Housing Works Rally Outside Bloomberg's Campaign HQ

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

(New York, NY) -A sporadic shout from one person, then a few more joined in and became a chant in unison, "Hey Bloomberg, AIDS needs a Mayor" marking the beginning of the Housing Works rally and protest on Oct 20 in front of 111 West 40th Street.

Terri Smith-Caronia, VP, Housing Works with anti-Bloomberg poster

Along one side of West 40th Street, in front of the building housing the re-election campaign headquarters of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a hastily constructed cordon of police barricades formed a makeshift pen for the numbers of expected protesters, which never quite materialized. As the motley group of people assembled, at about 12:45pm, 15 minutes after the scheduled start, Kristin Goodwin, director of New York Policy and Organizing, Housing Works stepped up to the podium and began to speak.

The rally, according to Housing Works, a non-profit organization committed to the twin causes of HIV/AIDS and homelessness, was intended to draw attention to Bloomberg's run for a third term as Mayor, as illegal and against term limits law which he said he would abide and reneged on; that eight years as Mayor was enough; that the Mayor had refused to participate in a survey on HIV/AIDS in the city; and that he had refused to speak with an HIV/AIDS community group, People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). In a press release, Housing Works said that along with the rally, they were protesting the Mayor's failed AIDS policies.

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Mayoral Candidate William Thompson
Manuel Rivera, chairperson of the Consumer Advisory Board, Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC), said that the Housing Works rally occurred and overshadowed another planned event to which both mayoral candidates had been invited to meet with and answer questions from People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) at GMHC. And, even though Thompson had agreed to meet with the PLWHAs, he backed out of the meeting when it was learned that a scheduling conflict prevented Bloomberg from attending.

"[The Mayor's] staff has stated that the Mayor does want to have a direct conversation with PLWHAs, and is still committed to do so. We look forward to that. Comptroller Thompson had committed to attending this event, and we thank the Comptroller," said Rivera.

 

 
Kristin Goodwin, director, Advocacy, Housing Works
Yet, while the more than 30 people who gathered in the barricade pen and intermittently raised their collective voices in chants, "This Mayor is not fair, he ignored the questionnaire," "Bloomberg is no where, people with AIDS he don't care," and "Eight is enough!"; one protestor, Cynthia May who lives in Chelsea said she was there to join her voice for the preservation of the democratic process, where, as she sees it, the rights of the people should be respected.

"The Mayor is overthrowing the term limits law and it shows he has no respect for the law," May said.

But, Terri Smith-Caronia, vice president, New York Advocacy and Public Policy, Housing Works, said a survey was sent out to candidates for all elected offices in this election cycle, with most completing the questionnaires, and the Bloomberg administration refusing to complete it. Housing Works, she said, scheduled a Town Hall meeting with the Mayor to discuss his treatment of HIV/AIDS issues in the city, but because of conflicts, Bloomberg did not show. Smith-Caronia said that the Mayor's office issued a statement which purportedly claimed that the death rates from AIDS in the city had decreased, but while the infection rates continue to increase, that overall, the behavior or members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community was disgraceful.

The rally and protest, said Smith-Caronia, was a confluence of events, and from it is hoped to raise awareness of the prevalence of HIV in NYC.

 
Charles King, president and CEO, Housing Works
Referring to the Mayor's recent announcement of appointing a 25-member commission to address homeless LGBT youth in the city, Smith-Caronia said that it seemed similar to the 30-member commission on HIV/AIDS the Mayor established at the start of his term, which has done nothing for the community other than facilitate syringe and needle exchanges for intravenous drug users. The Mayor, she said, has cut funding to AIDS housing, and to HIV prevention and care services.
One of the speakers at the rally was Housing Works President and CEO Charles King who said that all that was needed was for the candidates to declare their respective positions on HIV/AIDS. He recounted a comment from a Bloomberg staffer, who said that their office only completes questionnaires if it leads to an endorsement.

But, said King, his organization has taken on Mayors and he is not afraid of this mayor, and suggested that Bloomberg spending $200 million of his own money on the campaign for re-election was spread out and given as donations to many non-profit organizations, which is the reason why many are afraid to ask the hard questions.

"Since Bloomberg, we now have 39,000 people living on the streets, 8,000 more than there were and of which 40 percent are HIV positive. With the increase in HIV numbers, the Mayor has cut funding for people living with HIV. He has opposed the 30 percent cap in housing costs for people living with HIV. The reason the Mayor is not here is because he's afraid to face the people of this city who are HIV positive.

We're calling on who ever would be the Mayor to come up with a better strategy for HIV care in the city," said King.

 

 
Section of crowd protesting
Following King to the podium, Mayoral Candidate, City Comptroller William Thompson arrived and addressed the small crowd.

"It is the community-based organizations which provide support services to people living with HIV and AIDS. To cut them out of this, in this health crisis, just doesn't work at all. I will work to protect HASA budgets from being cut," said Thompson.

The city's government, Thompson said, need to address the level of wasteful spending on commercial single room occupancies (SRO) which are used by the city to house many homeless people.

"I'm here to let you know that there is an alternative. Bloomberg has failed the HIV positive population," said Thompson.