Near Collision At JFK

Dubya Snubs Ground Zero Ceremony

According to the New York Daily News, Dubya declined to join President Obama at Ground Zero today because he feels he didn't get enough credit for taking down Osama Bin Laden.

Bush's visit to the rubble after the 9/11 attacks was the emotional high point of his presidency, but associates say the invitation to return with his successor was a non-starter. "He doesn't feel personally snubbed and appreciates the invitation, but Obama's claiming all the credit and a lot of other people deserve some of it," the source added. "Obama gave no credit whatsoever to the intelligence infrastructure the Bush administration set up that is being hailed from the left and right as setting in motion the operation that got Bin Laden. It rubbed Bush the wrong way." Bush spokesman David Sherzer said Bush "appreciated the invite, but has chosen in his post-presidency to remain largely out of the spotlight." Associates familiar with his thinking say Bush does not believe Obama or his handlers wanted to exploit his presence. But the tag-team idea "was for the benefit of Obama, and Obama withheld credit from people Bush believes deserved it," a source said.

Since leaving office, Bush has maintained the presidential tradition of declining to criticize his successor.

NYC's "Taxi Of Tomorrow" Chosen

After a year-long contest to pick a replacement for the discontinued Ford Crown Victoria, New York City has selected a boring-ass Nissan minivan as its new "taxi of tomorrow." Passed over was the much cooler futuristic entry from Turkey's Karsan, which had pledged to manufacture its taxis in Brooklyn. Nissan now gets a ten-year exclusive contract to provide taxis to the city. Advocates for the disabled are quite unhappy because unlike the Turkish entry, the winning vehicle isn't wheelchair-accessible.

NEW YORK: Sen. Ruben Diaz To Stage Massive Anti-Gay Marriage Rally

Arch homophobe Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) will once again work with anti-gay Hispanic evangelicals to stage a massive anti-marriage rally in New York City on May 15th. JMG reader Sabirjan provides us with a translation of this news story.

Radio Vision Cristiana, a New Jersey-based Spanish-language AM radio station that broadcasts religious programming, is planning a huge anti-gay march in New York City on May 15, 2011. It will be held in the Bronx (starting at noon the participants will march from 149th Street and Third avenue to 181st street in the Bronx). The radio station, as well as the main organizer of the event, State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. are urging all Hispanics and especially evangelicals to oppose the possible legalization of same-sex marriages in New York State. Ruben Diaz is urging the participants "to paralyze all traffic in the Bronx" on that day. Organizers of the event expect up to 30,000 people to show up. A similar rally was held in 2009, it attracted about 20,000 people and took many city officials by surprise.

I attended the 2009 rally staged by Diaz and Radio Cristiana. The vast majority of the protesters arrived via church buses from outside New York City. In my video below, watch the crowd erupt in ecstatic song as their hero Diaz arrives.

Parking Wars

This winter's record 59 inches of snow has generated an issue seen more frequently in other cities than in New York - parking spot wars over dug out spaces. Some folks say that if they go through the back-breaking work of clearing a spot in front of their building, they are perfectly free to block that space with garbage cans until their return. Others say, bullshit, a space is a space and that there's no such things as "dibs" on a public street. Folks who move the "dibs" markers often return to find that the contents of that garbage can are now on the roof of their car. According to news reports, there have been quite a few fistfights in the last few days.

Quote Of The Day - James Molinaro

"Believe what our new governor, Andrew Cuomo, has been saying: that we have too many governments around the state and that we need to consolidate them and their services. No way is he going to create another county government in New York state. He is never, never, never, never, never going to sign a Staten Island secession bill into law." - Staten Island Borough President James Molinaro, responding to GOP state Sen. Andrew Lanza's renewed campaign for Staten Island to leave New York City.

In 1993 Staten Island residents approved a secession referendum, but the state legislature blocked it.

NEW YORK CITY: Portuguese Gay Activist Found Slain, Male Model In Custody

Noted Portuguese gay activist and fashion journalist Carlos Castro, 65, has been found dead and gruesomely mutilated in a midtown New York City hotel. Castro's traveling companion, a young model, is in police custody.

The naked body of Carlos Castro, 65, was found lying face-up in a pool of blood inside his 34th-floor room at the InterContinental New York Times Square on W. 44th St. about 7p.m., the sources said. The prominent gay activist had been bludgeoned in the head and his scrotum cut off, sources said. Several hours prior to the grisly find, Castro had a heated argument with his companion - Renato Seabra, a twentysomething Portuguese male model - sources and witnesses said. The two checked in together on Dec. 29. A female friend of the writer and producer grew concerned after she heard of the dispute and went to the swanky hotel to check on Castro, sources said. Not knowing what room her pal was in, the New Jersey woman went to the front desk. Suddenly, the tall, chiseled Seabra came through the lobby, recognized the worried woman and told her Castro "was not coming out of his room," a source said.

