CommUNITY Vol. 3 Issue 1 (Feb. 2015)

JOIN US AS WE KICK OFF OUR 45TH ANNIVERSARY
CELEBRATING OUR HISTORY AS THE OLDEST

CONTINUOUSLY OPERATING LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER & QUEER COMMUNITY CENTER
FEATURES
Celebrate 45 Years as the Communitys
Center with a look back at some of the
formative years:
A Brief Timeline of the Pride

Centers Founding
pg. 5
A Few From the Archives pg. 7
CommUNITY is Part of Our
History
pg. 8
Stand Out Memories from the
Staff
pg. 9
Love Que(e)ry by Acey Mercer
Some roses are red,
Some violets shades of blue,
Love Que(e)ry is answered
with you loving you
pg. 15
LEARNING IN THE STREETS:

HOW #BLACKLIVESMATTER
CAN TEACH US ABOUT
QUEER SOLIDARITY
BY ANGELICA CLARK
This region has many spaces, places
and communities energized to fight
against police brutality, mass
incarceration, and the
criminalization of Blackness
pg. 20
Inside Legendary: An interview
with photographer Gerad Gaskin
A chat about the artists book Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom
Scene
pg. 22
Remembering the Forgotten w.

Artist Rachel Briedster
The Romaine Brooks Gallery photographer shares her inspirations

and a new show
pg. 34
February 2015
Volume 3, Issue 1
CONTENTS
COLUMNS
The Fashionable and the Frivolous
Holding Hearts in Pretty Fashion
by
Alan Bennet Ilagan pg. 10
Gay Mans Musings
Looking for a Virgin in a Whore House
by
Nyvek Moshier pg. 13
To Be a Blessing
Singing Connects and Uplifts the Spirt
by
Tom Bubnack pg. 17
Ask the Lawyer
by
Geri Pomerantz pg. 18
Trans View
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
by
Moonhawk Riverstone pg. 26
Heres Guffman
This is the Golden Age
by
Patrick White pg. 28
Ask Mark Your Tax Questions
by
Mark D. Witecki pg. 36
Money Matters
Can Your Conscience Pay Off?
by
Thomas Walling pg. 37
Michael Cooks and You Can Too
Dinner for a Cold Winter Night
by
Michael Meade pg. 38
NEWS,UPDATES & INFORMATION

Directors Note
pg. 6
From the Editors Desk
pg. 6
Quick Clips
pg. 10
Working to Bridge the Gap - POC & the ACA pg. 12
AIDSCouncilofNortheasternNewYorkHasaNewName pg.24
A Report Back from Januarys Call to Action pg.25

The Weekly Events Calendar
Special Events Calendar
Affiliates Calendar
CommUNITY Calendar
Advertisers Index
pg. 29
pg. 31
pg. 32
pg. 33
pg. 35
A brief timeline of the Pride Centers founding...
S u mm
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19
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Tri Cities Gay

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meeting at the Unitarian
Universalist Society of
Albany
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5
and community members

over the years- we simply
would not be where we are
today without the countless
people who have been involved. It is with great pride
that I report some of our accomplishments from 2014,
our most successful year yet!
DIRECTORS
NOTE
This month marks the
45th anniversary of the Pride
Center, and the beginning of
a great year! We have a lot
to celebrate as we mark this
milestone as the oldest continuously operating LGBTQ
community center in the
country. We have grown from
a grassroots and all volunteer
organization to a multi service agency serving 10 counties and tens of thousands of
people each year. Our history has been marked by the
incredible commitment and
dedication of so many board
members, volunteers, staff

Last week, WMHT
premiered their documentary
Out in Albany showcasing
the LGBTQ community in the
Capital Region over the past
nearly 50 years. The highlight
of the documentary was the
presence of the Pride Center
at the epicenter of the community for 45 years. Filmmaker Julie Casper Roth did
a tremendous job of condensing to much history into one
hour of television. But at every point in history, there was
the Pride Center, known for
its first 40 years as the Capital
District Gay & Lesbian Community Council. While Ive
been present for the past decade of local LGBTQ history,
I have heard so many stories
from the decades prior. Stories of Joe Norton. Stories of
the other founders and torch
bearers that have carried the
Center through time. Stories
of schisms and divides, and
making peace and coming
~ Our Board of Directors

convened an Inclusiveness
Committee to fulfill an organizational
commitment
to sustaining an inclusive,
welcoming community characterized by dignity and
sensitivity, representing the
cultural, ethnic and racial diversity of our region.
~ Our Youth Program has
grown so much that now, in
addition to building future
leaders and making change
in schools, we support youth
with groups in Albany, Schenectady, Hudson and Saratoga. In 2015, we will extend
the support even further to a
more target focus on youth at
risk of homelessness.
~ Our Senior Program,
Vintage Pride, has more in-
back together. Stories of bars

that have come and gone and
the great times that were had.
A question that has come up
a lot lately is What makes Albany/ the Capital Region so
special?. Why is it that Albany is the home of the longest,
continually operating LGBTQ
Center in the country? Is it
our proximity to New York
City and access to people who
were present at Stonewall? Is
it the combination of higher
education/ university and being the Capital of New York?
Is it the volume of people who
were socially and politically
active living within a close
proximity? There is no clear
reason other than serendipity
or destiny or simply magic.
Of course over the years, so
much life-changing history
has occurred, people have
come and gone, countless
lives have been touched, and
volvement than ever before

and has great leadership from
within the program leading
its direction.
~ Our Center Families Program has grown with incredible success! This past fall we
connected over 30 families
with 70 youth!
~ Our Training and Education Services expanded,
working with over 1,500 people and 60 different agencies
and schools, ensuring that
our community has the support they need from local service providers.
~ Our cornerstone events
were record breaking! We celebrated Capital PRIDE with
over 35,000 people and our
Annual Gala welcomed 550
people thats 250 more than
last year!
As the communitys center,
we are proud to offer programs for people of all ages in
our community, and hope to
see you in the coming year!
Curran Streett, Executive Director
the Center has been there
through it all. If the walls of
332 Hudson Avenue could
talk, oh the stories it could tell!
As we kick off this year long
celebration, I invite everyone
to share THEIR stories with
the community. What affect
has the Center had on your
life? What does the Center
mean to you? Because while
were celebrating the Center,
were also celebrating YOU!
HAPPY
ANNIVERSARY
Capital Region!
FROM THE
EDITORS DESK
by
Michael Wei dri c h
A Few from the Archives...
ITS TIME TO
THRIVE!
Thrive is back at the
Pride Center
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,

Trans*, Queer,
Questioning, Asexual &
Allied (LGBTQA) young
adults 18-24 are invited to
join THRIVE, a ten-week
mental health and wellness group that gives you
space to talk about life,
coping & adulthood.
Meeting Dates:
Thursdays 6-7:30pm
February 12-April 16
*Must join by February 12th*
After the 12th, you can join by
appointment only,
until February 29th.
FREE SNACKS PROVIDED
Location: 332 Hudson Avenue
Albany, NY 12210
Limited space
Pre-registration encouraged
CommUNITY is part of our History
The Pride
C
enters
Magazine
has been in publication for
over 40 years I t i s one o f th e

oldest LGBTQ publications
in New York State!
CommUNITY Covers from
the Mid-Eighties
In celebration of the
Pride Center of the Capital
Regions 45th Anniversary
staff members look back
and share the moment in our
history that stands out most to
them....
I havent had my most

meaningful moment ...yet.
Pilar Arthur-Snead
Marketing and Development
Manager
Acting as an Advisor Counselor

at [the Pride Centers Summer
Camp] Youth In Power. What
a wonderful way to spend a
weekend surrounded by
amazingly strong, resourceful
and intelligent young people.
Perhaps the future isnt looking
so glum after all.
I remember my first Capital
Oliver Peters
PRIDE
parade and festival. It
Outreach Coordinator
was raining, A lot. I wasnt part
of any particular group so I lined
up with the Pride Agenda because I was friends with Ross
Levi, who was the Director of
Public Policy & Governmental
Affairs at that time before he
went on to be the Executive Director of the organization. And
with as much pride and warmth
as we could generate, we
marched through the rain down
Same-sex marriage got passed in Lark Street and into Washington
New York State on my birthday Park. I think Nora Yates, who was
in 2011. After meeting up with also at the Pride Agenda at that
a group of friends, we marched time, led our group and led that
chanting. I dont think we could
down to the state building,
have chanted any louder to
singing songs, as we waited for
keep the rain away. Despite the
the vote to be announced. It
was! What a magical birthday! weather, it was an amazing time
and it made me feel like I was a
James Shultis
part of this community.
Youth Program Coordinator
Michael Weidrich
Deputy Director
Show
Your
Pride
Online
QUICK CLIPS
THE FASHIONABLE AND THE FRIVOLOUS by ALAN BENNET ILAGAN
He had
thrown
himself
into it
with a
creative
passion,
adding
to it all
the
time,
Are you looking for love or a virgin in
a whore house?
decking
(The gay mans struggle to meet a mate continues on it out with
pg. 13)
every bright
feather that
drifted his way.
No amount of fire
or freshness can
challenge what a man
will store up in his ghostly
heart. ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
If we are brave and willing,
we can stand together and bring
about the world we usually only
imagine
(How #blacklivesmatter can teach us
about solidarity on pgs. 20-21)
The ball scene is about creativity,

innovation and performance - Gerard H.
Gaskin
(Go inside the scene on pg. 22)
Every year at this time, I was able to

indulge in my secret love for all things
pink and red and purple. It was the
single moment when such non-boyish
tastes were expected and admired, and I
took the chance and made the most of it.
This was Valentines Day, and our grade
school class was tasked with crafting a
receptacle for Valentines Day cards from
other classmates. We were encouraged
to use lace doilies, multitudes of hearts,
and an unhealthy proliferation of glitter.
In other words, it was a gay boys fantasy.
We were given the most rudimentary
of basics: a brown paper bag, the kind I
would graduate to after a few more years
of clicking open my metal E.T. The Extra
Terrestrial lunch-box. On this canvass
we were given free rein to decorate as we
liked. Some kept it simple, some went
overboard, and some were just plain
sad. Id like to think I was somewhere inbetween.
By making the container as pretty as I

could, I hoped to gain the prettiest and
most heartfelt Valentines. We were,
by instruction, supposed to deposit a
card for everyone else in the class, but
invariably people neglected to do so. Kids
can be diabolically cruel that way. (Please
note that I always gave a card to everyone,
though it pained me in some instances to
FIND SOMETHING TO DO
do so.) The difference in our various bags
IN OUR COMMUNITY
(Expanded calendars begin on pg. 29)
had more to do with those who were so
well-liked as to merit an extra card or two
from a few favorite admirers. (And also,
to some of our shame, the ones who were
STAY IN TOUCH! EMAIL USso unforgivably mean to everyone else
mweidrich@capitalpridecenter.org
(be sure to include your name and a phone #) Im talking to you Crystal really
10
did find karma

to be a bit of
a Valentine
cupid killjoy.)
T h e r e
were those
kids who
always had
a full bag
of Valentine
cards. Taped to
the edge of the
desks, their bags
swung
perilously,
heavy
with
their
carriage, signs of their
recipients popularity and
esteem. I was not self-aware
enough then to see that mine was
actually one of the heavier ones. I did
not feel popular. I did not feel beloved.
For all the prettiness I put into my bag, it
would never be full not the kind of full
I needed. Not the kind of full I wanted.
Not the kind that would fill my heart too.
While my bag may not have been full, it
was certainly pretty and that kind of
pretty should count for something.
Alan Bennett Ilagan is

