Tag Archives: New York

Gay History – March 20, 1749: The Single Women of New York Denounce “Old (Gay) Bachelors”

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March 20, 1749:

A few centuries ago, marriage was more than a than just arrangement for two people who love each other. It was a significant economic proposition. This was especially true for women, whose options for earning a living were severely limited. While men had the entire world open to them as far as opportunities for making a living were concerned, women’s options were limited mostly to marrying men.

In 1749, a group of single women who called themselves “The Petticoat Club” found themselves paying a severe economic penalty while they saw large numbers of “eligible” men who for some reason would not settle down and marry. 

In a petition to the New York Gazette, the club proposed that those “old bachelors,” (many of whom were gay men) who were not carrying out their proper duties, should be severely taxed for their selfishness and that tax would go to support unmarried women.

To all married Men:
The Humble Petition of a Society of young Women known by the Name of The Petticoat Club, in Behalf of themselves and several Hundred of others, between the Age of Sixteen and Forty, in this City and Province.
That your Petitioners being all of the ancient and honourable Family of the Wife-wou’d-be’s, and being arrived to the Age of Maturity, are as we flatter ourselves, of as good Abilities both of Body and Mind as any the World does afford … ; yet, notwithstanding all our Accomplishments and utmost Endeavours we are frustrated of this our laudable Design, by the unsufferable Stupidity and Obstinacy of a Set of Men called Old Bachelors, who know and ought to do better, and who in Contempt of the laws both of God and Nature, and to the inexpressible Damage of this Province, do oblige us, contrary to our Desires and Inclinations, to remain useless, and ever burdensome Members thereof.
For our Relief in these our deplorable Circumstances, ’tis our earnest Desire, that you would so far commiserate our Condition, as to use your utmost Endeavors, that there be such Fine laid on all Offenders of this Nature, as may bear some Proportion of the Heinousness of their Crimes; and that all Bachelors above 26 Years of Age, may be obliged to pay a moderate Tax, which should yearly increase till they arrive at 40; that the said Fine may be applied to the Education of the Boys of this Province, that so they may have the Opportunity of learning more sense and better Manners, and wherein the true interest of their Country does consist. — And if any of the aforesaid Drones shall presume to continue in their Obstinacy till the Age of 40, then we pray, that there may be some publick Mark of Distinction, that they be known from other Men; and we think it not improper to oblige such stubborn offenders to wear one Side of their Beard at full length, to show their Age, and the other Half shaved bare, as a Mark of their Folly; unless they can make appear they have done something to equivalent Advantage to their Country . …
That there are such Numbers of the ancient and honourable Family of the Wife-wou’d be’s, in this Province, is so manifest it needs no Proof; that the Treatment they meet with, is in Contempt to the Divine Law, is plain; for no sooner was Man created Male and Female, but God commanded them to increase and multiply, and replenish the Earth; which Command the Old Bachelors have no Regard to, unless to replenish it with such an illigetimate Race, as would be a standing Reproach to the Parents. … We could multiply Texts of Scripture to the Purpose; but … we shall pass on to show, that it is even contrary to the Laws of Nature. We see that the Male and Female of all Species of Creatures (except the Old Bachelors) have a natural Inclination towards each other, by which their Kind is propagated and maintained in the World. … ’til a general Rule with the whole Creation, and the Old Bachelor Seems to be the only Exception. [The women argue that] those that are best able, and have least Charge on their Hands, ought to pay the Most Tax; That the Bachelors have the least Charge, is plain, having none but himself to support, and yet has the same Liberty and Opportunity to pursue his Business as other Men; For which Reason if he is not capable, it’s his own Fault, which often happens; for having no suitable Companion at home, he is often inclined to indulge himself in drunken Frolicks abroad … often to the great Disturbance of the whole Town in which he lives.
Gay History - June 1, 1899: New York State Corruption Investigation Exposed the Gay "Male Degenerates" of Paresis Hall

Gay History – June 1, 1899: New York State Corruption Investigation Exposes the “Male Degenerates” of Paresis Hall

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In 1899 and 1900, a New York state special legislative committee named the Mazet Committee was formed to investigate the corruption of Tammany Hall.

