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DECEMBER 11 - 17, 2008 VOLUME SEVEN, ISSUE 50
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NYPD RESPONDS
Prostitution arrests valid, city says
P. 6
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BRUTAL B’KLN ATTACK
Bushwick man brain-dead in bias assault 
P. 7
 YOUR FREE WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
© GAY CITY NEWS 2008 • COMMUNITY MEDIA, LLC, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
CRAIG LUCAS’ ‘PRAYER’
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SERVING GAY, LESBIAN, BI AND TRANSGENDERED NEW YORK • WWW.GAYCITYNEWS.COM
 AMERICA’S LARGEST CIRCULATION GAY AND LESBIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER!
Malcolm Smith WalksBack from Precipice
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POLITICS
NJ StateCommissionUrges GayNups Now
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
I
n a report comprehensivein scope and sweeping inits conclusions, an officialgovernment commission inNew Jersey recommended that the Legislature change statelaw “to allow same-sex couplesto marry” and to do so “expe-ditiously because any delay inmarriage equality will harm allthe people of New Jersey.” The findings, released on the
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MALCOLM SMITH, IN 2007, PLEDGED PROMPT DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY GAY MARRIAGE ACTION
Gay Cit
 
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NEWSNEWS
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POLITICS
SenateLeader:Civil RightsCan’t BeBargained
BY PAUL SCHINDLER
I
n a stunning reversal, Mal-colm Smith, the QueensDemocrat in line to becomethe leader of the State Sen-ate should his party hold onto the fragile 32-30 majority it won in the November elec-tion, announced he was end-ing negotiations with the so-called Gang of Three, a trio of rebellious city Democrats whohad threatened to withholdtheir support for him in next month’s leadership contest.Significantly, Smith repu-diated a deal it was widely reported he had made withSenator Ruben Diaz, a Bronx Democrat and Pentecostalminister, who shortly after the election said he would not  vote for any Senate leader who would bring a marriage equal-ity bill up for a vote. A meetingthat Smith held with Diaz andthe other two dissident Demo-crats on December 4, briefly attended by Democratic Gov-ernor David A. Paterson as well, led to numerous pressaccounts reporting that Smithpledged to Diaz that the mar-riage bill, which the governor supports and the Assembly has already passed, would not get a vote. News stories dif-fered as to whether that pledgeencompassed only 2009, or thecomplete 2009-2010 legislativesession.“We are suspending nego-tiations, effective immediately, because to do so otherwise would reduce our moral stand-ing and the long-term SenateDemocratic commitment toreform and to change,” Smith
P. 8
 About-Face
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EDITORIAL
UN effort to decriminalize
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A PIONEER’S DEATH
Eleanor Cooper  was 68
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BIG TRIP
 Top writers on goingand returning home
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MOTION POETRY
“STACKS” a hit at NYU
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ANNIE PUTS EM AT EASE
Leibovitz capturesmoments between moments
P. 24
 
11 - 17
DEC
2008
7 DAYS7 NIGHTS
NJ Gay Marriage Urged
State review commission concludes civil unions don’t cut it
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Politics
morning of December 10 and which ran to 45 pages plusappendices, were issued in the“final report” of the New Jer-sey Civil Union Review Com-mission, a 13-member body established when civil unions were enacted in late 2006. The Legislature adopted thecivil union law in response toa State Supreme Court rulingthat October mandating that New Jersey afford same-sex couples all the rights and ben-efits of marriage. The Review Commission was created to monitor theeffectiveness of the civil unionlaw in meeting the mandatelaid out by the high court, andits establishment representeda significant consolation prizefor Garden State Equality, New  Jersey’s LGBT rights lobby group, which had unsuccess-fully pressed the Legislatureand Democratic Governor JonCorzine to enact a marriageequality law in response to thecourt ruling. At the time, the governor and legislative leaders were not publicly antagonistic towardfull marriage equality, but argued that a civil union law should first be given a chanceto meet the court mandate. The Review Commissiondecisively found that the law fell short in addressing theequality requirements of theSupreme Court ruling.