St. Patrick's Day Should Be for Everybody!

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This Sunday, join SDNYC at two separate events celebrating inclusion in the spirit of St. Patrick's Day!

The annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Staten Island's Forest Avenue is the Island’s largest community gathering, but not everyone is free to celebrate equally. For close to ten years, the Pride Center of Staten Island has been told by the AOH Parade Committee that they are not allowed to march alongside their neighbors and fellow community organizations. Rainbow Run Staten Island was created to stand against this discrimination and ensure that ALL Staten Islanders, including those in the LGBTQIA+ community, are welcome to celebrate their culture and heritage with pride.

STATEN ISLAND RAINBOW RUN
DATE:  Sunday March, 3, 2019 at 11:00 a.m.
RSVP/DETAILS:  https://www.facebook.com/events/2250884901898428/  

The St. Pat's for All parade celebrates the diversity of the Irish and Irish American communities of New York. First held in 2000, St.Pat's for All cherishes and celebrates an inclusive St. Patrick's season. Now in its twentieth year, SDNYC will once again march in Sunnyside and Woodside to celebrate inclusivity!

MARCH WITH SDNYC @ St. PAT'S FOR ALL
DATE:  Sunday, March 3, 2019 at 1 p.m.
RSVP/DETAILS:  https://www.facebook.com/events/259061058323631/

Enough is enough:  Rubén Díaz Sr. should resign from public office and never hold office ever again.

It's never something new from Councilmember Rubén Díaz Sr. For decades he's presented a delusional and dichotomous double helix of intersecting bigoted paradigms: He holds LGBTQ people to be beneath him, unworthy to love whom we love or keep our homes or jobs because of who we are, while at the same time proclaiming that we have an immeasurable power to somehow victimize him and dominate him.

A recap of what happened over the weekend:
On Friday evening, Diaz Sr. said in an interview that the New York City Council "is controlled by the homosexual community". Attributing non-existent power to a minority population is an ages-old tool of bigots intended to garner animosity and hate.

Council Speaker Corey Johnson was quick to respond, issuing a statement:  "Council Member Díaz Sr.'s homophobic comments are offensive to both the Speaker and the body, and have no place in New York City. He should apologize to all of his colleagues, and the entire LGBTQ community."

SDNYC agreed, refusing Diaz Sr.'s bigoted notion:  "Voters control @NYCCouncil, and they're rejecting homophobia and bigotry."

The call for an apology was soon joined by a wide swath of current and former elected officials, many of whom demanded more than an apology.  Click through to see individual statements:
Mayor Bill de Blasio
Comptroller Scott Stringer
Congressmember Max Rose
Bronx Borough President Rubén Díaz Jr.
State Senators Alessandra Biaggi, Gustavo Rivera, Luis Sepúlveda 
Assemblymembers Michael Blake, Marcos Crespo, Jeffrey Dinowitz, Harvey Epstein, Nathalia Fernandez, Ron Kim, Yuh-Line Niou, Danny O'Donnell, Karines Reyes
Former Council Speaker:  Melissa Mark-Viverito
Councilmembers Andrew Cohen, Rafael Espinal, Vanessa Gibson, Barry Grodenchik, Brad Lander, Mark D. Levine, Carlos Menchaca, Donovan Richards, Carlina Rivera, Helen Rosenthal, Rafael Samanca Jr., Ritchie Torres, Mark Treyger, Jimmy Van Bramer, Jumaane Williams

Díaz, Sr. brushed off the criticism from his colleagues, his community and his constituents and refused to apologize.

The Council LGBTQ and Women's Caucuses issued a statement saying, in part:  "We demand he resign from his position effective immediately. It is time that we stick by the pledge we have made to our communities that hate and fear have no place in New York City."

The Progressive Caucus joined them in calling for Diaz's immediate resignation, "His failure to respect the institution in which he serves and the Bronx constituents that rely on him to protect them combined with his inability to understand that his comments have real world consequences leave us with no other option but to call for new representation."

As of the time of this email, Díaz, Sr. continues to dismiss any opinion other than his own.