Guests at the hotel report having heard the pair arguing loudly earlier in the day. Police found Seabra at Bellevue Hospital, where he'd checked himself in for undisclosed reasons. Below is a Portuguese news report on the murder, followed by a clip of the suspect appearing on a Portuguese modeling competition show.

Instant Subway Hero

This subway flasher totally picked the wrong woman to mess with. From one account, it appears that the flasher had a condom on and was flashing his junk from behind his messenger bag. This guy is so busted, he doesn't even defend himself.

NEW YORK CITY: Guilty Verdict In Murder Of Gay College Student Kevin Pravia

Jeromie Cancel (above right) has been found guilty in the murder of Manhattan college student Kevin Pravia, who was strangled in his apartment by Cancel after the part allegedly met to conduct a drug deal in Union Square. The defense had implied "gay panic" as a reason for the murder. Duncan Osborne reports at Gay City News:

The trial opened on November 4 and the jury began deliberating late on November 17, broke for the day, and found the 24-year-old Cancel guilty of second-degree murder, the one charge he faced, before 11 a.m. on November 18. The defense said that Cancel was under the influence of an extreme emotional disturbance when he strangled the 19-year-old to death, but the jury clearly rejected that argument. Michael Alperstein, Cancel’s attorney, implied that his client’s emotional state was caused by a gay sex act between Cancel and Pravia. Alperstein called a psychiatrist and a psychologist who testified to Cancel’s troubled history, but neither witness said he was compelled by an extreme emotional disturbance during the crime.

Cancel faces 25 years to life in prison at his sentencing next month.

Fifty Reasons To Love New York City

Today the Village Voice published a list titled "50 Reasons To Be Pretty Damn Euphoric You Live In New York City." Here's a few of my favorites.

50. Sending your laundry out for someone else to wash and dry it is not only convenient, it's just good business. Especially since you will probably never own a washer and dryer. Which means you never have to feel guilty about not doing your own laundry.
47. There is always someone crazier than you. ALWAYS.
44. The epic feeling you get running to catch a train and succeeding...just before the doors close.
36. Whatever you need, whenever you need it, there is someone who will bring it to you for a price, which may or may not be negotiable. (Or legal.)
30. The fact that one-bedroom apartments cost an average minimum of a half-million dollars means we think nothing of spending $12 on lunch.
29. Restaurants are as common as single men and women. And equally diverse. And you never have to see either of them again after the initial awkward encounter.
7. Subway "prewalking," in which you walk to the exact right spot on the platform to board the train car that will save you the most time upon exit, exists and has a name. Gotta respect.
5. We are, as a group, anti-fanny-pack as much as we are pro-gay-marriage. Hetero marriage, on the other hand, we can pretty much take or leave.
2. There is absolutely no reason to ever drink and drive. Added bonus: Spontaneous, fascinating conversations with cab drivers.

I'll have lived in Manhattan for ten years this spring (longer than SF or Fort Lauderdale) and I've probably seen less than 10% of the city. I still sometimes need a subway map if I venture below Houston or above 86th (and always on my rare trips off the island.) I haven't owned a car (much less driven one) in a decade and the last time I did my own laundry was in a previous century. But I also live in an apartment with a rent that would cover the mortgage on a lovely Wilton Manors pool home and that is so small that I can reach into my fridge without getting up from my desk. It's totally worth it.

NEW YORK CITY: Possible Gay Panic Defense In Murder Of College Student

In August 2008, openly gay Pace University student Jason Pravia, 19, was murdered in his Chelsea apartment after he left a downtown party. According to reports, Pravia left the party extremely drunk and went to Union Square to score drugs. There he met Jeromie Cancel, 22, an occasional dealer and former mental patient who accompanied Pravia back to his apartment. After Pravia fell asleep, Cancel suffocated him with a plastic bag and robbed his apartment. When asked by police why he'd killed Pravia, Cancel reportedly said, "Because I wanted to. You gotta problem with that?"

Cancel is about to go on trial for second degree murder. According to Duncan Osborne at Gay City News, his lawyers may be preparing a gay panic defense. Osborne reports that prospective jurors were questioned yesterday about their views on "extreme emotional disturbance" as a justification for murder.

If successful, the lack of criminal responsibility could excuse Cancel entirely, though he would likely be held in an institution until he is cured of his condition. If a jury believes the extreme emotional disturbance defense, the charge against Cancel would be reduced to first-degree manslaughter.The maximum sentence for murder is 25-to-life, and the maximum sentence on the manslaughter charge is up to 25 years in prison, with the requirement that the offender serve six-sevenths of that time, or just over 21 years, before becoming eligible for release. Juries tend to dislike psychiatric defenses, and Alperstein was confronted with such skepticism. He said that the judge hearing the case, Daniel P. Fitzgerald, would give the jury rules to follow in assessing the defense. One man among the prospective jurors said he did not trust the “underpinnings of the science that can lead to conclusions about behavior.” Alperstein asked, “Would you be able to apply those rules or would you say, ‘I don’t care what the psychiatrists say’?” Another man said, “I have a hard time seeing how the psychiatry is an excuse for certain behavior,” and Alperstein asked, “Then you would have a hard time following the judge’s instructions?”

