Protecting LGBT Seniors
September 26, 2011
Today, Governor Cuomo signed my legislation (A.880) which requires the New York State Office of the Aging (NYSOFA) to monitor the needs of traditionally underservered elderly populations – including those in LGBT communities. The new law will also provide technical assistance and grants-in-aid to organizations like SAGE (Services & Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders), so that they can better provide their services to LGBT senior populations that provide services to LGBT seniors.
Despite being a rapidly growing segment of New York’s population, LGBT seniors do not receive the services they need. This community often lacks the support networks that are more commonly available to non-LGBT seniors and will sometimes be reluctant to access needed health and social services because of fear of discrimination. This law will correct these inadequacies and ensure that current and future generations of LGBT seniors receive the care and respect that they deserve.
Specifically, the new law requires the NYSOFA, in its annual report to the Governor and the Legislature, to include recommendations for expanding service programs already in place and applying them to underserved populations which include but are not limited to those defined by actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, sex, marital status, disability, familial status and language. The report must also cite the specific, targeted needs of these traditionally underserved populations — focusing on successful programs as well as addressing particular problems that need correction.
Further, the bill authorizes the Director of NYSOFA to make grants-in-aid for the purpose of providing training, outreach and education to entities providing services to LGBT senior populations.
I am proud to say that today steps have been taken by senior services in New York State in order to prevent these seniors from being left without a place to turn to in their time on need
Interviewed on PBS
July 10, 2009
Recently, I was featured in a lengthy interview with Dara Welles on WLIW 21′s “New York Insiders.”
We had a great conversation about what’s next for New York City’s schools, as well as Second Avenue Subway construction issues – and we also discussed broader topics like marriage equality, disability rights, the upheaval in the State Senate, and my own plans for the future.
PBS is linking things strangely, so when you click to see the video of my interview the title will read Suffolk County Legislator Steve Levy – but don’t worry, it’s me.
Justice for Joseph Holladay and All Victims of Bias Attacks
July 6, 2009
On June 28th, New York celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, when the LGBT community drew a line against violence and oppression. On the same Sunday, one former New Yorker was apparently the victim of a brutal homophobic attack outside an apartment building on East 85th Street.
My thoughts and my very best wishes are with the victim, Joseph Holladay, as he recovers from this horrific assault. I am also determined that he should find justice, both against the perpetrators and in a society where such violence continues to take place.
I am personally outraged by this attack, not just because it happened in the neighborhood where I live, in the district I represent, but because as a New Yorker and as an American I recognize it as an assault on our shared values of dignity, security, and freedom.
It has recently come to light that this attack is part of a disturbing pattern. The suspected perpetrators may have been involved in as many as six attacks on the Upper East Side, going back as far as the end of May. Right now, three of these incidents are being looked at as hate crimes.
I will be working with the New York Police Department, as well as the Anti-Violence Project and my fellow elected officials, to ensure that the investigations into all of these assaults are vigorously pursued and the attackers are brought to justice.
Our best efforts must always vigilantly be directed towards creating a better New York in which such obscenities do not occur. I will update readers of this blog as the situation develops. I would ask my constituents to exercise caution, especially when walking home late at night.
The media has reported extensively on these incidents. For more information see the following news pieces (warning: there are some disturbing photos accompanying a few of these links): Gay Bashed on Pride Weekend on the Upper East Side (Village Voice, June 28, 2009), Number of Hate Crimes Decreased, Severity Increased (WNYC, July 2, 2009), East Side Assault Reflects Larger Trend (Gay City News, July 1, 2009), Police: Anti-Gay Hate Crimes on the Rise in NYC (CBS News, July 2, 2009), UES Attack Toll Grows (New York Post, July 3, 2009), Upper East Side Gay Bashing Epidemic? (Village Voice, July 2, 2009), Police: Upper East Side Attacks May Be Linked (NY1, July 3, 2009).
A Personal Message: Marriage Equality Passes Assembly **AND** Rally for Marriage, Sunday
May 14, 2009
I was proud to be part of history and vote in favor of same-sex marriage when the bill was first passed by a margin of 85-61 in the New York State Assembly back in 2007. On May 12th, I once again cast my vote for equality, after a long and emotional debate (I will post video from the debate here, as soon as I get a chance to). We should all celebrate the fact that the bill was passed by an even wider margin (89-52); the message of the marriage equality movement—that love and family know no gender—continues to win hearts and minds.
In 2007, I said that voting in favor of the right to marry was the most important vote I would ever cast, and I still know this to be true. I hope that the second time will be the charm. I am grateful to my friend Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell for his leadership in the Assembly and I pray that 2009 will be the year the State Senate will finally pass the bill, under the leadership of Senator Tom Duane, so that Governor Paterson can sign it and we can finally have equality for all.
