In the spirit of reconciliation, three members of Lavender & Green Alliance, an Irish lesbian and gay organization, traveled to the 24th annual Installation Dance of the Brooklyn Irish American Parade Committee in early February. Their mission: to personally deliver a letter to parade chair Kathleen McDonagh inviting her to Lavender & Green’s March 6th dinner dance. The letter was also a plea to open a dialogue with McDonagh about including a gay and lesbian contingent in the Brooklyn St. Patrick’s Parade, scheduled for March 21st.
What they got, however, was a strikingly chilly response. Though McDonagh eventually accepted the letter, she resisted for some 20 minutes, at one point saying, "I ‘m not having anything to do with you people," and expressing an unwillingness to discuss the group’s hopes to be included in the parade. The following week, she denied having received such a letter or having a discussion with the group when interviewed by the Irish Echo.
Similarly, when the group approached Assemblyman Jim Brennan at the event, he curtly counseled them not to pursue the issue, saying that lesbians and gays had tried several years ago to be included in the parade and that organizers were unwilling to compromise. Brennan himself offered no assistance or encouragement to the group.
Begun in 1975 to "honor the contributions of the Irish," the Brooklyn parade has none of the religious imprimatur of the Manhattan parade, and its dinner dance journal invites all Irish Americans to join the parade "with banners and flags." Indeed, many observers and even parade insiders acknowledge that the event has fallen on hard times of late, with declining participation. One would think parade organizers would welcome new blood at their event.
Instead, they have reverted to the same old shell game, claiming that the parade is by invitation only (by all accounts, a blatant lie) and declining to reveal how one gets invited or the criteria by which potential marchers are judged.
L.I.D. is deeply disappointed by the response of parade organizers and, while we have not as yet directly contacted Assemblyman Brennan, his unsympathetic reaction is most disheartening. The L.I.D. board will be meeting in the coming days to decide on a strategy for assisting Lavender & Green in their quest to participate in the Brooklyn parade. Our borough has the opportunity to break important ground and begin a long needed healing process between the city’s Irish and lesbian and gay communities. We fully expect that our elected representatives will show leadership and courage in this pursuit. Stay tuned.
Hynes Won’t Prosecute Gay Murder; NYPD Botches Probe
The 17-year-old slaying of Jan Schenley, a Ditmas Park gay man, may go unprosecuted by District Attorney Charles Hynes, despite a recent confession pointing to the murderer and attempts by Schenley’s family and L.I.D. to pressure action on the case.
Detectives in the New York Police Department contacted Schenley’s sister late last year, informing her that they believed her brother’s murderer has been arrested. The suspect, Manny Gonzalez, was arrested in December for the 1977 slaying of police officer Ronald Stapleton. Gonzalez was indicted on three counts of second degree murder in that case, but not in the Schenley case, despite the fact that a co-conspirator named Gonzalez in both of the murders in a death-bed confession.
Schenley’s sister contacted Hynes’ office to ask why Gonzalez wasn’t being prosecuted for both murders. The homicide division informed her that there was "not enough evidence" to charge Gonzalez with Schenley’s murder, since the only evidence in the case was the confession, which is likely to be inadmissable in court.
Later, Ms. Schenley says she was told by police detectives that the D.A.’s office has only the confession in the Stapleton murder case as well – an assertion that the DA’s office would not verify when contacted by L.I.D. In a written response to a January letter from L.I.D., Hynes reiterated his assertion that the confession was the only evidence they have in the Schenley case and that that cannot be used in court.
Two problems emerge immediately: there is a dispute about how much more credible evidence the D.A.’s office has in the Stapleton case beyond the confession. Second, and more disturbing, is the fact that the D.A.’s office should have more evidence in Schenley’s murder and that evidence seems to have been lost by the New York City Police Department. According to Ms. Schenley, police took extensive finger prints and semen samples from her brother’s apartment and car at the time of the murder. Apparently objects that were stolen from her brother’s home were later recovered, but the D.A. says they cannot be linked to Mr. Gonzalez as evidence.
Perhaps worse, Ms. Schenley claims that a friend of her brother even named Gonzalez as a suspect at the time of the murder and was never questioned further. Ms. Schenley claims that police callously ignored her brother’s murder in 1982, dismissing it as a possible "S/M murder" and telling her that her brother’s "lifestyle" was likely to blame for his death. Now, 17 years later, there appears to be no physical evidence available and the D.A. may not be able to prosecute a likely murderer.