Jury selection is expected to conclude tomorrow. I'll continue to follow this case.

NYC: Trial Begins In Craigslist Murder Of Gay ABC Newsman George Weber

Last year 16 year-old John Katehis brutally stabbed to death gay ABC newsman George Weber after the pair hooked up via a Craiglist hooker ad. Weber allegedly hired the teen to "smother" him in an S/M scene. After his arrest, the killer claimed that he had stabbed Weber over 50 times in self-defense. Katehis' trial began in New York City this week where his lawyers painted the victim as a sexual predator. Duncan Osborne reports at Gay City News:

By inviting the 16-year-old Katehis to his home for a sexual act, Weber “was trying to do something that was 1,000 percent wrong, immoral, and illegal,” said Jeffery T. Schwartz, Katehis’ attorney, in his opening statement. The age of consent in New York is 17. “Although he can be tried as an adult, under no circumstances can he consent to a sexual act,” Schwartz said. “He cannot consent to sex, any type of sexual act, with an adult male.” In the defense telling of this incident, Katehis was an innocent who was plied with alcohol and “what John believed was cocaine,” before being asked to engage in a behavior that made him uncomfortable. After having his feet bound, the older man “pointed” a knife at Katehis and the younger man panicked. The wound that cut Weber’s jugular vein was inflicted as the two men fought over the knife. Katehis received a deep wound to his hand that was bleeding profusely during that fight. “The bottom line is a knife was introduced not by John Katehis, but by George Weber,” Schwartz said.

Shortly after Weber's body was discovered, internet sleuths found Katehis' MySpace profile in which he posed with his collection of swords and knives and boasted:

I like to do crazy and wild things.im like an adrenaline junkie, I'm always looking for a big thrill, I'm a big risk taker and like to live life on the edge. I am an Extremist, an Anarchist, and a Sadomasochist. As long as you show respect for me i will show respect for you, if you disrespect me, then i will fucking break your neck.

The subject line in Katehis' original Craigslist ad read: "I blow for cash M4M." After Katahis' arrest, anti-gay and right-wing blogs lit up with claims that "Weber got what he deserved." The now 18 year-old Katehis is being tried as an adult. Read Duncan Osborne's full report from the trial.

New York Yankees Promise To End Homophobic Taunting In The Stands

Responding to pressure from GLAAD, the New York Yankees have vowed to end homophobic taunting by their fans. The issue came to light on Tuesday thanks to a video (created by JMG reader Sean Chapin) which showed fans shouting an obscene version of Village People's YMCA at fans for opposing teams. Via GLAAD:

We reached out to the Yankees, and were extremely pleased with their reaction. Yankees spokesperson Alice McGillion told us “the Yankees have zero tolerance for this and any kind of abuse.” She said that security in the bleacher sections of the stadium will warn fans, before YMCA is played, that any type of homophobic abuse “will not be tolerated” and she assured us that any fans who take part in this ugly bullying will be ejected from the game. We’d like to thank McGillion and the Yankees organization for their prompt and proactive response.

The taunting has been a tradition at Yankee Stadium at least since 2006, when the original clip was first posted on YouTube, where it has received 200,000 views to date. Once again, here's Sean Chapin's version.

NEW YORK CITY: Bronx Gay Bashing Victim Speaks To Media

NEW YORK CITY: Seven Men Arrested For Brutal Anti-Gay Hate Crimes

New York City police have arrested seven gang members who lured a gay man and two teenagers to a house in the Bronx where the victims were brutally tortured. Two other members of the gang are still at large.

There were nine attackers, ranging from 16 to 23 years old and calling themselves the Latin King Goonies, the police said. Before setting upon their 30-year-old victim, they had snatched up two teenage boys whom they beat, the police said — until the boys — one of whom was sodomized with a plunger — admitted to having had sex with the man. The attackers forced the man to strip to his underwear and tied him to a chair, the police said. One of the teenage victims was still there, and the “Goonies” ordered him to attack the man.

The teenager hit him in the face and burned him with a cigarette on his nipple and penis as the others jeered and shouted gay slurs, the police said. Then the attackers whipped the man with a chain and sodomized him with a small baseball bat. The beatings and robberies went on for hours. They were followed by a remarkably thorough attempt to sanitize the house — including pouring bleach down drains, the police said, as little by little word of the attacks trickled to the police. A crucial clue to the attackers was provided by someone who slipped a note to a police officer outside the crime scene, at 1910 Osborne Place in Morris Heights, near Bronx Community College.