The Republican-led state investigation took on a decidedly partisan tone, (some things never charge) with committee members taking every opportunity to portray New York City as a den of filth and degeneracy. Among those called to testify was Joel S. Harris, a police investigator, who told of the goings-on at Paresis Hall, a popular hangout for “fairies” and “male degenerates”:

I was with Mr. (John R. Wood, another investigator) last night at Paresis Hall, No 392 Bowery. I observed the actions of the persons congregated there. I saw and heard immoral actions and propositions by degenerates there. Captain Chapman came in about five minute to 1, as we stepped out. … We had been in the place about an hour or so; plenty of time for information to get from Paresis Hall to the stationhouse. Captain Chapman didn’t say anything to us, but I overheard him say to the proprietor … that he would not tand for any dancing on souvenir night, and he wanted it shut up. I have been in that place before, recently, three or four times, and I have on each occasion noticed the same conduct as I have just testified to. That is a well-known resort for male prostitutes; a place having a reputation far and wide, to the best of my knowledge. I have heard of it constantly. I have never had any trouble in going in. You go in off the street with perfect ease. These men that conduct themselves there — well, they act effeminately; most of them are painted and powdered; they are called Princess this and Lady So and So and the Duchess of Marlboro, and get up and sing as women, and dance; ape the female character; call each other sisters and take people out for immoral purposes. I have had these propositions made to me, and made repeatedly. There is not difficulty in getting into that place

Another witness who went to Paresis Hall “undercover” George P. Hammond Jr., also testified:

I know this place called Paresis Hall, and under your directions I have visited it a number of times. I have been in the place since April 1st to the present time fully half a dozen times. I knew of it before, as an officer of the City Vigilance League. I am in the produce business. When this committee began its sessions I took a vacation on the produce business and came in to help you. The character of the place is such that what we call male degenerates frequent the place, and it is a nightly occurrence that they solicit men for immoral purposes. They have one woman who goes there they call a hermaphrodite. These male degenerates solicit men at the tables, and I believe they get a commission on all drinks that are purchased there; they get checks. I have observed five or six of these degenerates frequent that place, possibly more; the last we were there we saw a greater number than we did previously. Those five or six are always to be found there; almost invariably you will find them there .hey go from there across the street to a place called Little Bucks, opposite, and from there to Coney Island. I have never had any difficulty in getting in; not the least; I have been received with open arms. There are two ways of going in, one way up through the barroom, the other through a side entrance; any way at all that suits you can walk in … They have a piano there, and these fairies or male degenerates, as you call them, they sing some songs.”

Paresis Hall, was located in the Bowery on 5th Street near Cooper Union and was opened and operated by James T. (‘Biff’) Ellison. Ellison a gay gangster was affiliated with the Five Points Gang, and then the Gopher Gang made no attempt to disguise his establishment as anything other than a ‘fairy resort”.

Historical characters and locations including Paresis hall were featured in The Alienist by Caleb Carr.

REMINDER: COVID Is Not Over! - 12,500 Americans Died Of COVID-19 In July.

New York COVID-19 Deaths Stabilizing, Hospitalization Rate Down, KY to Forcibly Quarantine Easter Sunday Churchgoers

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The United States today surpassed Italy in the total number of confirmed deaths from the coronavirus, reaching its deadliest day on Friday with 2,057 deaths. As of Saturday afternoon, the total dead in the United States stood at 20,110.

But there seems to be a bit of good news out of New York.

CBS News reports:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that 783 people died in New York on Friday due to COVID-19. On Thursday, 777 people lost their lives to the virus. The day before that, the state reported 799 deaths.