L.I.D. will continue to follow this case and try to get answers about the evidence in the case, both from the District Attorney Hynes and the New York City Police Department.
The New Dov Hikind?
Jockeying at a run for Brooklyn Borough President in 2001, Borough Park Assemblyman Dov Hikind shocked many — not least of all L.I.D. — when he stated in a January 8th Bay News interview that "I cannot support anyone who is homophobic. I can’t and I won’t." The comment was directed at Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the radical leader of Jews for Morality, who was at the time seeking the city council seat of now Congressman Anthony Weiner.
While we applaud Hikind’s comments, we cannot help but point out that most would construe Hikind’s own record as "homophobic." On numerous occasions, he has voted against state legislation which would outlaw discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations based on sexual orientation (a bill known as SONDA). In 1986, when the New York City Council was considering a city lesbian and gay civil rights ordinance, Hikind testified, "it is laughable to consider the gay community as a deprived community and needing special protections."
L.I.D. is a firm believer in redemption, which is why we suggest that Hikind put his voting record where his rhetoric is. He could do so almost immediately by voting in favor of SONDA, expected to reach the floor of the Assembly in late March. He could also take the lead in supporting continuing and increased state funding for lesbian and gay health and social services funding.
And in the spirit of reconciliation and tolerance, L.I.D. would be delighted to host Assemblyman Hikind at a future meeting where he could discuss his views on these and other issues. We believe there is as much confusion, fear and uncertainty in the lesbian and gay community about the Orthodox Jewish community as there is in the Orthodox Jewish community about lesbians and gays.
If Hikind is interested in becoming Borough President, he will have to truly represent all people and communities in our borough, including lesbians and gays. We will be watching closely for signs that this really is a "new" Dov Hikind.
Nelson Wins Council Seat; LID Sits It Out
Michael Nelson, an aide to Canarsie state Senator Carl Kruger, handily won a February 16th special election to fill the city council seat left vacant by Anthony Weiner's election to Congress. But he did it without seeking or receiving L.I.D.'s support. He was not alone.
His two opponents -- Irma Kramer and Alan Sclar -- also decided to neglect addressing issues of importance to the lesbian and gay community in the campaign. In fact Sclar played a Hamlet-like game, agonizing over whether or not to seek L.I.D.'s endorsement, before eventually snubbing the club.
As a result, L.I.D. urged its members and friends to sit out the council election. In a February 10 letter to several hundred voters on our mailing list who live in the Sheepshead Bay/Midwood district, L.I.D. deplored the lack of "backbone" among the candidates as "pathetic."
The L.I.D. board settled on the tactic after deciding that in 1999 it is unacceptable -- both morally and politically -- for any candidate in any neighborhood in Brooklyn to refuse to embrace equal rights for lesbians and gay men.
We are hopeful that Councilman Nelson will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor and support the lesbian and gay community's struggle for equality. Time will tell.
L.I.D. Elects New Officers
Lola Simmons of Park Slope and Daniel W. Tietz of Cobble Hill were elected Co-Presidents of L.I.D. in January.
Simmons, a 1996 delegate to the Democratic National Convention, was formerly Director of Administration at the Empire State Pride Agenda. Tietz, an attorney, is Program Director at Housing Works East New York Adult Day Healthcare Facility.
Other officers elected were: Peter Fleming, First Vice President; Seth Slade, Second Vice President; Adam Weinstein, Treasurer; and Renee Cafiero, Corresponding Secretary.
Beep Taps L.I.D. Member as Liaison
Dorothy Deringer, an L.I.D. member and secretary of Brooklyn Pride, was recently appointed by Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden as his liaison to the lesbian and gay community. She replaces Lois Feinberg. Our heartiest congratulations!
Flatbush Church Officially Welcomes Gays
All Souls Bethlehem Church in the Kennsington section of Flatbush, voted unanimously in late January to declare itself an Open and Affirming Congregation, officially welcoming gays, lesbians and bisexuals not only into its membership, but into full participation in its life and ministry. It is apparently the first church outside the Brooklyn Heights/Park Slope/Fort Greene belt to take such a public stand. L.I.D. member Bill Nye is co-pastor of the church.