a freelance writer and
amateur photographer
who resides in upstate
New York with his
husband Andy. He
created the website
www.ALANILAGAN.
com, which contains a repository of his work,
as well as a daily blog; the website recently
celebrated its tenth anniversary online. He
was the manager of the Romaine Brooks
Gallery from 2008 to 2012. His writing has
appeared in Instinct, xy magazine, Capitalmen, Q Northeast, the Windy City Times,
and the Boston Phoenix. Notable artistic collaborations have been created with the likes
of Steven Underhill, Paul Richmond, Dennis
Dean, and Michael Breyette.
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12
GAY MANS MUSINGS by NYVEK MOSHIER
Looking
For a Virgin
in a
Whore House
I have read a lot of articles lately where
gay men endlessly whine about how there
are no good men in the community and
how gay men only seem to desire hook
ups. While some of these articles do point
to legitimate issues in our community,
many of them just serve as metaphorical
tongues composed to help jaded hearts
lick their wounds and avoid taking responsibility in regards to why they have
trouble finding love.
Is there a large focus on looks, sex and
youth in the gay community? Yes, but
this has more to do with us being men
than being gay. Take a moment and think
about how many straight men focus on
those exact same three things. Seriously,
Hugh Hefner has built an empire from it.
Our culture has encouraged men to own
their sexuality while women are encouraged to suppress it. You know, men need
to sow their wild oats before settling
down after all. There is a heterosexual
saying that comes to mind Every woman
wants one man to satisfy her every need,
while every man wants every woman to
satisfy his one.
So in a culture that encourages male
promiscuity, is there seriously any real
mystery as to why gay men may have a
harder time finding love? In the straight
world women are raised to be the anchor
that keeps the carnal desires of men under control, although I have met women
who could give even the biggest player a
run for his money. Perhaps these gay men
should write articles criticizing the male
gender as a whole instead of attacking
their own and reinforcing the stereotypes
that have aided in the oppression of our
community.
Now I have also noticed some similarities
among all these bitter and cynical articles.
All these men seem to be complaining
about not being able to find love at the
bar, on Grindr or on sites like Adam4Adam. Well color me pink and call me sooie,
you mean bars and hook up sites/apps are
not the best place to find love? WOW, I
never would have guessed that true love
would have trouble blossoming in an environment meant for casual encounters;
this realization astounds me. Yes, I am
being a sarcastic A$$. As I stated in the
title of this article, one does not look for a
virgin in a whore house. Its
simply not logical to think that you are

going to find true fairytale love in a club.
Once these men who wine endlessly face
this reality, they may actually find that
which they seek.
in a culture that
encourages male
promiscuity, is
there seriously
any real mystery
as to why gay men
may have a harder time
finding love?
I know you may now be asking But

where else am I supposed to look? I
know right? Where are you supposed to
look? Its not like there are any options
other than the club. I mean its not like
there are any gay mens choirs, sports
teams, social groups, political groups or
general activity groups. Oh wait, there
are. Yes, I am being a bit condescending
here. As a gay man who has fought hard
to show the world that our community is
just as deserving of love, compassion and
respect; it pisses me off when our own reinforce the fears that society has regarding us. These men get turned down at the
clubs or on apps and then cry because
they feel they were rejected for shallow
reasons. Well, YOU WERE IN A CLUB,
so yes you likely were shot down for shallow reasons. This is the nature of the club
and hook up scene after all. Guess what,
this also happens to straight people in
bars; I know I just blew your mind with
that little pearl of wisdom. How about
taking some responsibility and actually
putting some effort into your search for
love? How about seeking love out in an
environment that is not sexually charged
to begin with? I know, these ideas are
likely completely blowing your mind.
Again, I know I am being quite forward.
But again, ONE DOES NOT LOOK FOR
A VIRGIN IN A WHORE HOUSE.
To risk being perceived as even more of
a jerk, I have to ask these men; who told
you love would be easy? Whoever told
you love was easy set you up for a cruel
crash course in reality. Love is messy,
frustrating and complicated. If true love
was easy to capture, everyone would be
in the perfect relationship and there
would not be one single adult on this

planet. But love wasnt meant to be easy,
thats what makes it special and worth
fighting for. You would think that, as a
community who has had to fight continuously for the very recognition of our
love, we would be more aware of this than
anyone. I get it; I experienced some really
hard relationships and rejection in my life
as well. I have also been the one doing the
rejecting at times. But this is life and its a
journey, not a destination. We must also
keep in mind that love is not something
that can be forced, it finds you when it is
ready and not when you command it to.
Now I write this from the perspective of
a gay man who has been lucky enough
to find true love. My Fianc and I will
be marrying in June of 2015. But please
do not assume that I do not remember
the frustration that accompanied being
single. I went through a period where I
actually didnt want love and thought it
was something that didnt even exist, and
therefore all those who sought it out were
fools. While I am frustrated by the gay
men who write these bitter articles, I do
not hate them. I truly feel for them and
I wish them the strength to carry on and
not give up on love. Many of these men
likely have good hearts; they just need to
be more mindful of where they attempt
to make meaningful and lasting connections. So to these men I say, please do not
allow some shallow fool in a club or on
an app to take away your faith in the existence of love. Love will find you, most
likely when you stop trying to find it; especially when you stop trying to find it
in environments that do not encourage it.
And please remember, and I know I am
beating a dead horse here, one does not
look for a virgin in a whore house.
Now go find your man, Tiger.
Nyvek is a local college
student who has been
volunteering with the
Pride Center since 2008.
It was Nyveks passion
for weddings that first
got him involved in the
fight for marriage equality and the community as
a whole.
13
Welcoming Congregations
Join Us In Exploring Your Spiritual Side At One Of The Welcoming Congregations Below:
Community Congregational Church (UCC)
221 Columbia Tpke, Rensselaer, NY
www.clintonheightsucc.org
Community Reformed Church of Colonie
701 Sand Creek Road, Colonie, NY
www.coloniereformed.org (518)869-5589
www.emmanuelalbany.net (518)465-5161
First Church in Albany
110 North Pearl Street, Albany, NY
www.firstchurchinalbany.org
(518)463-4449
Congregation Agudat Achim (Conservative)

2117 Union Street, Schenectady, NY
www.agudatachim.org (518) 393-9211
First Congregational Church of Albany

UCC & NACCC
405 Quail Street, Albany, NY
www.firstcongregationalalbany.org
(518)482-4580
Congregation Bnai Shalom (Reform)

420 Whitehall Road, Albany, NY
www.bnaishalom.albany.ny.us
(518) 482-5283
First Lutheran Church

181 Western Avenue, Albany, NY
www.FirstLutheranAlbany.org
(518)463-1326
Congregation Berith Sholom (Reform)

167 Third Street, Troy, NY
www.berithsholom.org(518)272-8872
First Presbyterian Church

362 State Street, Albany, NY
www.firstpresalbany.org (518)449-7332
Congregation Beth Emeth (Reform)

100 Academy Road, Albany, NY
www.bethemethalbany.org (518)436-9761
First Reformed Church

8 North Church Street, Schenectady, NY
www.1streformed.com
Congregation Gates of Heaven (Reform)

842 Ashmore Avenue, Schenectady, NY
www.cgoh.org (518)374-8173
First Unitarian Society of Schenectady

1221 Wendell Avenue, Schenectady, NY
www.fussonline.org (518)374-4446
Congregation Ohav Shalom (Conservative)

113 New Krumkill Road, Albany, NY
www.ohavshalom.org
First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany

405 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY
www.albanyuu.org (518)463-7135
Congregation Temple Sinai (Reform)

509 Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY
www.templesinai-saratogasprings.org
(518) 584-8730
First United Methodist Church

603 State Street, Schenectady, NY
www.gbgm-umc.org/schenectady
(518)374-4403
Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church

943 Palmer Avenue, Schenectady, NY
www.easternparkway.weebly.com
(518)374-4306
First United Methodist Church, East Greenbush

http://www.fumceg.org/
St. Georges Episcopal Church

30 North Ferry St., Schenectady
www.stgeorgesschenectady.org
Emmanuel Baptist Church
275 State Street, Albany, NY
First United Presbyterian Church

1915 Fifth Avenue, Troy, NY
www.unitedprestroy.org (518)272-2771
Friends Meeting (Quaker)
727 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY
(518) 436-8812
Presbyterian New England Congregational Church,

Saratoga
http://pnecchurch.org/
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
501 Albany Shaker Road, Loudonville, NY
www.goodshepherdchurchloudonville.org
(518)458-1562
Holy Trinity National Catholic Church
405 Washington Avenue, Albany, NY
www.NCCofA.org/holytrin.html
(518)434-8861
Journey United Church of Christ
500 Kenwood Blvd, Delmar , NY
www.journeyucc.com
Saratoga Springs United Methodist Church
175 Fifth Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY
www.saratogaspringsumc.org (518)584-3720
Saint Aelreds Priory and Retreat House
(National Catholic)
670 Bunker Hill Road, Northville, NY

Tel. 518-863-8086 or 518-434-8861
staelredpriory@aol.com
St. Andrews Episcopal Church
Main at Madison Avenue, Albany, NY
www.standrewsalbany.org (518)489-4747
St. Johns Lutheran Church
160 Central Avenue, Albany, NY
www.stjohnsalbany.org (518)465-7545
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Saratoga
624 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY
www.saratoga-uu.org (518)584-1555
Unity Church in Albany
21 King Avenue, Albany, NY
www.unitychurchinalbany.org (518)453-3603
Woodstock Jewish Congregation
(Reconstructionist)
1682 Glasco Turnpike, Woodstock, NY
www.wjcshul.org (845)246-1671
Proud To Be Open! Affirming! Welcoming! Joyous!
14
Traditional & Holistic Psychotherapies

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T O
B E
B L E S S I N G
Singing Connects
and Uplifts the Spirit
by
Do, Re, Mi, the first three notes just
happen to be,, as we hear from Mary
Poppins. With the art of singing, the
singer begins with the notes of the scale
and proceeds in various sequential patterns to produce musical sound. The
ability of the human voice and body to
create such sound is a marvel to behold.
Is there any relationship between the art
of singing and ones spirit, or spiritual
self? How might they be connected?
The word spirit derives from the Latin
spiritus, which comes from the Greek
pneuma, which derives from the Hebrew word ruach. All refer fundamentally to the concept of the breath.
To manifest spirit means to activate
breath and energy. From its core, spirit
connects to ones values, beliefs, and actions. These cohere into a set of practices that transcend the limits of the
human ego, and connect ones own energetic being to a higher, transcendent
source.
The art of singing is a major physical and spiritual activity. To produce a
proper vocal tone, the singer engages
the breath in the lungs and the structure of the bones and muscles. Within
the grounded and stable container
of the body, the singer senses energy
originating from the pelvic floor and
emanating up the spine through various energy centers to the throat. Eastern spiritual practices call this energy
prana or chi, or life force. The singer
also summons the mental energies of
intention, focus, and concentration.
How do I experience these concepts?
When I practice Kripalu yoga, the
Tom Bubnack
class opens and closes with a chant on

the sound of OM. In Sanskrit, yoga
means union, or yolk. OM is a Sanskrit mantra representing the primal
sound of consciousness and the universe. When intoned, OM reverberates
throughout my being to unite body,
mind, and spirit through intention
(sankalpa), postures (asana), breathing
(pranayama), and meditation (dharana). I connect my spirit with the collective spirits of other class members, the
teacher, and the consciousness of the
universe. Foundational to the practice
is an awareness of breath. The practice
of yogic breathing informs and supports
my efforts to create musical sound.
The art of singing is a major
physical and spiritual activity

When I participate in choral singing, I
am joined with other chorus members
in creating group energy and breath.
We bring our individual intentions,
focus, and concentration together. We
learn to breathe diaphragmatically, as
well as various vocal techniques. We
engage in the sometimes painstaking
work of creating a focused, blended,
and unified group sound. We learn to
establish a relationship with the energy
and presence of our director to create
a bond of energy and communication
that transmits to our listeners.
At times when my energy is low, inspiration is fleeting, or fearful or sad
thoughts intrude, I recall some of the
classic hymns such as I Sing the Mighty
Power of God. Or I bask in the waves
of a cappella choral music from the Renaissance, the Anglican and Orthodox
choral repertoires, or Gregorian chant.

