Showing posts with label Catholic Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic Church. Show all posts

Friday, April 18, 2014

Questions about Full-Page NYTimes Open Letter to Pope About Homeless QUILTBAG Youth Services

Was the Controversial Full-Page New York Times Ad Shaming Catholic Pope Francis A Complete Waste of Money ?

Carl Siciliano photo Carl-Siciliano-BEST-Credit-Mike-Ruiz_zpsb0099167.jpg

The cost of an open "plea to Pope Francis on behalf of troubled gay youths needing housing, healthcare and other basic necessities" printed as a full-page advertisement in last Sunday's edition of The New York Times may have been an expensive waste of money, according to a post published yesterday on the blog of San Francisco activist Michael Petrelis.

The open letter, penned by Carl Siciliano, pictured above, the executive director of a Manhattan shelter for homeless QUILTBAG youth, the Ali Forney Center, was estimated to cost approximately $150,000 to be printed by The New York Times, and the cost was paid for by chichi furniture makers Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, the blogger Mr. Petrelis wrote.

Once a highly visible activist when he lived in New York, Mr. Petrelis periodically follows New York politics and activism, blogging from San Francisco about these issues on the World Wide Web. When Mr. Petrelis first approached Mr. Siciliano about the cost of the advertisement, Mr. Siciliano was evasive, directing Mr. Petrelis to the furniture makers, who paid for the advertisement.

2014 04 13 Ali Forney Center - Open Letter to the Pope (Pope Francis) - Full Page Advertisement in The New...

Mr. Petrelis sought to open up a dialogue with Mr. Siciliano over the possible misuse of $150,000 in donor money to pay for a one-time, full-page advertisement, but Mr. Siciliano ended communication with Mr. Petrelis after issuing a denial, forcing Mr. Petrelis to blog about the issue and, later, circulating a link to his blog post to several New York City activists, including some journalists. Mr. Petrelis's e-mail was subsequently forwarded amongst New York activists. "In my view, the funds were wasted on a PR stunt that did nothing of direct benefit to Ali Forney Center clients, but sure bought a lot of gushing media and blogger coverage," Mr. Petrelis wrote on his blog, adding, "I say that money could have been put to much better use paying for motel vouchers or subsidizing apartments for homeless New York City gay youths."

In trying to hold Mr. Siciliano accountable for the possible misuse of $150,000 in donor funds for a one-time public relations "stunt," Mr. Petrelis and other activists noted that Mr. Siciliano and his donors have arguably wasted a large sum of money hoisting shame or blame onto the Catholic pope in Rome for conditions in New York City over which the pope has no real responsibility.

Pope Francis photo Pope-Francis_zps30d6faa6.jpg

Over three months ago, a class action of homeless New York City youths filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court. The Legal Aid Society, acting as counsel to the plaintiffs, sued New York City, demanding the full resources to finally and fully provide shelter to all homeless youths in New York City, as required by law. When New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his first preliminary budget, his administration promised to "eventually spend $12 million a year to fund programs for homeless youth, including queer youth," Gay City News reported. But the $12 million isn't enough to full fund the provision of shelter to the estimated 3,800 homeless youths in New York City. At $12 million, the spending comes out to less than $3,160 per year per homeless youth -- which comes out to about the cost of one month's rent for the average New York apartment. At that funding, the promised budget allocation isn't enough for rent, much less sufficient for healthcare and other basic services, which Mr. Siciliano was trying to shame the Catholic Church into providing.

Mayor de Blasio's proposed $12 million budget allocation is woefully insufficient to fully provide shelter for homeless youths, even though the federal and state laws require the city to make this provision to any homeless youths ages 16 to 20, who request shelter, according to the Legal Aid Society's class action lawsuit. Even though the population of homeless youths are estimated to number about 3,800, the New York City budget only makes 253 shelter beds available for homeless youths.

