New Year Brings Changes for Library’s Main Branch
This year the trustees of the New York Public Library have been thrust into the spotlight to defend their Central Library Plan, which would turn the library’s main branch into a combined research and circulation library. The 42nd Street building is a historic landmark, but also a widely used research library in the heart of Midtown West.
A Self-Made Man
Wrapped in a blue coat, his nose whipped red by the cold wind, Garrett Buhl Robinson sits outside the main branch of the New York Public Library almost every day. Behind a fold-out TV tray table that serves as his makeshift office, bookstand, and check-out counter, Robinson sells his two self-published novels and a book […]
Sweater Tree Brightens Hell’s Kitchen
Wrapped in whimsical knitted stripes in bright colors and smiley faces, a tree in a sweater stands before the red storefront of Domus, a 10-year-old home décor store on 44th Street near Ninth Avenue. Many neighborhood residents pass the tree with brief smiles, while visitors stop to look more closely or take pictures. “It’s making me cold,” […]
Breaking Stereotypes: the Unexpected Republican Voters
To their left leaning counterparts, conservative gay and lesbian voters are “self-loathing.” Their votes for a Republican Party and presidential candidate that has largely identified itself as the “anti” to the gay rights agenda confuses many. But, many gay and lesbian voters choose to identify as conservative, and are forced to prioritize campaign issues in ways that straight voters do not.
Calling All Voters
The SEIU Communications Center near Times Square was abuzz with phone calls all election day as groups came in to get out the vote. Volunteers from NAACP, Marriage Equality USA and 1199 SEIU, a healthcare workers union, filled cubicles and donned headsets to make sure constituents in New York and other key states were getting out to vote.
Campaign for Marriage Equality Continues in New York
After New York legalized same-sex marriages in 2011, many activists were able to breathe a sigh of relief. But while New York joined five other states and DC in establishing marriage equality, the organizations that headed the state’s campaign haven’t stopped working. Now they’ve turned their attention to the national level.
DOMA Hits LGBT Couples Even After Death
In late September, Edie Windsor’s challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act was heard before the U.S. Court of Appeals. Upon the death of her wife in 2009, Windsor was forced to pay more than $300,000 in estate taxes than she would not have paid had she been married to a man. Almost by accident, Windsor has become the face of challenges to DOMA.
LGBT and the Military: Lawsuit the Next Step
September 20 marked the one year anniversary of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a law banning gays and lesbians from openly serving in the military. While the repeal has made significant changes for gay and lesbian service members, inequalities due to sexual orientation still exist.
Fresh Produce Program For Seniors Launched
Council Member Gale Brewer of District 6 launched the Westside Senior Supported Agriculture (WSSA) Food Bag Program as part of her “Grow Green, Age Well” initiative. The program, the first of its kind in Manhattan, has had mixed reviews from area seniors.