“I believe that New Jersey  will be the first state in theunion to enact marriage equal-ity through legislation,” saidSteven Goldstein, chairmanof Garden State Equality andthe co-chairman of the Review Commission. “With this report,I believe it is more likely thanever to happen very soon.” Asked if he thought it waspossible that a marriage equal-ity bill could be enacted in2009, prior to statewide elec-tions in New Jersey in Novem- ber, Goldstein responded, “I would not preclude that pos-sibility.” The governor and theentire State Assembly face the voters next November, but not the State Senate, which hasfour-year terms that end after November 2011. Both SenatePresident Richard J. Codey (the former acting governor)and Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr. — the two menare Democrats — have saidthey support marriage equal-ity, while Corzine has for morethan a year acknowledged that he would sign a marriage law if it came to his desk. Althoughthe Senate, which is not up for election in 2009, has only a narrow Democratic majority,in the Assembly, the party hasa commanding advantage over the Republicans.In a meeting with gay jour-nalists in 2007, Corzine saidhe would prefer the Legisla-ture not move on marriageequality until after the 2008presidential election, but saidhe had no concerns about signing such a law prior to hisown expected reelection bid inNovember 2009.Even though the Review Commission issued a prelimi-nary report in early 2008 iden-tifying significant shortfallsin the ability of civil unions todeliver true equality, the una-nimity and boldness of thefinal report are striking.“Given where we startedand the fact that nearly half of the commissioners are govern-ment employees from a statethat fought to defend the sta-tus quo on marriage in court,this result is surprising,” said J. Frank Vespa-Papaleo, theReview Commission chairman who is director of the stateDivision on Civil Rights. “Tohave gone from that to theseconclusions speaks volumesabout the comprehensive-ness and transparency of thisreview process and about thequality of the information wegathered.”Five of the 13 commission-ers represent state government agencies that report directly toCorzine - in addition to Vespa-Papaleo’s Civil Rights Division,the departments of HumanServices, Banking and Insur-ance, Health and Senior Ser- vices, and Children and Fami-lies. A sixth commissioner rep-resents the state attorney gen-eral, Anne Milgram, a Corzineappointee herself, but one with broad statutory independencefrom the governor.Of the other seven commis-sioners, five were appointed by the governor, and one each by the Senate president and the Assembly speaker. Goldstein was appointed by Speaker Roberts. The Review Commissionreport laid out a range of cri-teria, on each of which civilunions were judged as fail-ing to deliver equality. It alsolabored to incorporate the per-sonal stories from the morethan 150 witnesses who testi-fied at eight public hearingslasting a cumulative 26 hours.In perhaps the most point-ed indictment of the separatestatus for same-sex couplescreated by the New Jersey Leg-islature, Lynn Fontaine News-ome, president of the state Bar  Association, told the commis-sioners that the law is “a failedexperiment.” AnnLynne Benson, a Republican appointed to theCommission by Corzine and a former director of Gloucester County Right to Life, acknowl-edged that it “was not an easy process to reach consensus”in completing the final report, but said that the conclusions were clear.“The civil union law waslike planting a tooth pick andexpecting a tree to grow,” Ben-son told Gay City News. Notingthat gay and lesbian coupleshave had the right to adopt for many years, she added, “It doesn’t make sense for thosechildren’s parents not to havethe right to be married.” Among the key conclusions were that the law fails to pro- vide members of civil unioncouples with the ability to act as a spouse in making healthcare decisions for their part-ners in emergency situations;that employers continue todiscriminate against civilunion couples as compared totheir married employees; that the public in general had aninadequate and often mistak-en understanding of what civilunions are; that the childrenraised by civil union couplesare disadvantaged relativeto those in married house-holds; and that people of color couples face particularly diffi-cult burdens in gaining equalaccess to the rights and ben-efits that marriage would pro- vide. The report opens with anespecially compelling case of a Montclair civil union partner confronted with a potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia that landed her in an emergency room. Gina Pastino testifiedthat even though she gave thehospital all the relevant infor-mation about her family mem- bers, including her civil unionpartner Naomi, when Naomiarrived at the emergency room,the attending physician saidhe did not know what a civilunion was. As the result, valu-able time treating Gina was wasted in clarifying her part-ner’s authority to make medi-cal decisions.In the case of a Plainfieldcouple, a gay man was not allowed to visit his partner inan emergency room and was
 
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THU.DEC.11
DANCEMusical Millepied
Benjamin Millepied, a principaldancer at New York City Ballet, pres-ents his “Danses Concertantes,” thisseason featuring 12 American BalletTheatre dancers in a repertoire of twopieces, both choreographed by himand accompanied by live music. PedjaMuzijevic plays piano for “Without,”with music by Chopin, and NatashaParemski plays piano for “Variationson a Theme by Paganini,” with musicby Brahms.
Joyce Theater, 175Eight Ave. at 19th St. Dec. 11-13, 8p.m.; Dec. 14, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are$19-$59 at joyce.org.
✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
Ode to India
Dance-theater maverick PinaBausch and her company, Tanzthe-ater Wuppertal, close BAM’s 2008Next Wave Festival with the exclu-sive US engagement of “BambooBlues,” an ode to India — the vibrantcountry whose people and rich cul-ture have captivated her throughouther artistic career. “Bamboo Blues”features arresting staging, a wallof billowing fabric, video projec-tions, and Bausch’s signature blendof dynamic full-body movement andpoignant gesture-rich abstractions.The score includes contemporaryIndian music as well as music from4Hero, Alice Coltrane, and MichaelGordon, among others.
BAM How-ard Gilman Opera House, 30Lafayette Ave. at Ashland Pl.,near Flatbush Ave. Dec. 11-13, 16,17, 19 & 20, 7:30 p.m.; Dec. 14, 3p.m.
Tickets are $25-$ 85at bam.orgor 718-636-4100.
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Interdisciplined
Ten years into its existence, thesix-member Misnomer Dance Theater,led by Chris Elam, has earned acclaimfor highly original and exceptionallymoving dances. Having garnered thesupport of the dance community, withpositive reviews from discerning crit-ics and tastemakers, the companyhas spent much of the last few yearsin interdisciplinary collaborations —with Björk and Tronic Studios/Apple,among others. This work culminatesin Misnomer’s return to the NewYork stage for the world premiere of“Being Together,” a three-part, eve-ning-length program.
Joyce Soho,155 Mercer St., btwn. Houston& Prince Sts. Thu.-Sun., 8 p.m., through Dec. 14.
Tickets are $25;$18 for students & seniors at joyce.org or 212.352.3101.
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NEW JERSEY
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A key issue now is whether Governor Jon Corzine will allow a marriage bill to move beforehis 2009 reelection bid.
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11 - 17
DEC
2008
Progress and Persistence
After 20 years, St. Vincent’s HIV Center sees gains, and new infections too
Health
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BY DUNCAN OSBORNE
M
att Baney joinedSaint Vincent Catho-lic Medical Centersin 1992. He remembers whenthe prospects for an HIV-pos-itive person were grim andhealthcare providers had littleto offer such individuals.“At that point, we were hous-ing up to 200, 220 patients per day,” said the director of thehospital’s Comprehensive HIV Center. “Patient stays were very short... Patients came in with PCP pneumonia, toxo-plasmosis, whatever it might  be... Unfortunately, peopledied rather quickly.”Dr. Antonio Urbina, the HIV center’s medical director, didhis residency at the West Vil-lage hospital from 1992 to1995.“You would go to the emer-gency department, basically stretchers wall to wall,” hesaid.In 2008, the ComprehensiveHIV Center celebrated its 20thanniversary and a dramati-cally changed landscape for people with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.In 2007, the center, with a staff of 85 and an annual bud-get of $7 million, saw morethan 5,000 patients in 34,000 visits, and treated 1,500 in-patients. Some 800 of thosepatients were undocumentedimmigrants, predominantly from South America. The hospital paid for some of that care itself because Medic-aid and Medicare, the govern-ment-run health insuranceplans, generally do not pay for services for undocumentedimmigrants.“It’s a very limited amount of care that they are eligible for,”said Baney, referring to theundocumented immigrants,and added, “We do a lot of charity care because a lot of our patients are homeless.” That 80 percent of the cen-ter’s patients have an unde-tectable viral load, whichshows their anti-HIV drugs are working, is remarkable giventhe population served there.“These are patients that have a lot of other co-mor- bid conditions,” Urbina said.“Thirty percent are co-infected with hepatitis C, a fair share of them have either mental illnessor substance abuse issues or  both. These are not your Park  Avenue patients.” What is most striking, incomparison to 1992, is that the HIV center is now offer-ing cutting edge services andtreatments to people with HIV. The state health department  will spend $290,000 a year for five years to have center staff,along with the MontefioreMedical Center in the Bronx,train emergency departmentsacross the state on providingpost-exposure prophylaxis(PEP) to people who have beenrecently exposed to HIV.“It’s really to increase aware-ness about PEP,” Urbina said.“I think that’s one of its maingoals, and to educate emer-gency departments on how toprovide PEP.” The protocol is a month of treatment on three anti-HIV drugs. The regimen must start  within 72 hours of the expo-sure to be effective, so doctorsmust be taught when to rec-ognize that PEP is needed andto act quickly. The center han-dles 15 to 20 PEP cases every month.“The majority are men whohave sex with men, but we’vehad a lot of sexual assaultsand we’ve also had personsthat identify as heterosexual,”Urbina said. The center is also working with the city health depart-ment since the department’sMay implementation of pooledPCR testing, an HIV test that can identify individuals withindays of their first becominginfected. A standard HIV test detectsantibodies to the virus. Whilethey are highly sensitive, indi- viduals produce HIV antibodiesat varying rate, and some may go undetected with a standardtest as much as a month after first becoming infected. The health department takes blood samples from peo-ple testing at four — and soonto be six — of the city’s sexual-ly transmitted disease clinics. The blood samples are mixedand tested for minute amountsof HIV’s genetic material. Whenfinally removed from the hos-pital by security.Most of the employers whorefused to extend equal bene-fits to civil union couples citedthe federal Employee Retire-ment Insurance Security Act (ERISA) that exempts fromstate regulation all companiesthat “self-insure,” rather thanrelying on a third-party insur-er to take on the cost risk of their health care benefits plan. According to the Review Com-mission, an estimated 50 per-cent of all companies in New  Jersey self-insure.It is not clear whether fullmarriage rights for same-sex couples would alter the legalimpact of ERISA — New Jer-sey might still be constrainedfrom requiring equal treatment under self-insurance plans —  but the Review Commissionargued that in practice theERISA problem would largely subside.“The testimony suggeststhat employers may decline toprovide insurance and health benefits to civil union partnersnot because of an objection tothe government recognition of same-sex couples, but becauseof the term used by statutesestablishing government sanc-tioned same-sex relationships,”the Review Commission wrote.In fact, testimony from Mas-sachusetts pointed to employer acceptance of same-sex mar-riages despite the potentialfor them to invoke the ERISA loophole. Tom Barbera, a vicepresident of that state’s AFL-CIO, testified, “From the first few weeks after May 17, 2004, when marriage equality took effect in Massachusetts, ERISA has barely been an issue inMassachusetts... In the first few weeks of marriage equality,only a few companies chosenot to provide retirement ben-efits under ERISA to same-sex couples.” The Review Commissionin New Jersey found a mark-edly different experience under civil unions, and stated that the problem had not lessenedsince the law took effect.Dr. Marshall Forstein, a Harvard Medical School psy-chiatry professor, testified that a purportedly separate but equal relationship status for same-sex couples was psycho-logically harmful both for suchpartners and for young peoplefirst coming out and faced withprospect that they can never enjoy the same family statusas their heterosexual peers.Dr. Judith Glassgold, presi-dent of the New Jersey Psycho-logical Association, who works with children, adolescents,and their families, testified that unequal treatment in terms of relationship recognition harmschildren in gay and lesbianfamilies. The Review Commissionreport noted that transgen-dered people who married while living in their birth gen-der but now having transi-tioned receive no clarificationabout their marital status asthe result of the civil union law. Whether they remain marriedor are now considered to be ina civil union - or neither -is anunanswered legal question.Dr. Sylvia Rhue, director of religious affairs for the Nation-al Black Justice Coalition,testified about the economic burden facing poorer couples,many of them people of color, who are not given equal treat-ment by their employers.Unlike more affluent couples,this population often cannot afford the financial and legaladvice necessary to protect each other, their retirement,and their life after the death of one of the partners. The Review Commissionpointed to the broad public benefits of extending marriagerights to same-sex couples,estimating that the weddings of 10,589 New Jersey couples, or approximately one half of thetotal identified by the Census,over the next three years, plusthe influx of wedding touriststo the state, would generate$284 million in economic activ-ity during that period, create800 jobs, and increase stateand local tax revenues by $19million. The report pointed to a sim-ilar range of benefits identi-fied last year by the New York City comptroller in assessingthe potential impact of mar-riage equality here, and notedthat a range of observers inMassachusetts have founda positive benefit from themigration of skilled gay cou-ples to that state since 2004. The report did acknowledgethat the refusal of the federalgovernment and most stategovernments — New York isa notable exception — to rec-ognize same-sex marriagesfrom those states where they are legal will continue to cre-ate inequalities for same-sex couples. Access to federally-funded programs, such asMedicaid, as a spouse or mar-ried couple would be barred,and married couples travelingoutside New Jersey might facelimitations on having their spousal status recognized - inemergency health care situa-tions, for example.Still, Garden State Equal-ity’s Goldstein argued, it wouldlikely be easier for a gay man or lesbian to explain that they aretheir partner’s spouse than tospell out that the couple enjoyscivil union rights. The Commission recom-mended that the domesticpartnership law that allowscouples in which one partner is 62 or older to have their rela-tionships enjoy government-recognized legal status beretained. More than 150 suchcouples have registered aspartners, presumably to avoidthe complications in their estate planning, likely already underway, that marriage would have entailed.
 
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ST. VINCENT
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Matt Baney (l.), director of the Comprehensive HIV Center at the St. Vincent Catholic MedicalCenters, and Dr. Antonio Urbina, the center’s medical director.
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