TONIGHT In NYC: Free JMG Pride Party & Marriage Celebration With Open Wine Bar & Legendary Drag Performer Jackie Beat!

If you're in Manhattan tonight, please consider joining me and fellow JMG readers for a special Pride Party in the private lounge at the Gramercy Theatre, 127 East 23 Street. Beginning at 10pm we'll have an open wine and champagne bar courtesy of Barefoot Wines. Slurp! Come celebrate one of the greatest victories in LGBT history!

AND the first 20 people to respond to this email: JMGParty@gmail.com will start the evening with free tickets to the new show by legendary drag performer Jackie Beat, Pray Away The Gay. (Enter the discount code "JMG" for $18 tickets if you don't make the freebie cut.)

I'm looking forward to seeing lots of you there!

Photo Of The Day - Manhattanhenge

JMG reader Inga sends us her stunning photo of last night's Manhattanhenge.

Rock Song Map Of Manhattan

More trivia: Exterior shots of Tom's Diner, made famous by Suzanne Vega, were used for the diner on Seinfeld. (Source)

Morning View - Lexington & 23rd

Tweet Of The Day - Queer Rising

This morning Queer Rising blocked the intersection of Manhattan's 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue with a giant yellow banner as part of their protest for marriage rights in New York state. Village Voice reporter Steven Thrasher tweets: "Reactions from those held up ranged From support to amusement to rage to confusion." I'll have photos and video later this morning.

UPDATE: Queer Rising sends us this press release.

The LGBTQ activist organization Queer Rising’s protest against New York’s discriminatory marriage laws ends in arrest after eight members refused to move from the intersection at 42nd St. and 6th Avenue. A 75-foot banner reading “NY DEMANDS MARRIAGE EQUALITY NOW!” was unfurled. Unwilling to wait any longer for equal rights and protection from the state of New York, the eight activists refused to let Manhattan go on with business as usual while thousands of LGBTQ families live as second-class citizens. LGBTQ people throughout the state are no longer willing to remain silent until the unjust marriage laws change. "It’s a sad thing that I have to go to such extreme lengths for rights that others were born with," said Frostie Flakes, one of the three arrested drag queens.

“We do not enjoy inconveniencing drivers on their hectic morning commute,” said Jake Goodman, a member of Queer Rising and another arrestee, “but we less enjoy living without the 1,324 protections and rights granted by state-recognized marriage. We only hope others stop the routine of their everyday lives to join us and demand marriage equality now.” Those arrested were: Kevin Beauchamp, blind gay activist; Nora Camp, queer activist; Natasha Dillon, lesbian activist; Frostie Flakes (aka Adam Siciliano), drag queen activist; Jake Goodman, queer activist; Honey LaBronx (aka Ben Strothmann), drag queen activist; Eugene Lovendusky, gay activist; Kitten Withuwip (aka Caldwell) drag queen activist.

(Photo via Queerty)

NEW YORK CITY: Activists Announce Plan To Block Traffic Over Marriage Rights

Perhaps taking their cue from GetEQUAL's blockade of the Las Vegas strip last summer, Queer Rising today issued a press release announcing their plan to blockade Manhattan traffic next Tuesday in a protest over marriage rights.

The LGBTQ activist organization Queer Rising has planned a March 1 demonstration to protest the lack of marriage equality in New York State. A protest and civil disobedience will occur in Midtown Manhattan on the morning of Tuesday, March 1, 2011. Complete details as to the location, action and Queer Rising participants will be released to media on the morning of March 1st. "The federal government has advanced the cause of marriage equality this week, with the decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act," said Queer Rising founding member Natasha Dillon. "But New York State shamefully lags behind on the issue. Marriage equality was defeated in December 2009 and the measure was not included in Governor Cuomo's 2011 Executive Budget. LGBTQ New Yorkers refuse to be persecuted, second-class citizens any longer!"

Altruistic Punishment

It turns out there's another name for that Manhattan phenomenon commonly called "sidewalk rage."