Read the New York Times complete accounting of the attacks and the investigation.

REACTIONS

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

"The malicious hate crime that took place in the Bronx is an atrocity. We all must come together and condemn this horrible act. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and with all the people of this community that were targeted by this evil assault. “The predators sought to invoke fear and panic among all of us and we will not allow that. Whether because of race, gender, religion or sexual orientation, a crime such as this victimizes every one of us. I know that law enforcement will continue to build a strong case and ensure the maximum punishment for this type of crime."

Human Rights Campaign

“It is tragic to see what hate can do. These three men were brutally attacked and sodomized simply for who they are. Authorities must vigorously prosecute the perpetrators of these hateful crimes. Unfortunately, these crimes come on the heels of several other recently reported hate crimes in New York City. These crimes only emphasize the need for strong federal and state hate crimes laws.”

NEW YORK: Wannabe Times Square Bomber Sentenced To Life In Prison

Failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad was sentenced to life in prison by a New York judge today. Playing to the numerous cameras, the defiant Shahzad warned the packed courtroom that the Islamic war on America "has just begun."

"The defeat of the U.S. is imminent, inshallah, " Shahzad said on Tuesday during the sentencing. Speaking in a 14th-floor courtroom where a clear view of the World Trade Center site can be seen through a window, Shahzad said Muslims have been defending their people and their lands. If that makes us terrorists, "then we will terrorize you," he said, imploring people who embrace Islam. U.S. District Judge Miriam Cedarbaum, who sentenced Shahzad to the mandatory sentence of life in prison, noted that he failed to show remorse for his actions.

Shahzad also told the judge that when he swore to defend the United States during his oath as a naturalized citizen, he "didn't mean it."

Fans Brawl At U.S. Open

Fans descended on a young man at the U.S. Open yesterday after he argued with a woman seated near him. Watch what happens after the woman's elderly father comes to her defense. Huffington Post has the incident from another angle. Apparently it all started because the younger man was shouting obscenities at the players.

NEW YORK CITY: Summer Benefit For The Ali Forney Center - Wed. July 21st

On Wednesday July 21st, the Ali Forney Center will hold a summer benefit party at Hudson Terrace. Get tickets here and help support AFC's vital work for NYC's homeless LGBT youth. Facebook event page here.

RELATED: Visit Frank And Gabe today for a great interview with AFC's mega-hunky executive director Carl Siciliano.

Central Park Has Rabid Raccoons

New York City's health department has issued an alert about rabid raccoons in Central Park. Over 100 infected raccoons have been trapped or found dead in the park so far this year.

"It's like Central Park in the '70s when you had to be fearful of people - now you have to be fearful of raccoons," said Manhattan teacher Meg McDonnell, 33, who often spots the furry masked critters in the park. "I've always been taught if I see a raccoon in the daytime, they are sick. There are big, fat huge families up there." Despite the striking rise in the number of diseased raccoons, no humans or pets have been attacked since February, when the city launched a two-month program to trap, tag and vaccinate the Central Park raccoons. Animals that appeared ill were euthanized and tested for rabies. Some were found already dead.

Televised reports have asked dog owners to keep their pets leashed at all times in the park. Earlier this year a dog and two humans were bitten by rabid raccoons, but none were infected. No human has been diagnosed with rabies in New York City since 1953. Raccoons are most active at night, so something something Ramble gay boys careful something.

NEW YORK: Big Crowd Rallies For Homeless LGBT Youth

Several hundred activists rallied in New York City's Union Square last night in support of homeless LGBT youth. The rally, which was sponsored by the Ali Forney Center, featured speeches from Lt. Dan Choi and actress Sandra Bernhard among others. Frank And Gabe reports:

One of the event’s prominent speakers was Lt. Dan Choi, who brought an incredible emotional resonance to the crowd, urging everyone to join him in cheering for LGBT Youth and equality. “I have a message to all the LGBT Youth wondering if it’s worth it to come out,” he said. ” You deserve to be treated like a full person. You are my heroes. Say it with me, I am somebody. I am somebody. I am somebody and I deserve full equality right here, right now.” That damage experienced by LGBT Youth was evident in the statistics alone. NYC Council Member Lewis Fidler cited sobering figures about the number of homeless children in New York City, and added that a significant percentage of these children are LGBT. Putting a face to these numbers were several gay youth who stood up to tell the crowd their story. Most had experienced a similar trajectory. Having grown up in conservative, religious households, when they came out to their parents or guardians, they soon found themselves on the street. Organizations working to help LGBT youth like the Ali Forney Center took them in, and now some were even working for the same organizations that had given them a lifeline when needed it most.

JMG reader Jamie McGonnigal has a large photo gallery of the event posted to his Facebook page.