Or listen to my Kripalu CDs or to kirtan chants from Krishna Das. They help
to enlighten my darkness and restore
my connection to source and spirit.
Some of my best teachers in the art
of singing are dance callers in contra,
folk, and English country dancing, with
groups such as the Lavender Country
and Folk Dancers. By their teaching a
group of dancers how to fit the steps
of the dance to the rhythm of the tune,
these callers have helped me to internalize the fundamental awareness that
rhythm underlies all vocal challenges
regarding intonation and melodic line.
Singing is good for ones health, according to John Arterton, founder of
the The Flirtations and director of The
Outer Cape Chorale. Blood pressure
and heart rates go down, and energy
and immunity levels go up. Stress levels
decrease. Theres the sense of accomplishment that comes from confronting
challenges, and sense of inner joy at the
possibility that our singing will move
someone, comfort someone, inspire
someone or heal someone in our audience. Singing is a wonderful social experience. Friendships are formed. Walls
are broken down. Fears conquered.
Hearts opened.
My experience from voice classes and
decades of choral singing affirms these
health and social benefits. I concur with
Artertons conclusion that singing is
indeed a spiritual practice.
Tom Bubnack (pictured above, 1st row, 2nd
from left) is a baritone with the Albany Gay
Mens Chorus, a longtime choral singer, a
student of yoga, and a spiritual practitioner.
This article is one of a series provided by Advocates for Welcoming Congregations, a Capital Region group that encourages the welcoming of LGBT
persons into the full life and leadership of communities of faith. The group also works to make visible for members of the LGBT community opportunities
for practicing their faith traditions.
17
ASK THE LAWYER

by
Geri Pomerantz
In addition to the birth of the Pride
Center of the Capital District, 1970
marked important milestones for the
LGBT community, including some of these.
To commemorate the one year anniversary
of the Stonewall riots, the first gay pride
march was held in NYC, and elsewhere.
Coming Out was an important political act,
perhaps reflective of the feminist mantra
the personal is political. The group
Lavender Menace formed in response to
Betty Friedans usage of the term lesbian
menace to describe what she perceived as
the threat lesbians presented to the womens
movement. The Austrian parliament was
one of the first to decriminalize consensual
homosexual acts between consenting
adults. However sodomy laws existed in
most states, with the notable exception of
Illinois. And Carl Wittman wrote A Gay
Manifesto, published by the Red Butterfly
Cell of the Gay Liberation Front.
Looking at some other events in this year:
The Beatles broke up in 1970 and Diana
Ross and the Supremes had their farewell
concert. Computer floppy discs were
introduced. We saw the first episode of All
My Children. Patton was the Best Picture
of the Year, while All in the Family was
the Outstanding TV Comedy and Bridge
Over Troubled Waters was the album of
the year. The Aswan Dam was completed.
Both Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin died.
California was the first state to have no fault
divorce. The average income per year in
the US was $9,400.00 , a gallon of gas was
36 cents and a regular stamp was 6 cents. A
cyclone in Bangladesh killed over 500,000
people in 1970. It was also the year that the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty went into
effect.
Nixon was president in 1970, and both
houses of Congress had Democrat
majorities.
Notwithstanding
Nixons
campaign promise to bring peace,
American forces invaded Cambodia. US
Soldiers killed and raped approximately
500 unarmed civilians in the My Lai
(or Son My) massacre, an atrocity that
was initially concealed by high ranking
army officers, and which resulted in the
conviction of only one officer. Back in the
US, the National Guard opened fire on
student antiwar protestors, killing 4 and
Henry Marrow Jr, a black man in Oxford
NC, was beaten and shot by white men,

who were acquitted by an all-white jury
of his murder, spurring boycotts of white
businesses. Ruben Salazar, a Chicano
journalist, was killed by a white sheriff s
deputy while he was covering an antiwar
protest. Although his death was ruled a
homicide by the coroner, the deputy was
never prosecuted.
When the editors of CommUNITY asked
me to focus on significant LGBT case
law in 1970 for this article, I suspected
there might be some significant albeit
unfavorable case law. But there really
isnt much to report. As Arnie Kantrowitz,
wrote in Long Road to Freedom, published
in 1994 by The Advocate magazine, In
1970 we got organized and began to argue
over our goals. Nineteen seventy-one was
the year we grew loud enough to be heard,
and like us or not, America could no longer
deny that we were there.
1970
marked important
milestones for the
LGBT community
The most significant LGBT case law event
in 1970 was the application by two men,
Jack Baker and James McConnell, for
a marriage license in Hennepin County
Minnesota. That application was denied
by the Clerk, and the men filed a law suit.
It was not until 1971 however that the
Minnesota Supreme Court decided Baker
v. Nelson, holding that that there is no
constitutional protection of a fundamental
right for a same sex couple to marry. It is
in this decision that we see the argument
that marriage can only be between a man
and a woman, and is designed to promote
procreation. The state court distinguished
Loving v. Virginia (the 1967 US Supreme
Court Case holding that the right to marry
is a fundamental right that must be free
from unjustified government interference
and struck down an anti-miscegenation
law) because that case involved racial
classifications as opposed to fundamental
differences in sex. This is the decision that
was summarily upheld in a one sentence
decision by the US Supreme Court in 1972.
It is this 1972 US Supreme Court case
that is primarily relied upon by the antimarriage equality lobby in their litigation
efforts. Although the importance of Baker
was dismissed during oral argument in
Hollingsworth in 2013, the Supreme Court
decision in Windsor v. US does not reject
the 1972 case. Since Windsor, the majority
of
federal cases, which have issued
LAW OFFICE OF GERI POMERANTZ, ESQ.

Proudly serving the LGBT community and our friends
18
Practice focused on family and matrimonial law
favorable decisions on marriage equality,

have rejected the precedential value of
Baker. However, those unfavorable federal
cases, including one federal court of appeals
case, have relied upon Baker to uphold gay
marriage bans. With approximately 70% of
the US population now living in marriage
equality states at the time of writing this
article, it remains to be seen what the
Supreme Court will finally say about Baker
v. Nelson.
Notably, between 1972, when it decided
Baker, and 1986, when it upheld a Georgia
law criminalizing consensual sodomy in
Bowers v. Hardwick, the US Supreme Court
did not issue any major case regarding
LGBT rights specifically. There were, of
course, a number of cases in the intervening
years recognizing constitutional rights to
privacy in other important areas to the
LGBT community, such as reproductive
rights in Roe v. Wade. Bowers was
reversed in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas, in
which the US Supreme Court recognized
a constitutional right to privacy in sex
between consenting adults. It was not until
later in the 70s that the major gay rights
law offices, such as Lambda, GLAAD and
NCLR came into existence.
In closing, happy anniversary to the Pride
Center, and thank you for your efforts
over the past 45 years in furtherance of the
rights of LGBTQ people.
The legal rights of LGBTQ
families are an everchanging landscape, to be

addressed monthly in this
column. The material
in this article is provided
for informational purposes
only and is not intended
to give legal advice, and
should not substitute for
the independent advice
of counsel. The views
expressed in this column
are solely those of Ms.
Pomerantz and do not
reflect the opinion of the Pride Center.
Geri Pomerantz is an attorney in the capital district
with a practice focused on family and matrimonial
law, specifically including LGBTQ issues. Geri
conducts continuing legal education training for
other lawyers on issues of importance to the LGBTQ
community. Amongst other things, Geri is a member
of the Collaborative Divorce Association of the
Capital District.
Geri can be reached at
pomerantzlaw@albany.twcbc.com
694 Columbia Turnpike

East Greenbush, NY
12061
Tel: 518-479-3713
http://pomerantzlaw.org/
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Caring
Caregivers
Needed!
19
LEARNING IN THE STREETS: HOW #BlackLivesMatter
Every February, we take time to

remember Black History: children do
projects in school, adults watch a PBS
documentary or two, Black elders tell
stories over dinner and nods between
Black folks on the sidewalk increase
in frequency. It always feels like a
missed opportunity to me. We hear a
recycling of the same whitewashed and
respectability-ridden versions of Black
history. I want us to tell stories that
move us to act for social transformation. As one of our local artists, Amani Olugbala, says, My heroes killed
cowboys. Sometimes literally, but I really mean my heroes killed cowboy
politics. My heroes stood up to the
politics that allows police to occupy
Communities of Color, the violence
of the socially-enforced gender binary,
and the dehumanization of Blackness.
They have names like Marsha P. Johnson, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Fannie
Lou Hamer, and Barbara Smith. Queer
Black women offer models for leadership through their organizing that we
in the Queer community should work
to learn about and learn from.
Anybody who is paying attention noticed there was something different
about the #BlackLivesMatter movement that began with resistance in Ferguson, MO on August 9, 2014 following the murder of 18 year old Michael
Mike Mike Brown by a local police officer. Yet, the imagery was eerily famil-
iar: the use of dogs against protesters,

cops looking like soldiers in full combat gear, the overwhelmingly white authorities in a majority Black town, and
the rage on the faces of young people
seeking freedom. Those images harken
back to the streets of Birmingham, AL
during the Civil Rights Movement,
Chicago today, New York City during
Stonewall because they are images of
resistance by the most marginalized
people leading with demands for social transformation, queer Women of
Color leading in all of those movements, including Ferguson.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, but they are

two Black trans* women who should
be taught in every Black History course
because we have a lot to learn about
from those organizing for survival.
Its important to remember that marginalized communities have a unique
ability to imagine themselves creating
a new paradigm because the current
system simply doesnt work for us. We
do not need to deeply invest in white
Folks taking to the streets in Ferguson, MO may seem distant, but for
many in the Black community, the
urgency to resist and demand better
conditions and systems feels very personal and local. It should feel just as
personal and local for Queer communities because Trans* Women of ColAnybody who is paying
or are targeted by state violence, in the
forms of police brutality, state-backed attention noticed there
killings, overincarceration, lack of
employment opportunities, issues was something different
about the
with adequate housing access, lack of
broad access to necessary healthcare,
#B lack L ives M atter
and the violent policing of the gender
movement
binary that occurs on a daily basis.
When we talk about the history of
Black Liberation and Queer Liberation, we might not always think of
Marsha Pay It No Mind Johnson and
supremacy, in cisheteropatriarchy, in
imperialism as folks in queer communities. We must be attentive to our
by
20
ANGELICA CLARK
CAN TEACH US ABOUT QUEER SOLIDARITY
privilege as folks who may be benefit

