrimination in housing, employment and other areas (known as SONDA). The 113-33 vote was the widest margin by which the measure has ever passed, and signals the eroding opposition to this legislation among Republicans and conservative Democrats. Three more G.O.P. members voted in support of the bill this year.
We wish to note the affirmative votes of newly elected Brooklyn Assemblymembers Steve Cymbrowitz and Diane Gordon. We are thankful that they have joined the overwhelming majority of the Brooklyn delegation in supporting SONDA.