While it sounds like an oxymoron, altruistic punishment is basically how social norms get enforced. So when you expel a huffy "Excuse me!" to the rude sidewalk clogger in front of you who has stopped midstride to check his BlackBerry, you're trying to discourage behavior that endangers other members of the society. It's called "altruistic" punishment, because your efforts to protect civility come at personal cost with little chance of personal benefit: you are far more likely to get an obscene gesture or even a punch in the mouth than a thank you.

Many evolutionary psychologists believe, however, that without altruistic punishment, cooperation could not have evolved. In simulations of "selfish" versus "cooperative" strategies for living, for instance, researchers have found that altruistic or cooperative creatures beat out selfish ones only in an environment in which the failure to cooperate is actively detected and punished. Sidewalk rage — anger over the selfish violation of a cooperative social norm that protects the group — is a nice example of that.

What's the altruistic punishment for the people who argue about their coupons at Walgreens?

NEW YORK: Race-Baiting Anti-Abortion Billboard Angers City Politicians

New York City leaders are furious about a race-baiting anti-abortion billboard just posted in Soho.

Public Advocate Bill De Blasio demanded the billboard be taken down. “This billboard simply doesn’t belong in our city. The ad violates the values of New Yorkers and is grossly offensive to women and communities of color,” said De Blasio. The anti-abortion nonprofit organization behind the billboard said its goal is to shock people and spark discussion. The spokesperson for Life Always, Marissa Gabrysch, said the group is trying to highlight its belief that Planned Parenthood targets minority neighborhoods with the 300,000 abortions it performs each year. “There’s a grave disparity and just a huge disproportion that African-Americans represent 13 percent of the U.S. population yet represent 36 percent of abortions in the United States,” said Gabrysch.

NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn issued a press release this morning.

“This billboard is nothing but a pathetic attempt to discredit Planned Parenthood. To refer to a woman’s legal right to an abortion as a ‘genocidal plot’ is not only absurd but it is offensive to women and to communities of color. Every woman deserves the right to make healthcare decisions for herself and I will continue to fight to protect this basic right and against this sort of fear mongering. What’s more unfortunate is that this billboard directs women to Crisis Pregnancy Centers, which are non-medical facilities that often mislead women about both their reproductive health and their reproductive rights. To give women as much information as possible about their own heath, I fully support local legislation to require Crisis Pregnancy Centers to clearly post what services they offer. Offensive rhetoric and deceptive actions against a woman’s right to choose will not be tolerated in our city.”

NEW YORK CITY: Lawmakers Refloat Plan To Charge For Driving Downtown

Lawmakers are refloating a plan to charge drivers up to $10 if they want to drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan on weekdays. Bloomberg test-drove the idea back in 2008 to little support, but with the city budget in the shape it presently is, this time the idea may get some traction.

Driver fees could also reverse some of the MTA service cuts that eliminated two subway lines and 36 bus routes last year, and help plug the system's $10 billion long-term maintenance gap. They could also delay the 7% fare hike scheduled for a year from now, backers hope. While Gov. Cuomo has not taken sides on the idea, Bloomberg aides have been working on it behind the scenes for months. "The key is devising a proposal that would win broad support across the five boroughs, the entire region, and in Albany," said Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson.

Last time, the plan was largely shot down by outer-borough commuters who drive downtown and use the already sky-high parking garages.

RELATED: In 2003 London instituted a similar congestion charge in which weekday drivers pay £10 to enter the central part of the city.

Habbibi

The New York Times looks at Habbibi, Manhattan's long-running dance party for gay Arabs.

In the D.J.’s booth, Abraham kept the hits coming — mainly from Egypt and Lebanon, but also some South Asian and Indian pop. “Anything with a belly dance beat,” he said. “Keeping people on the dance floor is a natural high for me.” The dancers included plenty of non-Arab men, many of whom Abraham said were regulars. "Hummus queens,” a 24-year-old grocery clerk from Queens named Hilal joked at one of the parties. “That’s what you call white guys who go for Arabs.” Some of the guests yearned for something more than just a good time. “There’s a lot of post-9/11 baggage that people want to deal with,” Hilal said during another party. “But the only option they have is to go out to a club and dance?” Still, Hilal, wearing a “Hummus Is Yummus” T-shirt and a Mohawk haircut, took his place on the dance floor, too.