ing from white supremacy and imperialism and transmisogyny when we
make our movements and stand in
solidarity with movements.
Accountability in this movement of
love is critical. When we behave, as
work to reject. Our power as a community has always been in our willingness
to see liberation and democracy as a
collaborative project that requires every member of our community to have
the resources necessary to participate.
Its not just about who can get married.
Its about who is being killed simply
for existing. Its about who has access
to healthcare. Its about who is worried about their next meal or where
they will sleep. Its about who society
thinks it can re-educate out of existence. Its about opening ourselves up
to the truth and demanding power
and the right to life for our people. Its
about allowing ourselves to be guided
by young people and frontline communities.
This region has many spaces, places

and communities energized to fight
against police brutality, mass incarWhen we behave, as ceration and the criminalization of
a community, as if we Blackness. Capital Area Against Mass
Incarceration has grown a lot since
are not in crisis, we
August 9, 2014 as more folks have felt
desert the most
welcome in the movement to respect
and honor Black life. We are a group
marginalized among
that does public actions, legislative
us
advocacy, and community organizing
through cultural and political work. If
a community, as if we are not in cri- youre an artist, or interested in policy,
sis, we desert the most marginalized or someone who has an interest and
among us. Honestly, we should chal- passion for ending the prison system,
lenge whether we can call ourselves or all three, please join us! We strive to
that when we dont regularly defend create space that is welcoming to forthose that the state and society at large merly incarcerated folks, queer folks,
and folks of all nationalities. We meet

every second Tuesday of the month
at 7 PM at the Social Justice Center,
which is 33 Central Ave. in Albany.
The African American Cultural Center
has held regular events and discussions
to help us understand how our region
can fit into this movement. The Social
Justice Center always welcomes folks
who want to hold cultural events, political meetings and skill shares in our
space. If you want to bring your talents
or interests to the space, be in touch!
Queer people should continue to lead
in those spaces, as well as recruit each
other to grow our presence because
we have so much to contribute. If we
are brave and willing, we can stand together and bring about the world we
usually only imagine.
Angelica Clarke is
a queer Black
Feminist, participatory socialist,
community organizer, trainer,
cat lover,
co-founder of
Capital Area
Against Mass Incarceration and
Executive Director of the Social
Justice Center in Albany, NY who goes by she/
her/they. She is 25 and lives in Troy, NY.
21
Gerard H. Gaskin
is a native of Trinidad
and Tobago. He is
a freelance photographer based in the
Syracuse, NY area. His book Legendary:
Inside the House Ballroom Scene was
published in 2013 by Duke University
Press. The book is the culmination of a 20
year long photographic project and Gaskins documentation inside the House
and Ballroom scene in New York City.
The Pride Center had the opportunity to
interview and catch up with Gerard as he
continues to promote his book in 2015.
Can you tell us a little bit about your
book, Legendary?
I won the Center for Documentary Studies (at Duke University)/Honickman
First Book Prize in 2012 and when you
win the prize, Duke University Press
gives you a book contract. Legendary:
Inside the House Ballroom Scene came
out in November of 2013 with Duke University Press.
I think the first thing I would say about
my book is that I have photographed the
House Ballroom Scene for the past 20
years. I first found out about the scene
from a ground breaking documentary
film by Jenny Livingston called Paris is
Burning that came out in 1991.
Wanting to photograph this community,
around the early 1990s, I would hang
out in the 42nd Street area of Manhattan in New York City. I would hang out
in this one place called Show World, a
place where both cisgender* women and
transgender women strip for you in these
little booths. The place had three floors
and upstairs was where the cis women
were, while the basement housed trans
women. One day I went downstairs and
met Danielle Revlon who was the mother
of the House of Revlon. This is how the
book project began as Danielle invited

me to a ball.
I hope that you know that the Ballroom
Scene is made up of many houses and
each house is like a group that goes to
the Balls and competes under one name.
Each house has a mother and a father.
*Cisgender describes someone whose
gender identity generally aligns with
what society expects based on their sex
assigned at birth; Not transgender
What was your inspiration for this
project?
Wow, thats a great question.
My inspiration came from me seeing
people transitioning from male to female
and thinking about why someone would
do that. I asked myself what were their
bodies and minds telling them [in order
to make] that transition.
I first only photographed male-to-female
transgender people in portraits, but then
after meeting Danielle, I started attending balls regularly. Over time, I really
felt deeply connected to the community.
For here was this amazing community
founded on an idea of creating a safe
space where Black and Latino LGBT and
queer people can come and compete for
prizes, money, and trophies.
Balls were experimenting with the idea of
what it means to be queer and Black and
Latino in the United States. Thats how I
got inspired and thats why I started documenting the community.
What role do you think the ball scene
plays in the LGBTQ community?
The ball scene is about creativity, innovation and performance. In some ways, it
illustrated what Judith Butler calls gender as performative. We see how gender can be changed and is not natural or
static. So, balls are important outlets are
creativity and experimentation.
This may be why a lot of designers, makeup artists, and dancers who are from the
LGBTQ community come to the balls to
compete and work on their skills. Its the
prefect space to see the great designers
and vogue dancers.
What are your thoughts on how the ball
scene is (or can be) weaved into the fabric of Black and Latino History?
The Ballroom scene is part of the overall Black and Latino History because
it [runs] concurrent to the civil rights
movement. It needs to be told along with
22
Inside Legendary:
An interview with
photographer
Gerard H. Gaskin
mainstream history.
In the middle 1960s Crystal Labeija competed in the white drag balls and felt discriminated against. She was never able
to win in such a white space and it was
then the [Black and Latino] Ballroom
scene started. They started the House of
Labeija because it was the Spanish word
for beautiful. Balls started around the
same time as the Stonewall riots in the
West Village in New York City. So, balls
occurred at the same time and contributed to and drew energy from civil rights
and gay rights struggles.
Where can folks find more information
about you and you work?
Visit http://www.gerardgaskin.com
Legendary: Inside the House Ballroom Scene
Gerard H. Gaskin, Introduction by Deborah
Willis, With an essay by Frank Roberts
ISBN 978-0-8223-5582-3, $45.00 cloth trade
120 pages, 92 photos
Duke University Press in association with
CDS Books of the Center for Documentary
Studies, November 2013
Duke University Press:
www.dukeupress.edu/Legendary/
Amazon Smile: http://smile.amazon.com
(Register at Amazon Smile to support
the Pride Center, search for the book title
through Amazon Smile)
WORKING TO BRIDGE THE GAP POC HEALTH & THE ACA

January has already come and
gone and that means that the
New York State of Health Marketplaces
Open Enrollment Period is coming to
an end. There is still time to apply but,
the February 15th deadline for coverage that begins in 2015 is near. We here
at the Pride Center have been fielding
calls, answering questions and assisting
community members with the sometimes seemingly daunting application
process.
The Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (ACA) made forward leaps
in increasing the availability of comprehensive coverage for many LGBT
Americans. The ACA prohibits insurance companies from dropping members if they become sick or to deny
anyone coverage because they have a
pre-existing condition. And, with an
emphasis on preventative care and
wellness, health insurance plans offered
through the marketplace must provide
related services at no charge to members.
For
more
information
about
the
Pride Center
of the Capital Regions
He a lt hc are
Enrollment
services
please contact us by
phone at 518
462 6138 or
via email at
healthcare@
capitalpridecenter.org
1 We the People
Why Congress and

U.S.
States
Must
Pass Comprehensive
LGBT Nondiscrimination
Protections
- By Sarah McBride,
Laura
E.
Durso,
A 2014 Center for American Progress

report states that in 2013, 1 in 3 LGBT
people with incomes less than 400% of
the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) thats
$45,960 for a household of 1- were uninsured. In 2014, its 1 in 4. That marks
a decrease in the number of uninsured
from 34% to 26%.1 Although the overall number of uninsured LGBT identified individuals has decreased since the
rollout of the ACA, there still exists a
divide separating success from failure
within our community.
Hannah
Hussey,
Sharita
Gruberg,
At a disproportionately higher risk of

homophobia, cultural stigma, racial
discrimination, physical violence and
unemployment; LGBT People of Color
are also more likely to have less access
to integral mental and physical health
services than their white counterparts.2
State -
Looking to Black History Month and

beyond, we must ask ourselves - how
can we further our work to increase and
support access to the services that will
better the health and wellbeing of our
LGBT POC community members and
foster a greater understanding of what
equity can attain.
and Human Services
and Bishop Gene

Robinson Center
for American Progress - December
2014
2 LGBT Health and

Human
Services
Needs in New York

pared
Report Preby
Somjen
Frazer for the Empire

State Pride Agenda
foundation and the
New York State Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender
Health
Network - 2009
23
AIDS COUNCIL of
NORTHEASTERN
NEW YORK
HAS A
NEW NAME
After three decades of helping
our community navigate one of the deadliest diseases known to the human race, the
AIDS Council of Northeastern New York
kicked of the year with a new name. On
January 1st the AIDS Council of Northeastern New York changed its name to the
Alliance for Positive Health. This was not
a decision that was entered into lightly;
Board members, staff, community members, and clients were all equally involved
in this yearlong process. Although the
organizations mission remains the same,
this new name better reflects the expanded
services that the organization delivers today and helps to keep its vision of inspiring healthy lives and caring communities
in focus.
The name Alliance for Positive Health
encompasses all the unique services and
benefits the agency provides throughout
its 15-county community in Northeastern
New York. HIV/AIDS will continue to be
at the core of the services offered, but by
changing its name, the agency can build

a larger umbrella that provides services
based on the needs of the community. The
Alliance for Positive Health has helped
clients to address issues around substance
abuse, self-esteem, and decision-making
while also helping them access resources
that promote making healthier choices.
The organizations new direction is due
in large part to the medical advances that
have transformed AIDS into a manageable
disease and have allowed HIV positive
persons to live longer, healthier lives.
In fact, statistics show that more people
are living with HIV/AIDS today than at
any time in the epidemics history. As a result, HIV positive persons have developed
other chronic illnesses that they need help
managing, which is why the agency has
expanded its services time and time again
in direct response to the needs of clients.
Today the organization serves individuals
at risk or suffering from HIV/AIDS, as well
as economically stressed individuals facing