This Sunday, after AIDS Walk, I will be taking part in an important rally for marriage equality being organized collaboratively by Broadway Impact, Marriage Equality NY, the Empire State Pride Agenda, Broadway Cares, CivilRightsFront.com, and the Human Rights Campaign. The rally, billed as “LET THE SUN SHINE IN!” is being held from 5-7 pm at Sixth Avenue and West 45th Street, will feature the cast of the Broadway production of Hair, along with many other special guests.
The invitation is below, you can click here to download a PDF of the flyer to distribute to your friends, family, and colleagues. I hope to see you there!
Two Kellner Bills Pass Assembly
May 13, 2009
If you haven’t noticed, the Bills section of this website has been updated to include all of my 2009 bills, and now that the budget has passed, I am very busy working on moving my legislative agenda forward. To that end, I was very pleased that two of my bills passed the Assembly, both unanimously, on Monday.
The first was passed as part of the Assembly’s annual observance of Legislative Disabilities Awareness Day, where we passed a comprehensive legislative package aimed at ensuring that people with disabilities receive the same opportunities that all New Yorkers expect and deserve. A.3954 would establish the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Riders’ Council for People with Disabilities to study and investigate all aspects of the day-to-day operations of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its subsidiaries, monitor its performance, and make recommendations to improve its operations with respect to people with disabilities.
One of the most important ways we can begin to address the lack of representation of people with disabilities is to make sure that people with disabilities are on the board of the MTA itself. In 2006, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer published “The State of Repairs: An Examination of Elevator and Escalator Maintenance and Repairs in New York City’s Subway System.” Stringer concluded that while the MTA does have the New York City Transit Riders Council, “they are not charged with the specific responsibly of representing the needs of disabled riders. And while the MTA has an ADA Compliance Coordination Committee, it is informal and not comprised of appointed members. A legislatively-mandated body representing disabled riders is needed to ensure the issues of the disability community are identified and addressed.” This is exactly what my bill will do. The bill now goes to the Senate where Senator Tom Duane is the lead sponsor.
The second bill that passed on Monday also touches on an issue close to my heart. A.3956 requires the State Office of the Aging to do an annual report to assess the needs of and delivery of services to traditionally underserved populations and to provide technical assistance to organizations that provide services to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) senior populations.
As our senior population continues to explode in number, it is incredibly important that we address the needs of marginalized communities as they age. LGBT seniors, in particular, often lack social and familial support networks that are more commonly available to non-LGBT seniors. LGBT seniors are twice as likely to live alone as compared to heterosexual seniors, and more than four times as likely to have no children. These seniors face stigma from many senior care providers who might not consider that their older clients may be LGBT. As a result, LGBT seniors may be as much as five times less likely to access needed health and social services because of fear of discrimination. Since disease prevention strategies tend to ignore LGBT seniors, and HIV trials generally do not include older participants, LGBT seniors may also face greater health risks. Additionally, same-sex couples have less access to financial benefits as compared to heterosexual married couples. A surviving same-sex partner, for example, will be denied social security benefits and be required to pay taxes on the transfer of assets upon the death of a partner. The bill now heads to the Senate, where Senator Tom Duane is the lead sponsor.
Rosalyn Richter: A Groundbreaking Appellate Court Choice
March 5, 2009
New York State will now have its first appellate court judge who is openly gay and is a person with a disability. Today Governor David Paterson announced that he is appointing Rosalyn Richter, Justice of the New York County Supreme Court, to the First Department of the Appellate Division of New York State. Justice Richter has spent her career as a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community and disabilities rights advocate.
With this appointment the Governor has sent a clear signal to LGBT and disabilities communities that he believes in equality in our legal system. I commend his selection of this outstanding candidate. I know that she will be an outstanding jurist on the Appellate Division representing all New Yorkers.
My joint statement with Assembly Member Richard Gottfried commending the Governor in his selection to this post can be found in the Publications Section of my website.
Lighting Up the Night for Marriage Equality
January 5, 2009
On December 20th, State Senator Tom Duane and I took part in a powerful event organized by Join the Impact, a grassroots national organization that is fighting for marriage equality. The march and rally was coined “Light Up the Night for Equality” and hundreds of LGBT people and their friends braved some pretty cold temperatures to march from Bryant Park to Times Square and rally for marriage rights. In the video above, Senator Duane’s remarks start at about 2:30 and mine start at about 3:15.
The event was a national one with similar rallies being held all over the country. The candles were held in vigil in rememberance of the rights that may have been lost to the over 18,000 couples in California whose legal status is now up in the air after the passage of the homophobic Proposition 8 last November.
Last year, I was proud to be part of history and vote in favor of same-sex marriage when the bill sponsored by Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell was passed by the New York State Assembly. While there is a long way to go until same-sex couples can legally marry in New York (the New York State Senate must also pass the bill before the Governor can sign it into law), step by step we are coming closer to marriage equality.