I've attended Habbibi with my beloved Farmboyz, but I don't think anybody called us "hummus queens."

Google Buys 111 Eighth Avenue

Google has agreed to pay $1.8B for its massive Manhattan office building, which looms over Chelsea and covers an entire city block. Real estate watchers say the move signals a rebounding in New York's long-slumping office space market.

“This decision is further evidence that large-scale buildings are trading once again,” said Ross Moskowitz, a real estate lawyer at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan and a former city economic development official, “and high-end users are looking to take advantage of these opportunities.” The brick building, which covers an entire block bound by 15th and 16th Streets, already houses Google’s East Coast headquarters and 1,800 employees, as well as Lifetime Entertainment, barnesandnoble.com, Nike USA and Deutsch advertising. But at 2.9 million square feet, it has more space than the Empire State Building and plenty of room for Google to grow.

Droning New York City

"FP/V" refers to the hobby of flying first-person/video cameras attached to tiny remote-controlled planes. Or as the U.S. military calls them, "drones." Judging by the comments on this YouTube clip, some FP/V hobbyists aren't too happy about the guy who flew his drone around Manhattan because now the FAA is going to "crack down" on them. Cool clip, in any case.

Goodbye Scab Rat, Hello Scab Bedbug

For many years, a familiar sight for Manhattanites has been the giant inflatable rat stationed outside of businesses and construction sites using non-union labor. But in order to capitalize on the city's eternal bedbug terror, the rat has been retired. Gothamist reports:

Asylum spotted this giant inflatable bedbug outside the Affinia Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Let us hasten to report that Affinia is one hotel in NYC that does NOT have bedbugs. But a "group of pissed-off painters deployed the inflatable insect to tsk-tsk Affinia and Capital Builders for not paying them union wages." They're currently handing out flyers titled: "Notice to the Public: Affinia Hotel -- Infested with Bed Bugs." But the hotel doesn't literally have bedbugs, just owners who are "sucking the financial blood from" the workers. With bedbug panic at its peak, you've got to wonder if guests on their way to check in will grasp that little nuance.

The rat was actually kind of cute.

NYC: Openly Gay State Sen. Tom Duane Among Those Arrested At AIDS Protest

Openly gay and openly HIV+ New York state Sen. Tom Duane was arrested along with several other AIDS activists in a protest at City Hall tonight.

The act of civil disobedience was meant to draw attention to a housing bill that was vetoed by the governor earlier this year. The bill would insure that poor people living with HIV/ AIDS wouldn't have to spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. Advocates argue the bill saves money in the long run, by lowering the rate of evictions and homelessness. Governor David Paterson vetoed the bill at Mayor Michael Bloomberg's urging. Both men call it an unfunded mandate that neither the city or state can afford. Advocates say the bill would affect about 10,000 low income New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS.

At the time of the veto, Gov. Paterson remarked that it was the hardest decision he'd had to make since taking office.

Photo Of The Day - Midtown Manhattan

JMG reader Steve tips us to an amazing 67-photo aerial depiction of New York City by the Denver Post. This size and clarity of the photos can't be given justice here, hit the link and see why it took me forever to pick just one out.

NY Daily News On Stonewall Bashing

UPDATE: The families of the Stonewall attackers are rushing to their defense.

In an interview with The Daily News, Orlando's dad swore his 17-year-old boy was no bigot and wants to apologize "in person" to Carver. "We are a working class family," Don Orlando said outside his Staten Island home Tuesday. "We don't hate anyone here." What Orlando did was "wrong," his father added. "I'm not going to sugarcoat what happened," he said. "It was a bar fight, but I swear on my life it's not about Gays or race or any of that. We don't care about any of that stuff in this family." Had there been "an elephant" in the bathroom, "there probably would have been swings at the elephant," Don Orlando said.