diabetes, heart disease, obesity, asthma,
substance use disorders and serious mental illness. In addition, the Alliance for
Positive Health has extended its services to
include HIV negative individuals who may
have unmet health needs.
In addition to expanded care management
services, the agency continues to screen
for and help prevent conditions including
HIV/AIDS, syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia and hepatitis C, and when needed link
positive results to care; make the transition
smoother for those reentering the community from incarceration; help the LGBT
community advocate for their health care;
and enroll those who were previously uninsured in health insurance.
There is so much hope with what is happening with HIV/AIDS. The organization
is turning the corner into something new,
as well as continuing to serve and help
those who have been underserved, and
those who have been living on the margins.
By changing its name to the Alliance for
Positive Health, the organization hopes to
welcome more people in need of its services and remind supporters of the positive
impact their generosity has on the lives of
others. To find out more information about
the services of the organization please visit
our new website: allianceforpositivehealth.
org or call 518.434.4686.
Have you put yourself at risk?
Need PrEP or
HIV testing?
Albany Medical
Center offers free
assesment for PrEP
and free HIV testing.
www.amc.edu/HIV
24
Call 518.262.6923
for more information.
A Report Back
from Januarys
CALL TO ACTION
by
James Shultis
You may have heard the sad news early in January about a young transgender
teen, Leelah Alcorn, who committed suicide after years of not receiving the support she needed at home and in school. In
her suicide note was a call to action, urging her death to move people to advocate
for change, and transgender rights. In her
memory, and in support of transgender
and gender non-conforming youth in our
communities, the Pride Center organized a
Community Rally/Vigil, March, and Youth
Speak Out on January 9th. At that event
over 100 people braved the cold to come
out in support of trans and gender nonconforming young people.
The event would not have been possible
without the generosity of the First Presbyterian Church, the Social Justice Center,
and so many other organizations and individuals who are here today. Our partners
include In Our Own Voices, the Alliance
for Positive Health (formerly the AIDS
Council), the Albany Damien Center, the
Empire State Pride Agenda, and the Albany
Police Department (who helped marchers
cross the streets safely to get to the Youth
Speak Out).
Because not everyone was able to attend,
we wanted to share with commUNITY, the
opening remarks spoken by James Shultis,
the Pride Centers Youth Program Coordinator. Sharing these, it is the Pride Centers
hope that more people will come together
in the future, continuing the dialogue, and
helping to prevent more lives being lost.
I want to acknowledge that we must also
recognize all of the other trans individuals,

particularly trans people of color who dont
get the same spotlight. As a trans person,
I want to help end violence against trans
people, AND we need to name the racism
embedded in the making of trans legacies.
The following is short excerpt from the
blog Black Girl Dangerous that I encourage everyone to read, and I believe speaks
to the lives that are so often left out of the
media response. These lives should not
only be mentioned, but spoken loudly at
CALLS OF ACTION like this one.
Within the LGBTQ community, trans people

of color face disproportionately high murder
and violence rates compared to our white
counterparts. Media coverage of injustices
against trans people is racially fragmented.
While everyone is quick to circulate petitions
online in Leelahs name and be distinguished
as allies for the trans community, why do
they continue to turn a blind eye to the lives
and deaths of trans women of color?
These are the names that testify to the twisted
disfiguration of trans legacies by our deeplyinstilled racist belief that white lives somehow matter more. These are the names that
indicate how our response (or lack thereof) is
contingent on race. These are the names that
are erased from the trans narrative: Islan.
Alejandra. Tiffany. Jennifer. Gizzy. Zoraida.
Kandy. Yazmin.
Where is our heartbreak? Where is our frustration, our rage, our tears? Where is the
sudden outpour of support and advocacy,
where are the protests, where is our justice?
Islan. Alejandra. Tiffany. Jennifer. Gizzy. Zoraida. Kandy. Yazmin.

These are just a few of the names of trans
women of color who were murdered in the
past year and a half. These are the names
that will never be pushed off the tips of our
tongues when we discuss trans legacies, because they were never there in the first place.
These are the names that will never be entitled to a place in our construction of mainstream LGBTQ history. These are the names
that are stepped on, bleached, stowed away,
stolen from, names that will never have a
place on headlines or in mission statements,
names that will never make it beyond a biased and fabricated police report. These are
the names that do not elicit the same fire, the
same drive for justice, the same magnitude
of compassion, the same measure of grief.
Islan. Alejandra. Tiffany. Jennifer. Gizzy. Zoraida. Kandy. Yazmin. Leelah.
These are the names that cannot be forgotten.
This is just a beginning. It is my hope, the

Pride Centers hope, that we can continue
this dialogue with all of you, to make sure
that the number of people that are here
tonight are the same folks that show up to
#blacklivesmatter rallies, to other LGBTQ
rallies, to so many other things that touch
the people in our communities.
James Shultis is the Youth Program Coorinator at the Pride Center of the Capital
Region. You can reach him at jshultis@
capitalpridecenter.org
Lifestyle Photography is... Your Everyday, Your Important Moments, Your

Once In A Lifetimes, Your Loved Ones.
Lifestyle Photography
for a Lifetime of Moments
www.Facebook.com/ZhangPhotography
www.JayZhangPhotography.com
JZPhotographicServices@gmail.com
25
TR A NS* V IEW
ALL THAT
GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD
by
Moonhawk RiverStone
a few of the Most Obvious

Problems
Not all medically necessary interventions may be covered such

as breast reconstruction surgery
or facial reconstruction surgery;
The document seems to spend
a lot of time detailing what to
do if your medically necessary
treatment is rejected by the insurance company--no a sign that
insurance companies will get
it about trans health care;
You must have a diagnosis of
Gender Dysphoria to receive
treatment, this diagnosis will
follow you as part of your medical history until death-there is
no exit criteria for when ones
gender dysphoria is resolved;
GD is a controversial diagnosis and most clinicians treating
transgender people believe it is
based in old, bad science and
are loath to support the continuation of such outdated diagnosis; the states use of the Mental
Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 is admirable, but
misplaced as transgenderism is
increasingly seen as a congenital
condition and not a psychiatric
condition; furthermore, transgender people reject the idea
that transgenderism is a mental
illness;
The policies appear not to have
been grounded in the WPATH
standards of care, v. 7, pub.
9/2011 as many of their requirements appear to be based in versions 5 or 6, again they are based
in old outdated science;
The Medicaid regulation specifically excludes anyone under
21 from care, not only a direct
violation of the WPATH, SOC
but not in keeping with current
treatment protocols that dictate
treatment of children be on a
case by case basis. Puberty suppression is life saving treatment
as is early hormone treatment
and/or genital reconstruction
surgery for a tiny subset of the
youth transgender population.
To deny these treatments is
causing grave harm to transgender youth.
26
At the close of 2014, the transgender community took delivery on

some pretty impressive policy changes - a nice note to end the year. First
on December 8, 2014, the New York
City Council passed a bill codifying
into law a birth certificate change
policy that was pro transgender. All
transgender people whether adults or
children can now change their birth
certificate to align with their gender
as they understand it without having to undergo hormone therapy or
genital reconstruction surgery--those
providers who can help facilitate this
change include all levels of mental
health providers. Unlike the upstate
New York policy regulation that just
allows adults to change their birth
certificates and ONLY allows for
medical doctors to provide the documentation, the NYC law is in keeping
with the current state of transgenderism care. The New York State Department of Health has a lot of growing up
and moving into the 21st Century on
trans issues to do! It is hoped that they
move quickly before parents of transgender children start filing lawsuits.
The second set of changes to happen
were with regard to health insurance. The Affordable Care Act promises transgender health care in its
language that no one is to be discriminated against with regard to health
care. The Governor in a letter issued
by the Department of Finance sent
to all private health insurers stated
that transgender people should have
health insurance coverage for medically necessary care. Coinciding with
that a day or so later, the prohibitions
in state Medicaid were eliminated
along similar lines to the health insurance regulation. However, the Medicaid changes have a required 45 day
comment period, likely having closed
or drawing to a close as this column
is published in early February 2015.
Both of these policies afford transgender people some basic starter coverage, but both are filled with problems
and drawbacks, mainly grounded in
what is clearly a lack of knowledge
and/or understanding of the state of
the art in transgenderism care. It is
clear that Department of Health and
Department of Finance officials never

spoke with transgender care experts,
or if they did, they ignored what was
likely said to them.
The first big problem about these
changes is that many companies
mostly huge companies like hospitals, Fortune 500 companies, religious
nonprofits, etc. cover their employees under Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA)
or what are called self-insured plans.
Self-insured means the company is
the financial backer (not an insurance company) for the health plan,
essentially the company is acting
as a health insurer. The average employee would not know this unless
they asked, and it can be deceiving
because of how the plans are administered. ERISA plans are not overseen
or governed by any state or federal
entity, so they can do just about anything in their coverage for employees.
A company with a self insured plan
will typically not reinvent the wheel
and go out to private insurance companies and hire the insurance company to manage their self-insured plan.
The plan will typically be one of the
plans the insurance company offers
through its own insurance avenues.
Since there is no governing body to
demand that self-insured plans cover
transgender health, it is almost always
left out. The only exception to that is
certain companies who want to get a
100% score with the Health Equality Index (HEI) at the Human Rights
Campaign (HRC). While there is not
any data on how many companies
are self-insured or how many transgender people work for them, we can
surmise that it is a significant amount
of people, given the large population
of New York State and its corporate
structure. Recently, the interpretation
of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act by both the Dept. of Labor and
Dept. of Justice at the federal level to
protect transgender people under the
category of sex holds the most promise for transgender people under selfinsured plans to get transition related
health coverage. However, it will take
a lawsuit to fully check that out.
It is clear that
Department of Health
& Department of
Finance officials never
spoke with transgender
care experts, or if they
did, they ignored what
was likely said to them.
To detail the problems with the
new health insurance and Medicaid coverage would take several Trans View columns. I have
outlined a few of the most obvious ones in the sidebar.
So, thanks, but....Theres still an
enormous amount of education work to be done with state
health care officials to quickly
modify these policies to be in
alignment with what is actually
happening in the field and to
include all transgender people.
Meanwhile, if you are transgender and will be seeking transition related health services and
seeking new employment be
aware that if you choose a company with a self-insured plan
youre very likely stuck and out
of luck for coverage. Hold out
if you can for an employer who
offers private health coverage,
then youre covered. Until next
time...T
TRANS
VIEW
#130
Rev. Moonhawk River

Stone of Riverstone Consulting is an Interfaith Minister,
transgender
activist, writer,
educator,
consultant,
keynote
speaker and
psychotherapist
in private practice for over
25 years with
experience and
extensive expertise in all aspects of
transgender policy and health.
2015
LGBTQA
Professionals
Networking
Event
Join us for the
next
Lesbain, Gay,
B i s e x u a l ,
Trans*,
Queer
and Allied
Professionals
Networking
Event
TUESDAY
MARCH 3, 2015
6-8PM
PECKS
ARCADE
217 Broadway
Troy
$10 Suggested
Donation
1883
PECK'S
ARCADE
Members
AIDS Council of Northeastern New York

Albany.com
Aras Performance Group, Inc
Buenau's Opticians
Capital District YMCA
Canterbury Animal Hospital
Central Avenue BID
Charles F. Lucas Confectionery / The Grocery
Classy Body Art
Corey Jamison Consulting, LLC.
Connections Psychotherapy
Deb Best Practices
Deja Vu
Experience and Creative Design, Ltd.
Geri Pomerantz, Esq
Homo Radio / WRPI
Interim Healthcare
Janet Stein / Arbonne International
Jay Zhang Photography
Joseph Roche
Journey United Church of Christ
L&P Media
Mazzone Hospitality / Aperitivo Bistro
Mexican Radio Schenectady
Montgomery County Office for Aging
Northeast Acura
Rain Modern Chinese
Ronnie Mangione / Wealth Advisory Group
RBC Wealth Management
Security Plumbing & Heating Supply
Skylands Services, INC
Spectrum 8 Theatre
Sunrise Management and Consulting
Tri City Rentals
Wells Fargo
- JOIN TODAY! - www.capitalpridecenter.org/resources/business-alliance
27
HERES GUFFMAN by PATRICK WHITE
THIS IS THE GOLDEN AGE

