Gillibrand: We Must End Sexual Assault in the Military

According to a recently-released Pentagon study, incidents of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military rose from 19,000 in 2011 to 26,000 in 2012.

Only 3,374 of the 19,000 incidents in 2011 were reported, and only 10% of reported cases were tried.

Often, the chain of the command is part of the problem. The coordinator of the Army's program to prevent sexual assault at Fort Hood in Texas is under investigation for sexual abuse. And the officer tasked with preventing sexual assault in the Air Force has been arrested for assaulting a woman in a parking lot.

In March, when New York State Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who chairs the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Personnel, held the first Senate hearing on sexual assault in the military in almost ten years, she took up the case of Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, convicted by a jury of aggravated sexual assault and dismissed from the Air Force last year, only to have his commander dismiss his case and re-install him in the Air Force.

While military brass stresses that commanders need this kind of authority to maintain good order and discipline in the ranks, Gillibrand questioned how allowing a commander -- who may himself be a perpetrator of sexual assault -- to overturn jury decisions or dismiss complaints before they go to trial supported "good order and discipline."

Victims of sexual assault in the military want the decision whether to try a case to be taken out of the chain of command.  The current system, with only 3,000 cases reported out of a total of 26,000 assaults in 2012, doesn't work, Gillibrand said.

With a bi-partisan group of sponsors, Gillibrand has introduced a bill, "The Military Justice Improvement Act of 2013", that would remove the decision whether to prosecute sexual assault and other felony-level offenses out of the victim's chain of command and into the hands of a military prosecutor.

Only real accountability in the military justice system will encourage survivors to report sexual assault, Gillibrand said.

Calling the epidemic of sexual violence in the military "intolerable", Gillibrand said we owe young people who have voluntarily joined the military a zero tolerance policy on sexual assault.

The article from Huffpost.

Bay Ridge Democrats' 2013 Endorsements

Local Democratic club Bay Ridge Democrats met last night to endorse a slate of candidates for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, District Attorney, and City Council.

The results of the vote were as follows:

• Mayor: Bill deBlasio
• Public Advocate: Letitia James
• Comptroller: Scott Stringer
• Borough President: No endorsement
• District Attorney: Ken Thompson
• City Council: Vincent Gentile

These candidates were chosen by the membership, said President Justin Brannan, based on shared values, support for transparency in government and political reform, and recognition of the city's outer-borough neighborhoods.

The club will provide tactical support to its candidate roster through Election Day.

Within the next month, club members will muster out to carry nominating petitions for its endorsed slate.  Members who are new to the process will be trained in the basics of petitioning.

The club will post more information on the petitioning process in the coming weeks. 

More from the Brooklyn Eagle.

NYCT Stages Checkov's "The Seagull" in Prospect Park

The acclaimed New York Classical Theatre, known for its signature "Panoramic Theater" staging style, will make its Prospect Park debut this summer with a production of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull", from Tuesday through Saturday, June 25-30.

In July, the company will partner with the River to River Festival to present Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in Battery Park, with Prospero and Caliban raging against the backdrop of New York Harbor.

The 13-year-old New York Classical Theatre's roving productions of classical plays in Central Park, Battery Park, and Brookfield Place (formerly World Financial Center) have won widespread praise. Last summer, the company staged Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in bosky Central Park and in Battery Park.

Check the website for updated scheduling information.

Media contact: Patrick Kowalczyk@212.627.8098

Pet Day at Deno's Wonder Wheel

On Saturday, June 15 (rain date June 16) Deno's Wonder Wheel will host The 3rd Annual Coney Island Pet Day, featuring a Pet Costume Contest, MC'd by The World Famous *BOB*, and the Sean Casey pet adoption van, at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and the Coney Island Boardwalk.

Deno's promises "a birds-eye view for every dog, cat, fish and snake in town" from the top of the landmarked Wonder Wheel. Pets Ride Free when accompanied by their owners from Noon 7 PM.

The Coney Island Pet Costume Contest begins at 2 PM on the Boardwalk in front of Deno’s entrance near West 12th. The World Famous BOB MCs, with proud pet owners Shelly (The Singing Siren) Watson, Mr. Gorgeous and Serpentini, (Sideshow Shirley Temple), as judges.