Diaz's homophobia and refusal to even acknowledge the offensiveness of his bigoted comment are fully unsurprising. As stated above, Diaz has a decades-long legacy of bigotry.  And SDNYC has called him out for decades as well.  In his 2017 election, we not only endorsed and campaigned for an opponent, but plainly stated:  "Supporting Diaz Sr.'s campaign in any manner is unacceptable to our club and our community."

So again:  Rubén Díaz Sr. should resign from public office and never hold office ever again.  

Please show your support to those elected officials that have spoken out already, and let others know that hate and homophobia have no place in New York City.  

A rally at City Hall is planned for Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.  We will provide more details over social media as we receive it.

As always:  Thank you for being a Stonewall Democrat.

Join us for The State of LGBTQ New York

The State of the Union might not have mentioned LGBTQ people, but ... we know Trump is obsessed with removing transgender patriots from the military, appointing homophobic judges, and removing civil rights protections for LGBTQ Americans.  And while a bold claim was made to end HIV transmissions, the reality is different from the rhetoric.  Trump's buget cut CDC’s HIV prevention programs by $149 million (19%), cut CDC’s STD prevention programs by $27 million (17%), eliminated the AIDS Education and Training Centers and the Special Projects of National Significance portions of the Ryan White programs, eliminates the HHS Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund, reduced SAMHSA’s Minority AIDS Initiative programs, and cut the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) program at HUD.

In New York State and New York City, it's a different story:  Record funding is slated to LGBTQ initiatives in NYC. GENDA and the Conversion Therapy Ban are now state law.  So please join us at our February meeting as we have special guests from the Governor's and Mayor's office join us to discuss the State of LGBTQ NY:

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SDNYC FEBRUARY MEETING:  THE STATE OF LGBTQ NY
DATE:  Wednesday, February 27, 8 p.m. - 9 p.m.
DETAILS:  The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, 208 W 13 St, New York, NY 10011
RSVP:  https://www.facebook.com/events/889740254559591/

On February 27th at 8pm at the The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, SDNYC will hold our monthly meeting.

We'll also have brief community updates, including a look at the coming political/legislative calendar, and more.

This meeting is free and open to members of the public so please share this invite with anyone who might be interested!

SDNYC is proud to endorse Assemblymember Danny O'Donnell for New York City Public Advocate!

It's about time an openly LGBTQ person was elected to a citywide office in New York City!

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LGBTQ New Yorkers know him as the first openly gay man elected to the New York State Assembly and as a fiercely progressive voice in Albany for seventeen years.

Born in Queens and raised with his four siblings in Commack, Long Island, O’Donnell put himself through college and law school, earning a B.A. in public affairs from George Washington University and a law degree from CUNY Law School. After seven years as a public defender at the Legal Aid Society, he opened his own public interest law firm on the Upper West Side. His community practice helped clients with tenant representation, as well as civil rights litigation ranging from employment discrimination to First Amendment rights.

During his tenure in the Assembly he has been the prime sponsor of several trailblazing bills, most notably the NY Marriage Equality Act, a bill O’Donnell led to passage in the Assembly five times before it was finally signed into law in June 2011. He was also the prime sponsor of New York’s anti-bullying legislation, the Dignity for All Students Act, which was the first time trans protections were written into law in NY.

We fully expect Danny O'Donnell to bring his fierce brand of advocacy forward not just as a voice of LGBTQ New Yorkers, but for all New Yorkers as our next public advocate!

SDNYC PHONE BANK for DANNY O'DONNELL
DATE:  Every Thursday, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. (time)
LOCATION: O'Donnell for Public Advocate Headquarters, 2697 Broadway

Bring a friend, bring your phone (and a charger!), and sign up to get started. The campaign will  provide scripts, call sheets, and training. Whether you're a first-time phone-banker or a veteran, all are welcome to help make calls!

All phone banks will take place at Danny HQ (2697 Broadway). An organizer will be in touch to confirm the details with you after you sign up via the link below.  (Thursdays don't work for you?  No problem, sign up for any day!)
 

Sign up HERE for more details.
Or DONATE!