Pride 2008 – A Photojournal
July 1, 2008
As a member of the LGBT community myself, I’ve always loved marching in the Heritage of Pride Parade and this year – despite the rain – was no exception. Part of what made last Sunday’s celebration so special was that Governor David Paterson marched with us. No sitting Governor in New York State’s history has ever marched in the Pride Parade.
Here’s a short photo diary of the day.
Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID) President Colin Casey and I pose next to the rockin’ GLID float during our multiple-hour line-up on West 54th Street.
My friend John Reddy, who is running for Manhattan Surrogate and some of his supporters and family.
My Chief of Staff, Eliyanna Kaiser, and her wife, Danielle DeCerbo who works for the New York City Council, hold up their Marriage Equality New York (MENY) t-shirt. They’ve actually been together 4 years, but Eliyanna got confused by the fill-in-the-blanks on the shirt and wrote in how many years they’ve been married. Aren’t they cute?
I spent most of the march with the Stonewall Democrats of New York City, a club I’ve been a member of for many years. Here I am with some of our fabulous Board Members.
Here I am with my friend and colleague, and one of New York City’s greatest LGBT heroes, State Senator Tom Duane, and a phalanx of his New York City staff.
My good friends, Maureen Bobrovnicky and Randi Anderson.
National Stonewall member and GLID member, Jon Winkleman is one of the hardest-working LGBT activists in New York City. He told me he has a big box of the amazing Hillary/Pride shirts like the one he’s wearing, so if you are interested let him know!
Stonewall board member, Aubrey Lees and I actually get along very well. But we put on a show for the camera after Eliyanna demanded that we not just pose and smile.
The moment – and I do mean the moment- that it was our turn to start marching down Fifth Avenue one of the most angry-sounding thunderstorms, complete with lightening and booming thunder came pouring down on us. But LGBT pride will not be rained on and we marched on!
GENDA activist extraordinaire, Melissa Sklarz, and Manhattan Community Board 2 Chair, Brad Holyman, try to keep dry under an umbrella.
The Stonewall Democrats marching down Fifth Avenue.
Then the sun came out and rain went away! Here is Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and I, now almost dry, somewhere in the West 30s on Fifth Avenue.
Finally, I don’t know this mother or her son, but they told me I could take their photo for the blog and I really wanted others to see it. This is what the Pride march is all about – family.
Huge Victory for Same-Sex Couples Married in Other Jurisdictions
June 12, 2008
Saturday June 14th, join me and Marriage Equality New York at 2:00 pm at City Hall, for a historic 5th anniversary celebration of legal same-sex marriage in Canada.
Last year, I was proud to be part of history and vote in favor of same-sex marriage when the bill was passed by the New York State Assembly. While there is a long way to go until same-sex couples can legally marry in New York (the New York State Senate must also pass the bill before the Governor can sign it into law), step by step we are coming closer to marriage equality.
The right to marry is a basic human right. Last month, the lesbian, gay, and bisexual caucus of the New York State Legislature (myself, Assembly Members Daniel O’Donnell, Deborah Glick, and Matt Titone, and State Senator Tom Duane) wrote to Governor Paterson asking him to take another important step forward and use his executive powers to ensure that state agencies recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions (same-sex couples can legally marry in Canada, Belgium, Spain, South Africa, Massachusetts – and soon – California). We wrote this letter after the landmark Martinez v. County of Monroe decision made it clear earlier this year that New York must recognize these out of jurisdiction marriages. In Martinez, a public employee challenged a decision denying her right to extend benefits to her wife, and won.
After the court case was won, we realized that either married couples would have to challenge non-conforming agencies one by one or the state could choose to follow the law and make these changes operationalized throughout the entire state voluntarily. Luckily, Governor Paterson is a great friend to the LGBT community and had already been contemplating these issues himself. His directive was announced in the press a few days after our letter was sent. Here is a New York Times article that gives further background for those who are interested.
This change will have an enormously important and positive impact on these married couples’ lives. There are literally thousands of rights that have been denied to them, from joint income tax filing to the right to add a spouse on a rent regulated lease to inheriting a hunting license if a spouse dies. Governor Paterson deserves all our thanks for this simple yet powerful directive, we are all enhanced as citizens whenever human rights victories are won.
If you have questions about what this means for you and your family, the Empire State Pride Agenda has an excellent resource page on their website to explain what this means for same-sex couples.
**Update 6/14/2008*** The MENY event at City Hall was a beatuiful event, with dozens of couples who were married in Canada and a representative from the Canadian consulate. Pictured below, my Chief of Staff, Eliyanna Kaiser (center), and her wife Danielle DeCerbo (left) hold their giant British Columbia marriage certificate at the event.
Photo by Jeremy Wilson.
- Via @MicahKellner + @MMViverito NYPD, never sensitive to Trans NYers, but if these allegations true its beyond the pale http://t.co/UGWWI9Tn
9 hours ago from ÜberSocial for BlackBerry