The number of deaths is somewhat stabilizing, he said, but stabilizing at a “horrific rate.” Friday’s fatalities raise the total death toll in New York from the coronavirus to 8,627. The state remains the U.S. epicenter of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Cuomo said, however, that the numbers of people being hospitalized and admitted to ICUs are on a downward slope. Intubations are also down.

Just because New York numbers may be stabilizing we are not out of the woods while the virus begins to rear its ugly head in other parts of the country. In Kentucky COVID-19 cases are up by 242 to a total of 1,693 with 90 deaths. The state plans to quarantine churchgoers that gather this Easter weekend in violation of Governor Andy Beshear’s executive orders to self-quarantine for two weeks.

Also in COVID-19 news today a new study examining air samples from hospital wards with COVID-19 patients has found the virus can travel up to 13 feet (four meters) — twice the distance current guidelines say people should leave between themselves in public.

Gay Employee Comes Out, His Salary Was Cut in Half to Be Equal With Other 'Females in the office' Then Fired

Gay Employee Comes Out, His Salary Was Cut in Half to Be Equal With Other ‘Females in the office’ Then Fired

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A former employee of the international New York based events company Eventique claims he was degraded and his play was slashed to match “other females in the office,” once his boss learned he was gay. 

In a lawsuit filed this week, Wesley Wereneck says he was abused. suffered discrimination. rampant homophobia, and was fired from his position at Eventique – which stages promotional events for companies including Nike, Twitter And Amazon.

“Wesley was personally recruited by this employer to be a senior producer, and once he learned he was gay, the employer began shutting him out of the business,” said Wernecke’s lawyer, Anthony Consiglio

Wesley says a week after being hired in June, co-workers made snide comments about his engagement ring, calling it “girly”. When asked if his wife wore a similar ring, Wernecke told them his partner, Evan, did.

After that he was excluded from meetings and social events, passed over for assignments with large commissions and subjected to discriminatory anti-gay remarks.

Finally, Wesley claims he was called into CEO Henry Liron David s office and told his salary was being cut by more than 50 percent, from US$145,000 to $70,000.

“I couldn’t sleep at night thinking that you were being paid so much more than the other females in the office,” David allegedly to have told Wernecke. The CEO, the complaint alleges, “simply could not bear the thought that Eventique would continue to be represented by a gay man”.

Not long after, Wesley discovered that David had lowered his salary even more, to $58,000 or 40 percent less than the starting salary he was promised when he left his former job, the lawsuit says.

He was then fired two weeks later.

Henry Liron David’s lawyer, Gena Zaiderman, claimed that he denies the ‘shocking and baseless’ allegations.

‘Mr. David firmly stands by his long-standing reputation for fairness and professionalism. We expect that the facts will be revealed in due course,’ the lawyer said in a statement.  

Harvey Fierstein to Play Bella Abzug in New Off B'way Solo Show

Harvey Fierstein to Play Bella Abzug in New Off B’way Solo Show

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In a press release “Bella Bella” is described as “raucous, heart-rending and absurdly humorous.” A synopsis gives the following description of the show:

The Manhattan Theater Club announced on Thursday that its 2019-20 season will include the world premiere of “Bella Bella,” a new solo show written by and starring Harvey Fierstein, which casts him as Bella Abzug, the outspoken New York congresswoman and activist.

Set in 1976, on the eve of her bid to become New York State’s first female Senator, “Bella Bella” finds this larger-than-life, truth-slinging, groundbreaking, hat-wearing icon squirreled away in the bathroom of a midtown hotel awaiting that night’s election results while a coterie of family and celebs await her entrance.

Harvey Fierstein’s breakthrough gay play, “Torch Song Trilogy,” in which was recently revived on Broadway under the name “Torch Song.” He has written the book for the musicals “Kinky Boots” and “La Cage Aux Folles.”