The 57-year-old landscaper spoke out a day after his son and Francis, 21, who is also from Staten Island, were charged with assault as a hate crime and attempted robbery. It was not their first brush with the law. Orlando has a juvenile arrest for disorderly conduct. Francis has convictions for disorderly conduct, pot and weapons possession, but hasn't done any time in state prison, records show. "Why do people keep saying this is a hate crime?" Francis' girlfriend, Nancy Casabona, told The News. "Where's the hate? This is not a hate crime. He has a sister who is a lesbian." Francis' sister, Deanna Francis, who is indeed a lesbian, lashed out at Orlando's lawyer for suggesting Francis instigated the attack. "It takes two to tango," she said. "My brother isn't the only one at fault here. There is a lot more to this story."

Police report that the two attackers are blaming each other for the assault.

TONIGHT: Anti-Violence Project To Hold Manhattan Gay-Bashing Vigil

The NYC Anti-Violence Project will hold a vigil tonight at the Chelsea location of this weekend's brutal attack against a group of gay men. Facebook event page here.

“We will not allow perpetrators of anti-LGBTQ violence to come into our communities and target us. Today we send a strong message that our communities will not be intimidated by this violence and that we will stand up in the face of it and demand equality and respect. This is a wake-up call for every New Yorkers. We all have a responsibility to end this culture of violence against LGBTQ people, which has become so apparent in recent weeks.” AVP is working with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, the NYPD, the office of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and other City Council leaders on both of these incidents.

Meet tonight at the corner of 9th Avenue and W.25th Street at 6pm. Important: "AVP encourages you to report any anti-LGBTQ bias, including hate speech, bullying, harassment, and physical violence, to our 24-hour bilingual (English/Spanish) hotline at 212-714-1141 where you can speak with a trained counselor and seek the support you need."

RELATED: The 2010 Anti-Violence Project Courage Awards take place Monday, October 18th. Get tickets here.

NY Gov. David Paterson Leads Crowd In NYC Vigil For At Risk LGBT Youth

Last night New York Gov. David Paterson, possibly the best straight political ally the LGBT community has ever known, lead thousands of New Yorkers in a vigil for the at-risk queer youth of our state. A gentle rain began to fall during the action, matched only by the tears on everyone's faces as Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson led the crowd through a heart-wrenching rendition of Over The Rainbow. Full-screen versions of the photos below can be viewed here.

Tomorrow In NYC's Washington Square: Glowstick Vigil For LGBT Youth

Sunday at 9pm thousands will gather in Manhattan's Washington Square Park for a You-Are-Loved vigil for LGBT youth. (No candles, open flames are strictly forbidden.) Facebook event page:

The vigil will start promptly at 9:00pm in Washington Square Park underneath the arch. Please bring your own glowstick if you have one as there will be a limited amount available. We will have at least 1,000 glowsticks to provide. The event will culminate in a chalking session in honor of the 2nd annual "You-Are-Loved Chalk Messaging Project." This project is meant to provide uplifting messages as well as shed light on the amount of bullying, harassment, self-injury, and suicidal thoughts that disproportionately affect queer youth.

Confirmed guests include the Trevor Project, Ali Forney Center, GLAAD, and Heritage of Pride. I will attend and document the event for JMG. Now where does one buy a glowstick in NYC?

How People Kill Themselves In NYC

New York City has relatively few guns compared to other big cities, but its many skyscrapers provide an option. The most suicide prone group in the city is middle-aged white guys in Manhattan. Ruh-roh.

In the rest of the country deaths by gun account for about 53% of all suicides. Here suicide by guns has ranked third or fourth over the years, switching positions with overdosing on medicines or other "toxic substances." Since New York has less handguns and rifles per capita than other parts of the country, she said, people bent on suicide in the city find other means, often jumping. Still, New York City's suicide rate is about half that of the rest of the country's rate, said Christine Coyle, a research scientist with the Department of Health. The majority of all suicides in the city are committed by white people. The largest age group for those who commit suicide are people 45 to 54 years and almost a quarter of the city's suicides over the past nine years have occurred in Manhattan, the statistics show. Nearly one in 10 suicides in New York City during that time, however was committed by a non-city resident. Of the suicidal visitors 35% chose to jump off high places to kill themselves, according to statistics.

(Source)