Brooklyn elected three openly lesbian or gay delegates -- including 2 LID members -- to the Democratic Convention in the March 7th primary election. Though openly lesbian or gay delegates have been selected by caucus or appointment since 1980, this represents the first time that openly lesbian or gay delegates were elected by the voters of our borough.
In the 10th congressional district, former school board president Jill Harris was the second highest vote getter in her contest and will be joined by alternate delegate winner Clarence Patton. Both are L.I.D. members and will be attending their first conventions.
Lower East Side Councilmember Margarita Lopez was victorious in the 12th congressional district. While not a Brooklyn resident, Lopez won in a district that covers parts of our borough as well as Manhattan and Queens. Harris and Patton ran as Al Gore delegates, while Lopez is pledged to Bill Bradley. The two remaining openly gay candidates -- Alan Fleishman and Ron Johnson -- were unsuccessful in their 11th congressional district races. Both were pledged to Bradley.
L.I.D. endorsed Bill Bradley's campaign, which faltered badly in New York, leading to the former senator's withdrawal from the presidential contest. Exit polls in New York did not ask for voters' sexual orientation, so we unfortunately cannot accurately state Bradley's level of support in our community. In California, where the question was asked on exit surveys, Bradley ran 5 points stronger in the lesbian and gay community than he did among the general electorate.
The Democratic National Convention is scheduled for August 14-17 in
Los Angeles, California.
LID's New Home on the Web
L.I.D. has a new home on the internet: www.LIDBrooklyn.org. Our new email is LID@LIDBrooklyn.org. After being one of the first lesbian and gay political clubs in the country to establish a web site in April 1996, the L.I.D. board decided late last year that we needed to acquire our own domain and permanent home in cyberspace.
The switch to www.LIDBrooklyn.org will insure faster and more reliable access to the site and make our web address easier to remember. We will continue to enhance the site so that it remains a preeminent source of information for the Brooklyn lesbian and gay community.
We apologize for any inconvenience during our transition to our new
internet home. Remember to change your bookmarks and address books to
reflect our new web address and email.
Gays Not Welcome: Part I
Last October, Philip Alerti and Gabriel Bean were the first to visit a newly listed apartment in Park Slope, and the next day put down a deposit. But the couple's dream for a new home together was dashed by an unexpected dose of bigotry in what many still view as the borough's most welcoming community for lesbians and gays.
They were informed a few days later by the real estate broker handling the apartment that the landlord had cancelled their appointment to sign the lease. The reason: he did not want to rent the apartment to two men who would be sharing a bedroom. During a subsequent investigation by the Open Housing Center, the Realtor refused to show the apartment to others posing as gay renters.
Of course, such discrimination is illegal in New York City (though would be legal in much of New York State, since we are without a statewide nondiscrimination law which includes sexual orientation).
In February, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund filed suit in Kings County Supreme Court against the landlord, Harold Vinje of Vinje Realty, and the broker, F.JH Kazeroid Realty Group.
The couple eventually found another apartment in the neighborhood. The suit is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as a permanent injunction to prohibit the landlord and broker from such discrimination in the future.
Such blatant housing discrimination against lesbians and gays is
rarely documented and this case serves as an shining example to the handful
of Brooklyn legislators who continue to oppose statewide nondiscrimination
legislation. Had these young men lived in Nassau County, or Utica, or
dozens of other communities, they would have had no legal recourse.
Gays Not Welcome: Part II
(but Dogs are OK)
It was deja vu at the March 19th Irish American Parade in Brooklyn as organizers once again refused to allow Lavender & Green to march. In the ultimate in insulting irony, parade Chair Kathleen McDonough proudly welcomed a new marching contingent to this year's festivities from the reviewing stand -- a band of Irish setters. Alas, dogs are welcome to participate, but not lesbians and gays.
While L.I.D. organized a protest on parade day, our chief activities were focused on spearheading a political boycott and attempting to persuade the local Community Board to repudiate the event. The boycott was highly successful, as no elected officials were spotted at the parade. Only Public Advocate Mark Green and City Comptroller Alan Hevesi actually signed our pledge not to march, however.