It is poetic justice that a longtime gay activist like Fierstein play Ms. Abzug who steadfastly fought for LGBT rights and courageously introduced the original version of the Equality Act on May 14th of 1974 in Congress  — the first piece of federal legislation to address discrimination based on sexual orientation.

3 Men Dead In "Intentional" Hit & Run Outside Chicago Gay Bar

Man Charged With Hate Crimes After Attacking Gay Couple in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

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A unnamed 25 year-old man faces up to 15 years behind bars for assaulting a gay couple in Williamsburg, Brooklyn according to the borough’s top prosecutor, who has charged the defendant with a hate crime.

“This defendant allegedly assaulted an innocent couple simply because he perceived they were gay,” said District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “Crimes that target individuals because of their sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or other identity are a threat to everything we stand for in Brooklyn.”

According to police reports the unnamed assailant ran after his two victims as they left Lorimer Street’s Metropolitan Bar — a popular watering hole among the local gay community — a little before 1 am on Sept. 23, and allegedly started shouting homophobic slurs, officials said.

The defendant then chased the couple down Metropolitan Avenue, before allegedly hurling both victims to the ground, knocking each unconscious, authorities said.

A good Samaritan called 911 to report the incident, and paramedics rushed both men to Woodhull Hospital, where doctors treated the victims for a fractured and dislocated left shoulder, and a broken finger, according to police.

Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun set the defendant’s bail at $15,000 during his Wednesday arraignment, and ordered him to return to court on Jan. 16

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Vows To Protect Gays And Minorities From Attacks By Donald Trump And His Minions

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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Vows To Protect Gays And Minorities From Attacks By Donald Trump And His Minions

 

From the Facebook page of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo:

The state of New York has a proud legacy as the progressive capital of the nation, and that is more important today than ever before. As New Yorkers, we have fundamentally different philosophies than what Donald Trump laid out in his campaign.

So let me be absolutely clear: If anyone feels that they are under attack, I want them to know that the state of New York – the state that has the Statue of Liberty in its harbor – is their refuge. Whether you are gay or straight, Muslim or Christian, rich or poor, black or white or brown, we respect all people in the state of New York.

It’s the very core of what we believe and who we are. But it’s not just what we say, we passed laws that reflect it, and we will continue to do so, no matter what happens nationally. We won’t allow a federal government that attacks immigrants to do so in our state.

We are a state of immigrants. We are the state that raised the minimum wage to $15. We are the state that passed Paid Family Leave. We are the state that passed marriage equality. We are New York, and we will stand up for you. And on that, I will never compromise. Count on it.

NYC Dallas BBQ Chair Basher Bayna El-Amin Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For Attack On Gay Couple

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Dallas BBQ Basher Gets 9 Years

Duncan Osbourne reports at Gay City News:

Bayna-Lekheim El-Amin was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years post-release supervision for assaulting two men in the Dallas BBQ in Chelsea in 2015.

“The jury rejected your claim of self-defense,” said Arlene Goldberg, the judge who heard the case in Manhattan Supreme Court, on September 15. “That you did not cause serious physical injury to them was only a matter of luck.”

El-Amin faced five low-level felony assault charges in a May 5, 2015 altercation he had with Jonathan Snipes, 33, and his then-partner, Ethan York-Adams, 26, in the restaurant, which is located at Eighth Avenue and 23rd Street.

The prosecution’s case, which included several videos, was that the fight was divided into three parts and the 42-year-old was not charged with any crime in part one, where he was defending himself from Snipes, who started the fight by attacking El-Amin.

In parts two and three, El-Amin was continuing to fight when Snipes had effectively surrendered, the prosecution said. El-Amin always faced the greatest jeopardy from his actions in part three, where he can be seen hitting the two men on their heads with a heavy wooden chair as they stand with their backs to him.