In the wake of the de Blasio administration's failed homeless youth policy comes the Ali Forney Center donors funding what was basically an attack ad against Pope Francis, even though it's the city's legal responsibility to fully provide shelter to all homeless youths. It's not known why Mr. Siciliano, the Ali Forney Center, and their donors would try to muddy responsibility from rolling up to the mayor, unless Mr. Siciliano was trying to score political points by providing political cover to the mayor's failed policy in exchange for a greater allocation of the mayor's nominal expansion of homeless youth funding, a predicament predicted under a de Blasio city budget that is being squeezed by high expectations after nearly a decade of unmet economic needs under the former Bloomberg-Quinn administration. Rather than admit the reality of the economic pressures on the New York City budget, the mayor spun an token, yet wholly insufficient, increase in homeless youth funding as a "win" -- even though it doesn't fully address the issue, as required by law.

Let's hope that Mr. Petrelis's blog posting, and the circulation of his e-mail among New York activists and journalists, will help restore the focus of homeless youth responsibility back on City Hall -- and not on Vatican City.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Transgender teacher fired from Queens Catholic school

Sign the petition : St. Francis Preparatory High School: Formally Apologize to Mark (Marla) Krolikowski for Sexual Discrimination

From WABC Eyewitness News :

Transgender teacher fired from Queens Catholic school
By : Sarah Wallace, Eyewitness News
Web produced by Cristina Romano, Eyewitness News

QUEENS (WABC) -- Meet Marla Krolikowski. She no longer has any reason to hide. For 32 years, Krolikowski lived a dual life, teaching at St. Francis Prep School in Queens as a man, Mark, who professionally dressed in a suit and tie.

"I valued the job so much that I was willing to internalize everything, because the job met so much to me," said Krolikowski.

Krolikowski says she did start to add more feminine touches over the years, but claims no one seemed to mind. There are plenty of yearbook photos of her like that.

"I noticed it was a bit more feminine, but I mean, I didn't think it was anything to write home about," said former student Christina Guarino, "so it didn't matter, no."

Apparently, a parent did care. Krolikowski says in October of 2011 that school officials brought her in and confronted her.

"They said, 'are you a drag performer, are you a female impersonator?'" Krolikowski said, "they gave me all these different things, so finally I said 'I'm transgendered and I identify as a woman. Then everybody's jaw dropped, and then, I said, 'Oh God, what did I do?'"

Krolikowski said that someone told her "it sounds like you're worse than gay", and it took all her strength not to cry.

Krolikowski claims she was told to tone down her appearance, and did, but was fired anyway.

When September came, she was not going back to school for the first time in 32 years.

In a statement denying the allegations, St. Francis said: "Mr. Krolikowski's employment was terminated for entirely appropriate and professional reasons, and in no way discriminatory."

"All he wanted to do was to be judged by who he is and not what he is, and it's a horror that in this day an age, the school has chosen to judge him by what he is and not who he is," said Krolikowski's attorney, Andrew Kimler.

"My time is running out. I'm 59 years old and I want to live the way I was intended to be," adds Krowlikowski, "which is as a woman."

Krowlikowski has had breast implants, has started hormone treatments, and plans to have more surgery. She says she doesn't want people to look at her as a freak, because she didn't get to do all the things that girls got to do.

Krowikowski says she has been overwhelmed by support from thousands of current and former students who have signed an on-line petition on change.org. She doesn't have long-term plans but does have an immediate goal - to attend Lady Gaga's Born Brave bus tour that is coming to New York later this month.

Sign the petition : St. Francis Preparatory High School: Formally Apologize to Mark (Marla) Krolikowski for Sexual Discrimination

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Map For Connecting Rainbows LGBT Civil Rights Walk In 2011 NYC Easter Parade


Join us for an LGBT civil rights walk
that is being organised by Connecting Rainbows. The walk will take place on April 24 during the 2011 Easter Parade in New York City. We need your help to create a mass movement to legally recognise LGBT civil rights.

Suggested Connecting Rainbows Route During NYC Easter Parade 2011

Create profiles, form and join groups, and plan LGBT civil rights actions at our social media site at : Connecting Rainbows.