Our efforts at Community Board were less successful. On March 6, the Executive Committee of Community Board 6 refused to send a motion supported by L.I.D. to the full Board condemning the parade. The measure was introduced by L.I.D. board member Peter Fleming. Representatives of the parade, though invited to the meeting, chose not to attend.
L.I.D. has challenged parade organizers for several years over the
fact that they explicitly exclude openly lesbian and gay groups from
marching. We will continue to seek ways to make this a truly inclusive
event.
L.I.D. Won't Back
Millennium March
As part of our January presidential endorsement meeting, L.I.D. heard from supporters and opponents of the Millennium March on Washington (MMOW), scheduled April 30th. When the dust settled, L.I.D. members voted against endorsing the march by a nearly 2-1 margin.
The move was significant, since L.I.D. endorsed, participated in, and assisted with organizing and outreach for previous national marches. Despite the eloquent case presented by Deborah Lake, who is spearheading MMOW New York City organizing, the membership sided with the Committee for an Open Process (the umbrella group opposing the march) in questioning both the rationale for a march at this time and the lack of input from grassroots organizations about the event.
The '79, '87 and '93 Marches all operated under the principle of inclusive, grassroots democracy. At the core of each was an open democratic process for deciding who would represent us and what our platform would be.
MMOW has completely abandoned these core democratic principles and traditions. First, the Human Rights Campaign and the Metropolitan Community Church decided on their own that our community shall have a Millennium March on Washington. In the past, this most basic decision was made at large democratic forums open to all.
Additionally, we are concerned by the closed board structure and the
seeming emphasis on corporate sponsorship and marketing. While we are aware
that it will be difficult for some people turn their backs on this event,
for these reasons we urge our members not to participate in MMOW.
Lunch With Lambda May 7
Watch your mailboxes for your invitation to Lunch With Lambda,
celebrating L.I.D.'s 22nd anniversary. This year's event, scheduled for
thee Montauk Club, will honor Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Congressman Jerrold
Nadler, Clarence Patton, Ed Rogowsky and Stacia Thompson. Please join us!
Homophobes on Parade on
Brooklyn Public Access TV
Imagine our surprise when, while channel surfing, we discovered that the homophobic American Family Association has its very own weekly program on channel 34 and 67 of Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT). The program airs Tuesdays at 11 pm.
A recent offering included a highly offensive film from Gary Bauer's Family Research Council entitled "Coming Out of Homosexuality: Stories of Hope and Healing." The program features the oft repudiated ex-gay movement and fuels misconceptions about our community.
We must point out that BCAT does offer an hour of LGBT programming weekly (Dyke-TV and Homovisiones at 11:30 pm on Wednesdays). Several years ago, however, L.I.D. was forced to lobby for a weekly, weekday slot for Dyke-TV after it had been scheduled for a monthly weekend time period. That effort was successful.
While there is balance in BCAT programming, our members should be
aware of this dangerous propaganda on our borough's airwaves. Know thy
enemy!
LID Elects 2000 Board
L.I.D. officers and board members were elected at our January membership. This year's slate includes: Daniel Tietz, President; Peter Fleming, First Vice President; Seth Slade, Second Vice President; Adam Weinstein, Treasurer; Lola Simmons, Recording Secretary; and Renee Cafiero, Corresponding Secretary. All officers were reelected except Simmons, who served last year as co-president.
Harley Diamond is a new addition to the at-large board, joining:
Rodrick Dial, Alan Fleishman, Tom Flood, Beth Robinson, Liz Schalet,
Imogen Taylor, Joseph Tanzi and George Waffle. We also recognize the long
service of retiring board members Monica Barrett, Steve Robles and Stacia Thompson.
Music Director Sought by
Sing Out Proud! Brooklyn
Sing Out Proud! Brooklyn, a 30 voice SATB chorus primarily for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, is seeking a Music Director. The group meets weekly and this is a paying position. Send resume and letter of interest via fax to the attention of Mark at 212-278-8555 or email him at: MarkC@pentantacle.org.