While it is primarily the goal of this
column to highlight and celebrate local
theatre in all its splendor in the Capital Region, it would be very foolish to
not throw a little light on New York
City every now and then. It is, after all
the theatre capital of the world and is
currently in the midst of a golden age
unprecedented in its depth and breadth
and its only 2 and a half hours away.
When I think of the golden age of
American theatre Im talking about
New York in the 50s. I did summer
stock with a gentleman named Arthur
Bucky Walsh who had a brief career
in New York before moving to Westerly, RI to raise a family where I met
him. Bucky told me stories about doing the live radio show of I Remember
Mama and catching a cab west changing into his costume in the backseat for
that evenings performance of Stalag
17 and having borscht with Brando at
Caf Edison. It all sounded positively
romantic and enchantedespecially to
someone slogging thru New York in the
80s and 90s.
Yes, Streetcar and Salesman opened
in the 40s but that decade had a worldwide conflagration which overshadowed everything else. The 50s did
have new plays by Arthur Miller and
Tennessee Williams such as The Crucible, A View From the Bridge, Cat
on a Hot Tin Roof and Sweet Bird
of Youth. New plays that expanded
our conception of who we are and the
world around us like Tea and Sympathy, The Diary of Anne Frank, A
Raisin in the Sun and Member of the
Wedding all premiered on Broadway.
A short list of 50s musicals could easily be mistaken for a comprehensive list
of the greatest musicals ever writtenGuys and Dolls, My Fair Lady,
Gypsy, Carousel, The Music Man,

West Side Story The 50s also
brought the landmark production of
Williams Summer and Smoke at the
original Circle-in-the-Square inaugurating off-Broadway theatre.
A common complaint about Broadway
is that it is inhospitable to new plays
BUT this year there is 2013s Pulitzer
Winner Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar,
Hugh Jackman in Jez Butterworths
The River, Olivier award winning
Nick Paynes Constellations starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the hysterical
Hand to God by Robert Askins featuring a filthy talking hand puppet. Joe
Mantello will also be transferring from
Chicagos Steppenwolf his production
of Lisa DAmours Airline Highway
to Manhattan Theatre Clubs Samuel
Friedman Theatre. Revivals of David
Hares Skylight and Wendy Wassersteins Heidi Chronicles are also anticipated.
All 40 Broadway houses are booked
months in advance and usually with
a waiting list. So tight is the occupancy that Its Only a Play is spending
$800,000 to extend its hit run and move
next door because their current theatre
is spoken for by Peter Morgans The
Audience starring Helen Mirren. Other highlights of this theatrical plenty
are that the less desirable three theatres
east of Broadway (The Cort, Lyceum &
Belasco) are continuously booked and
just as Michael Cera in This Is Our
Youth closes at The Cort, HBOs Larry
Davids highly anticipated Fish in the
Dark moves in. Another promising
sign is the Winter Gardens return to
hosting drama with a visit by the Royal
Shakespeare Company presenting Mike
Poultons adaptation of Hillary Mantels
Booker Prize winning Wolf Hall.
To some Broadway is only about the

musical and thats looking awfully
healthy as well. New musicals have been
fashioned from the films Honeymoon
in Vegas, Finding Neverland, Dr.
Zhivago and An American in Paris.
There are Broadway revivals of The
King & I and On the Twentieth Century with honest to goodness Broadway stars in Kelli OHara and Kristen
Chenoweth respectively. There are new
musicals It Shoulda Been You about
a wedding gone wrong and Something
Rotten! about two bumblers in Shakespeares day who happen upon a new art
form-the musical! Theres also a transfer form off-Broadways Public Theatre
of Lisa Krons Fun Home about growing up gay in the family funeral parlor.
Whats most convincing about the argument that this is the golden age in New
York is that it isnt merely confined to
Broadway. Off-Broadway has new plays
by Lin-Manuel Miranda, David Ives,
Doug Wright, Rajiv Joseph, Branden
Jacobs-Jenkins, Robert Askins, Melissa
James Gibson, Bruce Norris, Neil LaBute, Athol Fugard, Andy Sandberg, Jesse Eisenberg & Halley Feiffer. And New
York is more than one borough: Brian
Dennehey and Nathan Lane star in
ONeills masterwork The Iceman Cometh at BAM while John Tiffany helms
an adaptation of Let the Right One In
at St. Anns Warehouse in Brooklyn.
Patrick is an actor, director and teacher

who is playing Vladimir in Confetti
Stages production of Waiting For Godot 2/27-3/8. His adult acting classes are
continuing until 5/2 and enquiries can be
directed to white.patrick1963@gmail.com
THE PRIDE CENTER IS SEEKING SUBMISSIONS FOR LGBTQA YOUTH ART SHOW
Sign-up Deadline: Fri., February 20th
Drop-off Dates: Fri., February 27th to Tues., March
3rd. One piece per artist.
For more info:
(518) 462-6138
jshultis@capitalpridecenter.org
28
29
30
Special Events
Thursday 2/5
45th Anniversary Kickoff Reception
Follow the Yellow Brick Road!
The Pride Center and 45th anniversary co-chairs

Gloria DeSole, Norman Rea, and University at
Albany President Robert Jones are pleased to invite
you to celebrate 45 years as the communitys center.
Join us as we kick off our 45th anniversary celebrating
our history as the oldest continuously operating
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer
community center. Lite Fare, Cash Bar
Tickets online: www.capitalpridecenter.org
Thursday, February 5
The Linda - WAMC Performing Arts Center
339 Central Ave., Albany
6-8 pm
$45 Suggested / $80 Honorary Committee
(no one turned will be away)
Friday 2/20
Frostbite Ball
Bring your friends, dancing shoes and singing voice! Free snacks
too!
Were stoked to be bring you another year of fun with our FROSTBITE BALL: LGBTQA+ Youth Dance Party & Karaoke Showdown!
The FROSTBITE BALL is for LGBTQA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer/questioning, asexual, and allied) youth ages 18
and under! Free, Confidential HIV testing and Pride Center Staff
on hand to answer all your questions ...about anything, really.
THIS IS A SAFE, INCLUSIVE SPACE
Friday, February 20
eba Center for Dance & Fitness
351 Hudson Ave., Albany
7 - 10 pm
$5
LOOKING AHEAD :
Friday 2/6
Opening Reception: Remembering the Forgotten
Join artist Rachel Briedster for a special 1st Friday
reception in celebration of the opening of her show,
Remembering the Forgotten in the Romaine Brooks
Gallery.
Friday, February 2
Romaine Brooks Gallery
332 Hudson Ave, Albany
5-9 pm
Free!
LOOKING AHEAD :
Join us for the MARCH

Lesbain, Gay, Bisexual, Trans*,
Queer and Allied Professionals
Networking Event.
TUESDAY
MARCH 3, 2015
6-8PM
PECKS ARCADE
217 Broadway, Troy
$10 Suggested Donation
1883
PECK'S
ARCADE
GET EVENT
UPDATES:
31
Affiliate Events
The Albany Gay Mens Chorus rehearses on Tuesday

evenings from 6:45 to 9:00pm at the First Lutheran
Church.
For more information: Website: www.albanygmc.
org, E-mail: albanygmc@yahoo.com, Voice-mail:
(518) 459-7563 or join us on Facebook at: Albany
Gay Mens Chorus - AGMC.
We have just begun rehearsals for our June concerts.
Please join us.
Pride Center Legacy Society

WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY,
YOUR VISION FOR THE FUTURE?
QueerEngineer
Get to know us & how you can support
LGBTQ* students in science, technology,
engineering, & mathematics.
/QueerEngineer
@QueerEngineer
A Pride Center of the Capital Region affiliate
32
Planning
for the future can be

difficult. But planning for ourselves
and our families is vitally important.
By preparing now, you can make sure
your wishes are honored by people
you love and trust.
AND WITH A LITTLE PLANNING TODAY,
YOU CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THE
LIVES OF OTHERS TOMORROW.
Consider leaving a gift to the Pride

Want to know more?
CALL (518) 462 6138 for information.
Center through your Will, Trust, or

other Estate Plan.
AUDITIONS / CALL FOR ENTRIES

Open Auditions for All Performers
2/06: Be a part of the show at this years
Say It Loud: Black & LAtino Gay Pride!
Open auditions and coaching for all
types of acts, all are welcome! Conact
Gabby for more information, questions.
6pm
In Our Own Voices
245 Lark St., Albany
(518) 432-4188
FUN & GAMES / ETCETERA
Gay Skate
Tuesdays: An open skate for the LGBTQ
Community! $9.50 w. Skate Rental /
$6.50 w. your own skates. For more info
contact David at DB40@AOL.com or
(518) 573-3962 - 7-9:30pm
Rollarama Skating Center
2710 Hamburg St., Schenectady
KARAOKE
Mondays: Waterworks - 10pm - 2am,
No Cover
76 Central Ave, Albany
Thursdays: Oh Bar - 10pm - 1am, 21+,
No Cover
Fridays: Waterworks Pub - 10pm
18+ (w. cover)
Rocks - 9pm-12am,
Saturdays: Circus Cafe - 10pm - 2am,
21+
392 Broadway, Saratoga
OPEN MIC / LITERARY
Wednesday, 2/9: Live from the Livingroom open mic w. featured poet - 7pm
The Pride Center, Garden Level
332 Hudson Ave, Albany
Thursday 2/5 & 2/19: Open Minded Mic
& Talent Showcase (for all performers)8-10pm
Rocks
77 Central Ave., Albany
(518) 472-3588
Calendar
Thursday of each month from 6-7:30pm

Out of the Closet I am (Womens support group): 1st & 3rd Wednesday of
each month from 6:30pm-8pm
Voices of Unity (Trans*women support
group): 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each
month from 6pm-7:30pm
Groups listed above meet at
In Our Own Voices
(518) 432-4188
Trans Partners Group: provides support for people to discuss and explore
their relationships with trans-identified
or gender non-conforming individuals.
Open to people currently in partnerships
with trans-people or people exploring
their gender identities. Monthly on
Tuesdays at 5pm. Contact Faith Hoffman at faith@choicesconsulting.com for
more information.
Choices Counseling and Consulting
523 Western Ave. Suite 2A
Albany, NY 12203-1617
(518)438-2222
SPECIAL EVENTS
Happy Queer Year!
2/05: Having trouble keeping up with
your New Years Resolution? Need a little
extra motivation? BeCLEAR is offering
a free night of food, fun, and giveaways
to help recharge your goals by working one-on-one with our expert. Please
RSVP by calling Shane at 518-434-4686
x 2323 as space is limited. - 5:30pm
Alliance for Posttive Health
927 Broadway, Albany
(518) 434-4686
Soul Food Lunch
2/07: In celebration of National Black
HIV Awareness Day enjoy a free lunch
and free HIV Testing - 11am- 4 pm
In Our Own Voices
(518) 432-4188
State of HIV in Black America :The
intersection of health, education &
community in the fight to end AIDs
2/06: Free - 8:30-11:30am
Campus South Center
20 Warren St., Albany
Bowling for Paws 2015

