lgbt democratic clubs' policy letter to mayor de blasio

8/13/2019 LGBT Democratic Clubs' Policy Letter to Mayor de Blasio

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January 6, 2014

The Honorable Bill de BlasioMayor of the City of New YorkCity HallNew York, NY 10007

Dear Mayor de Blasio,

We are writing on behalf of organizations that serve New York Citys lesbian, gay,

bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Part of the work our groups engage in isadvocacy for public policy, programs, and services that will benefit and serve membersof the LGBT community. With a new mayoral administration taking control of citygovernment, we believe there is a great opportunity for you to implement a number ofcrucial advances on behalf of all LGBT New Yorkers. Below, we have outlined a set ofissues and proposals that we hope you will incorporate into your first term agenda asmayor.

FUNDING FOR RUNAWAY AND HOMELESS LGBT YOUTH SERVICES Acensus conducted by the Empire State Coalition and released by the New York CityCouncil in 2008 found that every night3,800 unaccompanied youths between the ages of

16 and 24 were without stable housing and were at great risk of homelessness. Yetfunding from the city and the state combined only provides for fewer than 200 bedsdedicated to homeless youth. The report also found that 40% of these youths identifiedas LGBT. State funding for runaway/homeless youth housing and services has steadilydeclined since 2008, and every year the City Council must negotiate with the Mayor tomaintain city funding. We urge you to fulfill your commitment to base-line RHY fundingin the city budget at $12 million per year and to increase that amount incrementally by$1.5 million each year until residential youth shelters no longer have waiting lists on aregular basis.

LGBT SENIORS LGBT seniors often feel unwelcome in visiting senior centers for thegeneral population. They encounter homophobia and insensitivity among staff andclients. Therefore, many seniors either feel the need to re-closet themselves when usingthese centers, or they are reluctant to access the services these centers provide altogether.Consequently, a vulnerable group within our community is not fully able to access theservices it needs. The US Administration on Aging estimates that there are between 1.75and 4 million Americans over 60 years of age who are LGBT, a large percentage ofwhom reside in New York City. As the number of LGBT seniors in NYC continues togrow and as the cost of living continues to increase, we need to ensure that LGBT seniors


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have both a place to live and unfettered access to services. We propose that the city doesthe following:

constructs LGBT-friendly affordable housing for seniors, as was recently done inPhiladelphia, which constructed the nations first urban LGBT-friendly affordable

housing development; guarantees funding for an LGBT senior center in each borough, similar to the one

operated by SAGE in Manhattan;

supports cultural competence training for all city-funded aging service providers toensure that staff is trained to be inclusive and respectful of LGBT seniors;

guarantees funding and other resources to support services for seniors living with orat risk of HIV/AIDS;

effectively protects LGBT seniors from elder abuse. Elder abuse comes in manyforms, ranging from financial abuse to physical abuse. City government should useexisting programs and policies and work with the State Legislature to advocate forstatewide programs aimed at ending abuse and creating appropriate measures for

reporting abuse.

HIV TRANSMISSION- According to a 2004 report by Commissioner Thomas R.Frieden, MD, MPH, of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New YorkCity has the highest AIDS case rate in the United States. While we are home to less than3% of the U.S. population, the city accounts for 17% of national AIDS deaths. Wesupport fully funding the Health and Hospitals Corporations to provide HIV testing,care, and support services. We also support the City Department of Health conducting astudy on why the city is falling behind on this issue and enacting specific policies aimedat reducing new infections.

LGBT LIAISONS TO CITY GOVERNMENT - To work on defining issues ofconcern to the LGBT community and to find innovate ways of utilizing governmentresources to help address these issues, we support the creation of LGBT Liaisonpositions within a number of key city agencies and the Mayors office. This team ofliaisons will work on capacity building, outreach, education and training programs,technical assistance, and researching and analyzing proposals, policies, and proceduresaimed at serving and protecting members of the LGBT community. Liaisons will alsowork directly with Commissioners to ensure that agencies are at the forefront ofimplementing programs and services that address the needs of the LGBT community. Toadequately and appropriately address the unique issues confronting the citys transgendercommunity- a segment of the LGBT community that disproportionately experiences

violence and discrimination - it is imperative that there be at least one transgender liaisonwithin the administration. Finally, to handle the citys response to the high AIDS caserate, the Citywide Coordinator for HIV/AIDS Policy position should be reinstated andbrought under the auspices of the Mayor's Office.

TRANSGENDER RIGHTS- In 2002, NYC amended its Human Rights Law to includeprotections for transgender people. In 2012, the NYPDs Patrol Guide was changed tohelp ensure that police officers treat transgender and gender non-conforming people with


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dignity and respect. The New York City Commission on Human Rights must be given amandate to enforce the Human Rights Law, Title 8 of the Administrative Code of theCity of New York, in relation to transgender people. It is imperative that the Commissioninvestigate and prosecute violations against transgender people and cultivateunderstanding and respect for the transgender community by all employees of city

government. Special focus must be given to employees working in agencies providingdirect services such as the Human Resources Administration and the Department ofHomeless Services.

We support transgender inclusive healthcare for all City employees similar to a provisionin Philadelphias City Council Bill No. 130224, signed into law in 2013 by Mayor Nutter,which allows for this coverage.

Finally, the name change process for birth certificates must be simplified and musteliminate the requirement for gender reassignment surgery.

POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS The relationship between the NYPD and theLGBT community is still frayed in some neighborhoods. For instance, a report byMake

the Road New Yorkentitled Transgressive Policies: Police Abuse of LGBTQCommunities of Color in Jackson Heights showed that the precincts covering JacksonHeights had 90!93% rates of stop and frisk activity towards people of color in 2011 andthat, within this community, LGBTQ people of color were particularly targeted. We areasking for (1) the continuation of the NYPD LGBTQ Issues Advisory Panel, (2) thedevelopment and implementation of transgender guidelines based upon the new NYPDPatrol Guide changes, (3) the implementation of a new curriculum for School SafetyOfficers to ensure sensitivity of officers to all disaffected populations, and (4) theadministration to work to ensure that all five District Attorneys office and the NYPD

discontinue the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution.

TRACKING THE LGBT COMMUNITY FOR CITY SERVICES We recommendincluding sexual orientation and gender identity in all data collection and outreach formsused by city government i to better track LGBT demographics and to ensure the effectiveallocation of city services.

EDUCATION The Gay, Lesbian, & Straight Education Networks 2011 NationalSchool Climate Surveyfound that 81.9 percent of LGBT students reported being verballyharassed and that 63.5 percent reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexualorientation. Therefore, it is imperative that the Department of Education fully implementthe Dignity for All Students Act to help mitigate instances of bullying in New York Cityschools.

HIV/AIDS HOUSING:There is an affordable housing crisis in NYC and the cost ofhousing is especially difficult for those living with HIV/AIDS. We advocate for thefollowing: (1) Instruct the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) to fullycompensate apartment brokers assisting HASA clients to find housing; (2) remove HASArequirements that clients seek drug counseling in order to qualify for enhanced rental


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assistance; (3) advocate for the State Legislature to implement a 30% rent cap for HASAclients living in independent housing; and (4) support the use of Single Room Occupancyunits as a solution for long term housing.

We look forward to working with you and the new administration to implement these and

other policies and to bring our city back to the forefront of LGBT public policy.

Sincerely,

Michael Czaczkes & Matthew McMorrow, Co-PresidentsLambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn

Melissa Sklarz, PresidentStonewall Democratic Club of NYC

Michael Mallon, President

Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club of Queens

lgbt democratic clubs' policy letter to mayor de blasio

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