El-Amin claimed he was defending himself in the altercation with the much smaller Jonathan Snipes at the Chelsea restaurant. Indeed, surveillance video showed Snipes starting the fight bu hitting El-Amin with a canvass bag. But El-Amin, according to prosecutors, continued the fight after Snipes had given up. Additional video showed El-Amin “hitting the two men on their heads with a heavy wooden chair as they stand with their backs to him walking away to the horror of on-lookers and then fled the scene.

“The case boils down to this defendant took it too far,” said prosecutor Leah Saxtein. “He decided to get revenge. … He used a dangerous instrument to strike them in the most vulnerable part of the human body.”

El-Amin and some supporters attempted to frame the incident that El-Amin was a victim of racism. Waddie G of the black entertainment website the G-List Society shared social media posts accusing Snipes and York-Adams of exploiting “white privilege” which was picked up by other various QPOC groups including the former LGBT equality group GetEQUAL. . El-Amin who himself spoke at the hearing, described his accusers as “drunk white men who felt they were entitled to swing on me.”

But the judge did not agree. “I know that you want to cast this, your supporters as well, as an issue about race,” Goldberg said. “I don’t see it that way. … When you picked up that chair, that was a criminal act that cannot be excused.”

El-Amin’s lawyer had sought the minimum sentence, three and a half years, for the charges on which he was convicted. The prosecution sought 12 years plus five years of post-release supervision.

El-Amin has a previous record of 29 felony convictions across several states.

 

House Rep Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) To Push Again On LGBT Anti-Discrimination Measure

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House Rep Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) To Push Again On LGBT Anti-Discrimination Measure

House Representative Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) has tirelessly led efforts to support LGBT non-discrimination protections in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Maloney, who is openly gay will once again try to get legislation passed promoting equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people after an amendment to a separate spending bill that the funding could not be used to hire contractors who discriminate against LGBT workers was attacked by the Republican House leadership which held the vote open long after the time expired and pressured seven Republican members to switch their votes to no, thus defeating the amendment by a single vote.

The Hill reports:

House Democrats will try again this week to pass legislation promoting equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people after being thwarted in a dramatic vote last week.

The office of Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who sponsored the anti-discrimination provision, confirmed Tuesday that the New York Democrat will offer his amendment again as part of this week’s debate on an energy and water appropriations bill.

The issue sparked chaos on the House floor last week amid debate over military construction spending when GOP leaders held open the vote and twisted Republicans’ arms to sink Maloney’s amendment after it had secured enough support to pass.

Democrats howled, and Maloney charged Republicans with “a naked endorsement of discrimination.” It’s a message the party’s campaign operatives are already using on the election trail. And to keep the pressure up, especially on Republicans who switched their votes, Democrats will continue the push this week.

This is about whether we will reaffirm equal rights or rationalize discrimination,” said Maloney. “When my husband and I got married after waiting 22 years, so many of you expressed your support. Will you now look me in the eye and say it would be okay for me to lose my job over it?”

N.Y. Mets Second Baseman Daniel Murphy “Comes Out” As Homophobic “I disagree with the gay lifestyle 100 percent”

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Mets Dan Murphy anti-gay

 

According to NJ Advance Media  New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy said at a meeting about Inclusion in Sports last March that he “100 percent” disagrees with the gay lifestyle.

Murphy made his opinion known while meeting with former professional baseball athlete Billy Bean, who publicly came out after his career and now serves as the MLB’s Ambassador for Inclusion.

Bean was invited to spend the day and speak with Mets players as the behest of general manager Sandy Alderson.

Per NJ.com:

I disagree with his lifestyle. I do disagree with the fact that Billy is a homosexual. That doesn’t mean I can’t still invest in him and get to know him. I don’t think the fact that someone is a homosexual should completely shut the door on investing in them in a relational aspect. Getting to know him. That, I would say, you can still accept them but I do disagree with the lifestyle, 100 percent.

Murphy said he would embrace a gay player on the Mets, despite his religious conviction against same-sex sexual orientation and went on to articulate a love-the-sinner-hate-the-sin approach.

What a douchebag and I agree with that 100%.