2/15: $30-$200 for tickets or to donate
visit: www.albanydamiencenter.org/
bowling-for-paws.html or call The
Albany Damien Center at 449-7119 ext.
112 - 11am 3pm
Playdium Bowl
363 Ontario St., Albany
SPORTS
Albany Bombers Hockey
2/21: vs. Lucky Bs. - 7:00pm
Knickerbacker Ice Arena
191 103rd St., Troy
2/28 : vs Nite Owls - 7:00pm
Knickerbacker Ice Arena
191 103rd St., Troy
Albany Empire Soccer Club
2/02: Albany Empire Firestar -played at
Latham 3 - 9:45pm
2/04: Albany Empire Ratchet -played at
Latham 3 - 9:50pm
2/04: Albany Empire Ironhide -played at
Latham 3 - 10:45pm
2/05: Albany Empire Cliffjumper -played
at Latham 2 - 9:50pm
2/09: Albany Empire Firestar - played at
- played at Latham 1- 7:20 PM
2/12: Albany Empire Ratchet -played at
Latham 3 - 8:10pm
2/12: Albany Empire Cliffjumper -played
at Latham 4 - 9:05 PM
2/12: Albany Empire Ironhide -played at
Latham 4 - 10pm
2/17: Albany Empire Firestar -played at
Latham 4 - 8:15pm
2/18: Albany Empire Ironhide - played
at Latham 2 - 9:10pm
2/19: Albany Empire Cliffjumper played at Latham 4 - 8:40pm
Games are played at the Latham Dome 4 Jacqueline Ave., Latham, NY 12110
for the lates follow: www.facebook.com/
AlbanyEmpireSoccerClub
gs pot.com
r
wrpi.org
PM
TRIVIA
Tuesdays: Rocks -8-10pm
Wednesdays: Oh Bar - 9pm-12am
22
s
year s
the
voic
SOCIAL / SUPPORT GROUPS

Mens Empowerment Group: 1st & 3rd
To have your event listed email the details to info@capitalpridecenter.org by the 15th of the month BEFORE
the event. See more events at www.capitalpridecenter.org/upcoming-events/
Proudly continuing to serve as the voice

of the LGBT community after 22 years
Live every Sunday 10AM 2 PM
Check us OUT: WRPI 91.5 FM or wrpi.org
518.276.6248 homoradio.blogspot.com
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REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN WITH ARTIST RACHEL BRIEDSTER

Who and/or what inspires you artistically?
I am inspired primarily by nature. I
am fascinated by the strength and
diversity that exists without any human assistance or interaction. For
example, I have a rock collection.
People ask me why. I wish I had a
profound answer, but the truth is,
because I am in awe of how beautiful
they are. There is a seemingly neverending supply of colors, shapes, sizes,
textures- and all of them are created
completely naturally without human
intervention. Humans do some really
incredible things, but nature is just
awe inspiring.
How does your personal life influence your work, if at all?
My personal life influences my work
in several ways. I enjoy being outside- Im a hiker, climber, kayaker,
general outdoors person. Being outdoors all the time gives me exposure
to so many places that I like to photograph. I also like to explore areas
that others may think are too difficult
to access. In part I do this because I
want to just live life as fully as I can,
but in part because I truly think thats
where you find the beauty. I feel like
some of the strongest passions or abilities to love come from the ability to
withstand and survive tragedy, and so
too, some of the most beautiful scenes
come from complete darkness or destruction.
What, if any, are the themes that run
through your work? Do you find
yourself returning to certain motifs
ore ideas, and why?
I think there are a few core ideas or
motifs that permeate my work. The
first is the strength of nature. For
example, some of the institutions
Ive been in have been built with
the minds, funds, and labor of literally hundreds of people. Incredible
amounts of effort and resources went
into creating these massive structures.
When we leave them behind, and stop
leaving a human imprint on the space,
nature slowly, quietly just works her
way back in. Less than 10 years later,
tree branches break through windows,
moss creeps across floors, vines infiltrate foundations and walls, climbing
up and covering entire structures.
34
Eventually, it will be almost as if those

structures never existed at all. Will
they have changed the environment?
Yes, but ultimately, nature is stronger and more purposeful and I think
there I find a certain sense of relief
in that. The other theme that I tend
to find in my work is photographing different objects in dark spaceschairs in particular. Light coming
through windows into otherwise unlit
spaces. I enjoy seeing the space that
was touched by so many, but never
seen in this light. I enjoy wondering
who sat in those chairs? What were
their dreams? What was their story?
Where are they now? These places
have myriad untold stories just waiting to be discovered. Its amazing.
What do you think the purpose of art
is in the world? What is the purpose
of your own art?
I think we live in a pretty harsh world.
There is a lot of sadness, hurt, anger,
tragedy- harsh stuff. I think the purpose of art is to help us find beauty.
Sometimes its a brightly colored
painting of a daisy in a sunlit field,
but sometimes its in places that on
first glance just appear painful- or
even ugly. In general I think of grief
as devastating, dark, awful- but by
default, its also then incredible. The
fact that we have the capacity to feel
those emotions is a profoundly beautiful thing. So art has the opportunity
to help us see beauty- both in conventional and unconventional spaces.
And I think that celebrating beauty
is an increasingly important part of
the human existence. I hope that
my work helps people to see a beauty
thats often overlooked.
What are the proudest accomplishments, artistic and otherwise?
Honestly, my proudest accomplishment would probably just be how
much I have grown and changed as
a person- not a specific event. I am
willing to engage in a lot of self-examination and exploration, and critical
conversations with people who have
divergent thoughts and experiences
from my own. As a result I think I
am always changing, growing and
remaining open to new experienceseven the really hard ones. While that
may not sound all that significant, for
me, my commitment to pushing past

fear and discomfort and embracing
my truth is pretty paramount and has
only come through a lot of hard work.
What is the medium of your artwork,
and why do you work in that medium?
Well, I paint, I make jewelry, I do
mixed media, but currently Im focusing mostly on photography. I love to
create things. I love to find ways to
speak to people without using words.
In particular I love when I can create
something that speaks specifically to a
persons interest or passion.
What is the title and theme of your
show, and how did it originate, develop and execute it?
The title of the show is Remembering the Forgotten. It is a collection
of images from abandoned spaces
across New York State including factories, resorts, institutions, and more.
I suppose it has been a long time in
the making. When I started photographing abandoned spaces I never
anticipated that I would be showing
my work to the public. I took photos
of things that spoke to me, resonated
with me, or were beautiful to me.
Over time Ive collected hundreds
of images that represent different aspects of spaces that have been forgotten by humanity. Whether its for a
sense of history, the telling of a story,
or just for the aesthetics, this show
contains images that I think are important for us to remember. Beyond
that, I hope that the images inspire
people to think, to question and to
critically examine the ways that humans actions affect the environment
and others around us, and remember
those feelings when taking action in
their daily lives.
Remembering the Forgotten:

Photographs by Rachel Briedster will
open at the Romaine Brooks Gallery
with a special reception on Feb. 6th
and will be on view through Mar. 1st
agmc
is an affiliate of
AGMC
AGMC
is looking for new members
Albany Gay Mens Chorus
Rehearsals are Tuesdays

6:45 - 9:00 pm at the
First Lutheran Church of Albany.
For more Information
Website: www.albanygmc.org
E-mail: albanygmc@yahoo.com
Voice-mail: 518-459-7563
Join us on facebook... Albany Gay Mens Chorus - agmc
EVENTS THINGS TO DO CONTESTS
Advertisers Index
Albany.com.....35
Albany Gay Mens Chorus....35
Albany Medical Center.....24
Buenaus Opticians.....32
Canterbury Animal Hospital.....16
Choices Counseling & Consulting.....15
Corey Jamison Consulting.....14
Drue Sanders Custom Jewelers.....11
HomoRadio.....33
Interim Healthcare.....19
Jay Zhang Photography.....25
Law Office of Geri Pomerantz....18
REisen Shine Farm.....26
Joseph Roche, Accountant.....26
Ronnie Mangione, Financial Advisor.....16
Lesbian and Gay Families Building Project.....11
Montgomery County Office for the Aging.....37
Northeast Acura.....19
Proctors.....12
Qfest.....39
Queer Engineer.....32
RBC Wealth Management.....16
Realty USA - The Capital Team.....19
RiverStone Consulting.....14
Saratoga Pride.....32
Security Plumbing and Heating Supply.....35
Skylands Services.....16
Spectrum 8 Theatre..... 30
The State Room.....11
Times Union Center.....30
Tri City Rentals.....40
Welcoming Congregations.....14
Wells Fargo Advisors.....19
Thomas J. Walling, CFP / Cetera Advisor Networks.....37
Mark Witecki CPA, CFP......36
Place your ad in CommUNITY and expand your brand

awareness while directly reaching the important LGBTQ
market For more information contact
Steven @ 518-462-6138 or
sminchin@capitalpridecenter.org
Guide to the Capital Region

DINING NIGHTLIFE DIRECTORY & MORE!
35
ASK MARK YO U R TA X Q U ESTI O N S
Welcome to the DEAR MARK column where

you can ask a tax question. Of course some
questions might warrant answers that cannot be answered to due to the limited space
in this column or warrant more facts due to
specific circumstances of the taxpayer.
=============================
Dear Mark Witecki,

I own a small business and recently
bought some customized software. I
got charged sales tax on that software.
Now I am hearing from some people
that I should not have paid sales tax on
it. Whats the right answer?
Signed,
Not Sure
Dear Not Sure,
The taxability of software depends in
part whether the software is off the shelf
software or purely customized software,
whether the software is off the shelf
software with only a bit of customizing
or purely customized software. Check
your invoice to see if the charges are
separated for the customization. Since
this is a complex area, I would suggest
setting up an appointment to view the
invoice and discuss the level of customization to see if any of the sales tax can
be refunded or abated.
=============================
Hello,
I am a professional clown. I am sick and
tired of people making fun of me.
=============================
They dont take me seriously. I finish

my act with a serious song but people
just laugh. I travel all around the state
and I would feel better if I made more
money. I spend more on expenses than
I take in most years, but last year I did
pretty good. I just feel exhausted with
all the travel I do. I really feel that I can
make more money and its starting to
pay off. I would like to set up a pension plan with any profits I am making.
What would you suggest?
letter. Since your preparer will not return your calls, please contact me to set
up an appointment and I will be happy
to assist you with the issue.
=============================
Readers,
Be aware of the new requirements this

year if you own rental property or have
a business in regards to the repair/capitalization rules and the new rules on
materials and supplies and the filing of
form 3115.
Not Clowning Around Anymore and

Nobodys Doormat
Dear Not,
I assume that the first part of your letter
was written in a comedic state of mind.
As to the pension, it depends on the
level of profit and also any participation in any other plans. There are many
types and some with limits on profits.
The best bet is to contact me for an appointment as this issue needs to be discussed in detail.
=============================
Mr. Witecki,
I just received a letter from the Internal
Revenue Service that I failed to report
a sale of stock. I remember giving that
info to my tax preparer and now I call
her and she does not answer the phone.
What to do?
Sign me,
Frustrated.
Dear Frustrated,
I assume there is a deadline on that
=============================
=============================
Answers that apply to specific taxpayers
may not necessary apply to others. Changes in tax law and rules may affect answers
given at any point. You can write Mark
at Mark Witecki CPA CFP(R) CFE, 3701
State St, Schenectady, NY 12304. Mark
D. Witecki specializes in small businesses
and professional individuals. Mr. Witecki
has a B. S. in Accounting from S. U. N. Y.
Albany and an M. S. in Accounting from
Syracuse University. Mark D. Witecki is a
Certified Public Accountant, CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL PLANNER practitioner,
Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified College Planning Specialist and is admitted
to practice before the United States Tax
Court. Certified Financial Planner Board
of Standards Inc. owns the certification
marks CFP , CERTIFIED FINANCIAL
PLANNER and federally registered
CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which
it awards to individuals who successfully
complete CFP Boards initial and ongoing
certification requirements. Marks office is
located at 3701 State Street, Schenectady,
New York
=============================
=============================
Mark D. Witecki
Certified Public Accountant