The contest is limited to 25 entries and registration will be on a first come first-serve basis, so pre-registration is encouraged. Visit www.wonderwheel.com to download an application, or register onsite from 12:30-1:30 PM at the boardwalk registration table next to the stage, across from Deno’s Park.

The registration fee is 2 cans of cat or dog food, to be donated to The Sean Casey Animal Rescue, which will have an adoption vehicle parked on 12th street during the event.

• 1st prize: season pass for Deno’s Wonder Wheel and $150 Petco gift certificate;
• 2nd prize: day passes to Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and a $75 Petco gift certificate;
• 3rd prize: day passes to Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park and $25 Petco gift certificate.

The Costume Contest will be followed by a Pet Procession through Wonder Wheel Park.

Executed for Being Gay

Mark Carson, a 32-year-old gay man who worked in a yoghurt shop and was saving for a move from Harlem to Brooklyn, was shot dead on a West Village Street Friday night.

According to the NYPD, Carson and a friend, both in tank tops, cutoffs and boots, were walking on 6th Avenue and 8th Street in the West Village around midnight when the shooter and two other young men rolled up on them.

One of the suspect's crew called out “Look at these f-----ts. What are you, gay wrestlers?”

Words were exchanged, but Carson and his friend backed away.

The suspect and one of this crew confronted Carson and his friend again as they turned the corner, calling them "f----t" and "queer".

 “Do you want to die here?”, the suspect asked,  as his second companion fled.

Seconds later, the suspect whipped out a silver .38 caliber revolver and shot Carson point blank in the face.

The shooter fled as Carson collapsed on the sidewalk.

When cops caught up with shooter, Elliot Morales, he was alone.

While being handcuffed, Morales laughed and bragged to cops, “Yeah, I shot him in the head."

Morales, who has a long rap sheet and had been on a drunken rampage through the neighborhood that night, has been charged with murder.

He claims no memory of the shooting.

This evening, a coalition of community members, elected officials, LGBT community leaders and activists convened a rally at the LGBT Community Center at 208 West 13th Street in Manhattan, followed by a march to the site of Carson's murder.

With five attacks on gay men in Manhattan this month alone, fear and anger have overwhelmed the city's gay community.

"Something", said one of the organizers of tonight's event, "is profoundly sick and wrong when a person can be killed simply on the basis of their identity."

The event roster:

300 West 23rd, 22nd, 21st Streets Block Association | Ali Forney Center | Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS | Catholic Lesbians and Gay Catholics of the Church of St. Francis Xavier | Chelsea/West Village for Change | Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats | GLAAD | God's Love We Deliver | Greenwich Village Chamber of Commerce | The Greenwich Village Chelsea Chamber of Commerce | Haitian Americans United for Progress (HAUP) | Harlem Pride | Harlem United | HK5051 Neighborhood Association | Human Rights Campaign, Greater New York | The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission ( IGLHRC) | Judson Memorial Church | The Latino Commission on AIDS | League of United Latin American Citizens, NYC Chapter | The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center | Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens | The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL) | LGBT Task Force | London Terrace Tenants Association | Make the Road NY | Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer | Manhattan Community Board 2 | Manhattan Community Board 4 | New York City Anti-Violence Project | New York State Assembly Member Deborah Glick | New York State Senator Brad Hoylman | Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation | NYC for Action | Project Find | Russian-Speaking Community Council of Manhattan and the Bronx | Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) | The West 47/48 Street Block Association | Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund | Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office | Village Alliance | West 8th Street Block Association.

Within hours after the rally and march, three more gay men were assaulted in Downtown Manhattan. [The Advocate.]

DeBlasio: City's Skrocketing Water Rates Stealth Taxation

According to New York City Public Advocate and Democratic mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio, the city's latest 5.6% water rate hike is a stealth tax increase.

Revenues from the city's water system are being diverted into the city's general budget, said deBlasio, who has called on the Water Board and Mayor Michael Bloomberg for the release of documents that will prove his point.

In a letter to the Water Board -- appointed by Mayor Bloomberg -- de Blasio connected the city's rising water rates to the Board’s excess “rent” payments to the city.

According to deBlasio, the Water Board arbitrarily sets annual rent payments to pay down debt from city water and sewer infrastructure projects. For years, rent covered only debt service. Since 2005, annual rent has nearly doubled, from $109 million to $196 million, as the cost of debt service has gone down.

The excess payments have contributed to the city's water rates doubling from $1.81 to $3.57 since 2007.

Since 2005, deBlasio said, the board has racked up a $700 million surplus, which is flowing directly into the city's general operating budget. 

When Mayor Bloomberg says he hasn’t raised taxes, deBlasio said, he's only talking about the taxes you can see, not stealth taxes, like skyrocketing water rates.

Birthday Party for The Mary A. Whalen at Atlantic Basin

Courtesy of the Port Authority, the NYC Economic Development Corporation and BillyBey, the new operator of Atlantic Basin, historic tanker ship the Mary A. Whalen will celebrate her 75th birthday with an Open House at Pier 11 at Red Hook's Atlantic Basin, from 1-7 PM on Tuesday, May 21.

Access Pier 11 via the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal pedestrian gate at Pioneer and Conover Streets.

Bicycles, dogs and children are welcome.

The Mary A. Whalen, on the National Register of Historic Places, is the only retired oil tanker in New York City.  Her launch anniversary is May 21.

The Marty A. Whalen will be towed to Atlantic Basin for the party courtesy of The Vane Brothers, who  have donated the use of their new tug The Red Hook to tow her from her current berth to Atlantic Basin.

Vane's New York City operations are based at the former Ira S. Bushey yard in Red Hook, where the Mary A. Whalen began her working life.

She still needs a tow back on Wednesday.

PortSide, the not-for-profit organization that owns the Mary A. Whalen, recently won a White House award for its Sandy recovery work, and is part of a post-Sandy planning process building on the experiences of those on the front lines when Sandy made landfall.

PortSide Founder/Director Carolina Salguero is a recipient of the National Maritime Historical Society's "New York Harbor Historic Ship Steward Award of Excellence."

PortSide is raising funds for a new home.

View a PortSide video here.

It Rained on His Parade

The City's Public Libraries Threatened by Cuts

On Wednesday, May 22, at 1:00 PM, advocacy group Save New York Libraries and other library supporters, including Council Member Vinnie Gentile, chair of the Council's Select Committee on Libraries, other elected representatives, library administrators, union leaders, library staff, advocates and school children, will host "Children Speaking Out: a Rally in Support of Full Funding for the New York City Library System in the FY 2014 Budget", on the steps of City Hall in Downtown Manhattan.

The Bloomberg administration has proposed $106 million in funding cuts to the city's public libraries, the deepest in the history of New York City.

If the proposed cuts, a 35% reduction over last year's levels, go through, it would close sixty libraries, lay off hundreds of workers and drastically cut library hours and services.

Losing libraries means fewer safe places for seniors, teens and kids; the loss of ESL instruction; fewer tools for small business owners; reduced access to free public computers and computer instruction; reduced access to job search and training resources; and the loss of free books, storytime, DVDs, free concerts and other community events.

The Bloomberg administration's war of attrition with the NYPL, in which a new battle is fought each year, has resulted in reduced hours, resources and jobs -- as the city's need for libraries and the services they offer has grown.

Because library advocates know that the city's need for libraries is real, they fight back with all they have each year.

For more information and volunteer opportunities, visit the Save New York Libraries website.

Panel: Knowledge of the Future:  The Changing Face of New York City's Public Library Systems

The Historic Districts Council will host a panel discussion, "Knowledge of the Future: The Changing Face of New York City’s Public Library Systems, on Wednesday, May 29 at 6 PM at Steelcase, 4 Columbus Circle #2 in Manhattan.

The panel will discuss plans currently under consideration for New York City libraries and what they might mean for the future of America’s largest public library system.

Invited speakers include: Dr. Jeffrey Kroessler, Librarian and Urban Historian, John Jay College, Scott Sherman, contributing writer and editor, The Nation, and David Giles, Research Director at the Center for an Urban Future.

Free. To RSVP, contact hdc@hdc.org. Space is limited.

For more information, contact HDC preservation advocate Ashley Shedd at 212-614-9107.

Visual Haiku