Certified Financial Planner
Certified Fraud Examiner
Tax Preparation
3701 State Street, Schenectady, NY 12304
(518) 346-4000 f: (518) 346-5196
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. owns the Certified Marks CFP (c). Certified Financial Planner and federally registered CFP
(with flame design) in the U.S. which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFPs initial and ongoing certification requirements
36
MONEY MATTERS
by
Thomas
J.
Walling
Can Your
Conscience
Pay Off?
Things have changed. Investing with
your conscience was usually not associated with increased return on your
money. Traditionally, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) was associated with the exclusion of sin stocks
such as tobacco, alcohol, gambling,
and/or weapon involved companies,
etc. In contrast, a new trend is surfacing utilizing Environmental, Social
and Governance (ESG) rating. Instead
of excluding companies, ESG is used
to rate inherent risk due to certain
factors. ESG says that these factors
should be seen as a risk screener. It
does not exclude stocks, so diversification is improved compared to the SRI.
Risk is defined in Financial Services
as probability of loss. Environmental factors include sustainability and
environmental impact. Social issues
include human rights issues, womens
issues, as well as workplace equality.
Governance Issues include corporate
transparency, management and executive issues, and accounting. All
companies have risk factors. An informed investor will take all of these
into consideration before making an
investment.
Think about it. A lumber company is
just knocking down trees. Another
company is rotating areas of trees
and planting new saplings for future
use. The second company is more
sustainable. Environmental impact
is associated with many variables including: greenhouse gas emission,
pollutants, and anything else that

harms our planet. Doesnt it make
sense to take these factors into consideration as they truly are risks? Environmental risks could very negatively
affect the bottom line of your quarterly
statement. Polluters may have to pay
for dredging or fines associated with
their noncompliance. The less sustainable lumber company may just run out
of trees as rainforests and wilderness
areas are preserved.
Social issues may not seem so important to a companys bottom line, but
take into account that the majority of
growth is usually fueled by innovation. Innovation requires talent. Tim
Cook, the CEO of Apple has recently
come out as gay. One would wonder if
he would have taken a job with a company that did not offer Domestic
Partner benefits in the pre-Marriage
Equality days. Benefits are used to entice valuable employees to stay as well
as attract new talent. Overseas companies that have unregulated labor or
have unsafe work conditions also run
the risk of loss of goodwill, political
changes, and lawsuits.
Transparency is paramount in making investment decisions. Companies
that have nothing to hide, usually hide
nothing. It is difficult to make an informed decision without getting information as accurately as possible. If
compensation does not match the job
done, investors can see this as Executive indulgence. Board diversity would
seem important in getting differing
cultural and demographic viewpoints,
allowing for more input before making a decision. These are but some of
the Governance factors.
So, lets look at the bottom line. How
does incorporating these factors into
your investment strategy affect the

growth of your money? According
to Commomfund.orgs Whitepaper
from September of 2013, findings for
an 18 year period showed that high
sustainability firms dramatically outperformed the low sustainability ones
in both stock market and accounting measuresin the long term. The
same report showed that SRI (or exclusionary investing) did not significantly affect return. Among others,
the ISS (Institutional Shareholder Services) reports on companies corporate governance scores broken down
into categories. So, the research is
available.
In conclusion, it does seem possible
to achieve your financial goals while
incorporating your values. In the case
of ESG screening, you may even lower
your long term risk. There are many
ways to incorporate these factors into
your investment strategy. Speak with a
financial professional to get information and determine what is right for
you and your conscience.
Thomas J. Walling
CFP is an Investment
Advisor Representative
of and offers securities
and investment advice
through Cetera Advisor
Networks, LLC. (Member FINRA/SIPC) and
a Registered Investment Advisor. Branch
office:235 Lark St. #43 Albany, NY
12210. He is also past presenter at the
Pride Center on financial affairs affecting the LGBT community as well as for
SAGE of NYC. Tom Is past presidents
of the board of directors of The Albany
Damien Center, Inc. as well as Our
Brothers Keepers Foundation.
Tom can be reached at 518.878.1294
thomas.walling@ceteranetworks.com
Thomas J. Walling, CFP
INVESTMENT ADVISER REPRESENTATIVE
NY Insurance License #LA910069

235 Lark St., Suite 43
Albany, NY 12210
Direct: 518.878.1294
thomas.walling@ceteranetworks.com
Cetera Advisor Networks, LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC
Your Point of Entry for Information, Referral and Assistance

to Long Term Care Services
Montgomery County Office for Aging, Inc.
&
Montgomery County Department of Social Services
1-888-460-9624
518-843-2300
518-853-5088
37
MICHAEL COOKS AND YOU CAN TOO by MICHAEL MEADE
Dinner for a Cold Winter Night

February is the month when we can
see the light at the end of the tunnel;
December and January are behind us
and if we can just hang on a little longer, Spring is on the horizon. But we
still have a few cold, dark snowy evenings ahead of us and its time to hunker down and warm ourselves up with
some real comfort food.

Heres a recipe to help with that: pork
chops slowly cooked in apple cider and
white wine. Its a hearty, flavorful dish,
perfect for a winter night with friends
gathered around your table. Serve it
with mashed potatoes or small boiled
red potatoes, a brightly-colored vegetable and a loaf of crusty bread. Then,
follow it up with Chocolate Bread Pudding, a meltingly-rich twist on a classic
comfort food dessert. See, Winters not
so bad after all!
Transfer to a plate.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to
the pan and return it to medium-high
heat. Add the pork chops and sear until
lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
Turn and brown on the second side,
3-4 minutes. Transfer to the plate holding the onion.
Place the pan over medium heat and
pour in the cider and vinegar. Stir to
scrape up any browned bits on the pan
bottom. Return the pork and onion to
the pan and arrange the apple wedges
on top of the pork. Pour in the broth,
cover and simmer until the chops are
opaque throughout, about 10 minutes,
reducing the heat if the liquid begins
to boil.
Transfer the chops, apple wedges and
onion to a platter. Pour the milk into
the pan, raise the heat to high, and
boil until the liquid is reduced by onethird, about 5 minutes. Pour the sauce
over the chops and serve. Serves 4.
Cider-Braised Pork Chops with Apples

1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops, about 1
to 2 lb. total
4 tsp. canola oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup apple cider
cup dry white wine
2 Tbs. red wine vinegar
1 Fuji apple, peeled, halved, cored and cut
into 8 wedges
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup evaporated milk
In a small bowl, stir together the oregano, five-spice powder, paprika, 1/2
teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Coat the pork chop evenly on
both sides with the spice mixture. Set
the meat on a plate and let stand for 10
minutes.
In a large, deep frying pan, warm 2
teaspoons of the oil over medium-high
heat. Add the onion and saute until
lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
38
to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Remove from the heat, cover and let
stand for 30 minutes.
Return the saucepan to medium-high
heat and bring to a simmer. Remove
from the heat and whisk in the 5 oz.
finely chopped chocolate until smooth.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk together
the sugar, eggs and salt until blended.
Form a kitchen towel into a ring and
place the bowl on top to prevent it
from moving. Gradually pour the hot
chocolate mixture into the egg mixture,
whisking constantly. Pour the mixture
through a fine-mesh sieve set over a
large bowl. Add the croissants and stir
to combine. Let stand for 20 minutes,
occasionally pressing the croissants
into the custard.
Stir 3 oz. of the coarsely chopped chocolate into the croissant mixture and
transfer to the prepared dish. Sprinkle
the remaining 2 oz. chopped chocolate
on top. Bake until a knife inserted near
the center of the pudding comes out
almost clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Serve
warm or at room temperature. Accompany each serving with a dollop of
whipped cream. Serves 8.
Chocolate Bread Pudding

2 cups milk
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup sugar
5 eggs
Pinch of salt
5 day-old croissants, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch
pieces
Lightly sweetened whipped cream for garnish
Preheat an oven to 325F. Lightly butter a 2-quart round or oval casserole.

Pour the milk and cream into a heavy
saucepan. Place the vanilla bean on
a work surface. Using a small, sharp
knife, cut the bean in half lengthwise.
Using the knife tip, scrape the seeds
from the bean, then add the seeds and
bean halves to the milk mixture. Bring
Michael Meade
graduated from the
Culinary Institute
of America in Hyde
Park, New York,
worked at Jacks
Oyster House in
Albany and is currently sous-chef at
Thunder Mountain
Curry in Troy.
Questions and comments are welcome
at Michaelmeade1215@yahoo.com.
QFEST 2015
FEBRUARY 21- 22
QFEST IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KINKY BOOTS

OUR 5TH ANNUAL CAPITAL REGIONS LGBT FILM FESTIVAL FEATURING
FREE SCREENINGS OF:
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WATERMELON WOMAN 1PM
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LOVE IS STRANGE 1PM
REACHING THE MOON 3PM
THE 87TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS PARTY 6PM
FREE ADMISSION TO QFEST IS SPONSORED BY:
JUNE
16-21
432 STATE STREET SCHENECTADY NY BOX OFFICE 518.346.6204 PROCTORS.ORG

39
NON-PROFIT
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PERMIT #798
ALBANY, NY
332 Hudson Avenue

Albany, NY 12210
Distinguished Living...Successful Living...Gay Living

Tri City Rentals is a Proud Supporter of the LGBT Community
Visit one of our

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CommUNITY Vol. 3 Issue 1 (Feb. 2015)

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JOIN US AS WE KICK OFF OUR 45TH ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATING OUR HISTORY AS THE OLDEST

A Brief Timeline of the Pride

LEARNING IN THE STREETS:

Remembering the Forgotten w.

The Romaine Brooks Gallery photographer shares her inspirations

Geri Pomerantz pg. 18

NEWS,UPDATES & INFORMATION

A Report Back from Januarys Call to Action pg.25

A brief timeline of the Pride Centers founding...

Tri Cities Gay

and community members

~ Our Board of Directors

back together. Stories of bars

volvement than ever before

Michael Wei dri c h

A Few from the Archives...

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,

CommUNITY is part of our History

has been in publication for

over 40 years I t i s one o f th e

I havent had my most

Acting as an Advisor Counselor

THE FASHIONABLE AND THE FRIVOLOUS by ALAN BENNET ILAGAN

The ball scene is about creativity,

Every year at this time, I was able to

By making the container as pretty as I

did find karma

Alan Bennett Ilagan is

Let us help you create the perfect wedding rings

1675 Western Ave | Albany, NY 12203 | 518.464.9636 | www.druesanders.com

FEB 12, 2015 8pm

GAY MANS MUSINGS by NYVEK MOSHIER

simply not logical to think that you are

I know you may now be asking But

would not be one single adult on this

Congregation Agudat Achim (Conservative)

First Congregational Church of Albany

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First Presbyterian Church

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Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church

First United Methodist Church, East Greenbush

St. Georges Episcopal Church

First United Presbyterian Church

Presbyterian New England Congregational Church,

670 Bunker Hill Road, Northville, NY

Proud To Be Open! Affirming! Welcoming! Joyous!

Traditional & Holistic Psychotherapies

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

Healing Trauma & Abuse

Chocolates and roses have become

Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity