It’s impossible to fully summarize Tom Duane’s political career, which has spanned over 23 years, but we’ve identified some of the most notable moments along the way.

1989- After working as a Wall Street broker, among other professions, Tom Duane starts to volunteer for his local community board and eventually starts working for City Comptroller Elizabeth Holtzman. Duane runs against incumbent candidate Carol Greitzer for City Council but is defeated; Greitzer secures the Democratic line.

1991- Duane runs again for the City Council. On Aug. 7, Duane announces he is HIV positive. He goes on to beat Liz Abzug and Victor Del Mastro, becoming the nation’s first openly HIV-positive person elected to office. He and Antonio Pagan become the first two openly gay New York City council members.

1993- Local Law 44, co-sponsored by Duane, becomes law. The legislation prohibits landlords from discriminating against tenants and applicants receiving Section 8 aid or other government-funded housing assistance.

Photo Courtesy of Tom Duane's office.

1994- Duane challenges Rep. Jerrold Nadler in the Democratic congressional primary, but Nadler wins re-election.

1997- The City Council unanimously passes the Chelsea 197-A plan, a community-initiated land use plan, which Duane had worked on for over a decade.

1998- Duane wins election to the New York state senate, becoming its first openly gay and HIV-positive member.

1999- Duane and City Council Member Christine Quinn, his former chief of staff, get arrested after leading a gay contingent trying to join the St. Patrick’s Day parade. They were demonstrating against an Irish-American group that banned a gay Irish contingent from participating in the parade.

2001- Duane first proposes the Marriage Equality Act in the New York state Senate. Sen. David A. Paterson co-sponsors it. Eighteen Democrats sign on as co-sponsors in 2007. It was voted down that same year.

2002- Duane helps lead the successful passage of the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, known as SONDA.

2006- Duane helps lead the successful passage of Timothy’s Law, which includes the addition of mental health parity by insurance companies for all patients.

Duane at an Anti-Graffiti Rally in August 2009. Photo Courtesy of Tom Duane's office.

2009- Duane once again introduces the Marriage Equality Act to the Senate after it passes the Assembly, but the bill is defeated 38 to 24 that same year.

2011- After a decade of fighting for same sex marriage, the Marriage Equality Act was signed into law June 24, taking effect a month  later. “What this bill will do is say that we are family in a way that no other word can. And that word is marriage,” Duane reportedly said at the time.

2012- On June 4, Duane announces his retirement from the state senate. His last day in office will be Dec. 31.

New Home: The Enterprise sits safely inside the Space Shuttle Pavilion its new home on the deck of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. Surrounded by dramatic lighting and a series of images and video stations, the Enterprise sits just 10 feet off the ground, allowing visitors to walk underneath and around the original NASA orbiter.

Brewer Intros New Bike Legislation

Following last week’s news from the Department of Transportation (DOT) that they will be unleashing a new education and enforcement team for commercial cyclists on the Upper West Side, Council Member Gale Brewer announced that she’s also introducing a new bill to reform the city’s commercial cycling laws at a Council meeting on July 25. Brewer teamed up with Queens Councilman and Transportation Committee Chair James Vacca to craft legislation that will give the DOT more enforcement power over businesses whose delivery cyclists break the law.

“The legislation…will relieve the burden on the NYPD to chase down commercial bicycle scofflaws and grant enforcement responsibilities to the DOT,” said Brewer in the statement. “We are all working together to come up with a new way to educate businesses and delivery cyclists about relevant laws. If businesses and their delivery cyclists don’t know the laws, we will educate them. Once they know the laws, DOT will have discretion to enforce them.”

“I am tired of hearing complaints from every corner of the city about commercial cyclists riding recklessly and with abandon,” said Vacca. “The creation of a civil penalty will give DOT what it needs to enforce the laws on the books.”

Right now, if a business fails to post signage explaining the rules of the road to their cyclists, it’s up to the NYPD to enforce the rule. Vacca’s bill would create a civil penalty up to $100 per violation for breaking the existing laws, and Brewer’s gives a special team of DOT inspectors enforcement power.

Former UWS Officer Remembered
Long time Upper West Siders may remember Det. Vincent Lupinacci as a community affairs officer who truly cared about the neighborhood. Lupinacci retired from the NYPD in 1992 after serving on the force since 1960; he passed away on Friday, July 13 of complications from a series of strokes, according to Sam Katz, the former 20th Precinct Community Council president.

Katz remembered Lupinacci as a “fixture” in the 20th Precinct and noted that he was promoted to the rank of detective in 1988. Current precinct Community Council President Ian Alterman said in an email that Lupinacci was the first police officer he got to know personally, meeting him when he was a teenager at I.S. 44 in the early ’70s. “Although he was no pushover, all the kids loved him,” Alterman recalled. “It may well be that his example (he practiced ‘courtesy, professionalism and respect’ long before it became an NYPD slogan) helped give me a view of the NYPD that ultimately led to my presidency of the Council four decades later.”

Land Mark West! Screens Indie Doc
Upper West Side preservation advocacy group Landmark West! is hosting a screening of the film The Vanishing City on Thursday, July 26 at 6 p.m. The movie takes a critical look at New York’s luxury developments and zoning policies while chronicling the loss of some of the city’s old neighborhoods. The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers.

At the Macaulay Honors College Screening Room, 35 W. 67th St. Tickets are $15, $10 for Landmark West! members. Space is limited and tickets must be purchased in advance by emailing landmarkwest@landmarkwest.org or calling 212-496-8110.

Meltzer Publishes Short Story book
Upper West Sider Dan Meltzer has been chronicling the goings-on of his neighborhood for years, and has now has released a book collecting his short fiction, often inspired by real life. The book is entitled Outsiders. Meltzer, who is also a playwright and a journalist, has won O. Henry and Pushcart prizes for his short fiction, and he brings his best work to the collection. The unidentified first-person narrator of many of the stories offers stark observations of a city that many will recognize as one they almost know. The characters could be real New Yorkers—only a touch stranger than reality.
Meltzer says in his author’s note that the stories are all about “individuals who live outside the fold, who can’t or won’t conform to the demands and customs of society. Some thrive; others either seem to get by or they don’t or they just drive those around them crazy, usually thanks to some peculiar need or idiosyncrasy.” The book is available on Lulu.com.

Economic Boom from Same-Sex Marriage
A year after the Marriage Equality Act was enacted, the city estimates that the law has generated $259 million in economic impact and $16 million in direct city revenue. The city issued 8,200 same-sex marriage licenses over the past year, resulting in a boost in the tourism and hospitality industries, as half of those couples held wedding celebrations somewhere in the five boroughs. NYC & Company, the city’s official tourism agency, and the city clerk’s office conducted an economic impact survey that found that over 200,000 guests traveled from outside the city for their same-sex weddings, leading to over 235,000 hotel room bookings.

The news follows the economic predictions many made before marriage equality was passed in the state.

“Marriage equality has made our city more open, inclusive and free—and it has also helped create jobs and support our economy,” said Mayor Michael Bloomberg in a statement.

“As the legislative sponsor of the Marriage Equality Act, I couldn’t be more proud that so many same-sex couples have taken advantage of their long-awaited right to marry across our great state this past year,” said Upper West Side Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell, who married his longtime partner last year in the city.

It’s been nearly two months since State Sen. Tom Duane announced that he will not seek re-election this fall, and the race for his seat in the 27th District is taking shape.

Brad Hoylman, the solidly backed chair of Community Board 2, who before Duane’s announcement was seeking Christine Quinn’s City Council seat, will run opposed by two relative unknowns: Tom Greco, owner of the Ritz Bar and Lounge in the Times Square area, and Tanika Inlaw, a self-described educator, community outreach worker and mother of two who lives on the Upper West Side.
Earlier this year, Duane revealed that he would not seek an eighth term in the state Senate, a post he was first elected to in 1998. Duane reported that he would instead be embarking on a “new chapter” in his life.

As a politician, Duane was best known for helping “those who never before had a voice in the halls of government.” An openly gay, HIV-positive legislator, Duane championed causes close to the LGBT community, including the Marriage Equality Act, the Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Act, the Dignity for All Students Act, comprehensive hate crime legislation and the Family Health Care Decisions Act.

For his part, Hoylman, who is also out and is the parent of an 18-month-old girl, plans to continue Duane’s trademark LGBT activism by supporting, among other legislation, the Gender Equality Non-Discrimination Act.

“It’s incredible that even today, transgender people can be fired from jobs or kicked out of their houses or even denied service in a restaurant,” Hoylman said. He called gender equality one of the “last horizons of the LGBT community.”

Hoylman added that if elected, he would be the only LGBT person in the state Legislature.

“I don’t shy away from discussing being gay and I don’t mind if reporters mention it. It’s who I am,” he said in an interview.
Among other issues of concern to Hoylman are campaign finance reform, reducing class sizes and “changing the dynamic that currently exists where teachers are demonized in Albany.”

In a recent email to supporters, Hoylman touted his record of progressive results.

“I have helped secure two new public schools; won concessions from developers to scale back and mitigate inappropriate proposals; advanced landmarking and rezoning efforts that preserved historic buildings and neighborhoods; created an innovative legal defense fund for rent-stabilized tenants; and brokered a deal that allowed for the long-stalled renovation of Washington Square Park,” Hoylman wrote to supporters last month.

Amid the Democratic establishment, Hoylman’s support is very strong and includes, most notably, Duane’s endorsement, along with Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Nydia Velazquez and Carolyn Maloney.

Greco, while not a household name, believes he has much to offer the people of the 27th District as a state senator.

Starting with affordable housing, Greco pointed out successful housing programs that should be revisited in the city.

“I would like to bring a new program to New York State modeled after the Mitchell-Lama program, which to this day stands as one of the most successful housing programs ever established here,” Greco said. “In a similar model, we can work with developers to make it fiscally advantageous for them to build new affordable housing, while strictly regulating that they do so through tax incentives and legislation.”

Regarding the always vexing health care issue, Greco believes a true public option is needed to better care for city residents. “While I am a supporter of President Obama’s Affordable Care Act, I do not think it goes nearly far enough in addressing the country’s health care concerns and out-of-control costs,” he said. “It is my goal to bring a public option to New York similar to the successful program that has been instituted in San Francisco.”

Greco added that he, too, is concerned and involved with LGBT issues that affect the district.

Greco founded the Ritz bar and lounge in September of 2006, after working for several years at POSH, another LGBT establishment owned by his family. “It has allowed me to use my name, resources and time to help the LGBT community,” he explained. “Through the years I have had the privilege of using my business as a vehicle to help with LGBT causes, such as Heritage of Pride, AIDS Walk and Blades Against AIDS.”

Public school teacher Inlaw is an Upper West Sider who was born and raised in the city and previously worked in broadcast journalism on ABC’s daytime talk show The View, as well as for ABC News Radio.

Inlaw is also a former president of the Yonkers chapter of the NAACP, where she advocated to decrease overcrowded schools, increase home ownership opportunities, stabilize rents and increase the minimum wage.

Discussing her difficult decision to run for state Senate, Inlaw wrote, “The lack of resources would deter most potential candidates from running against him [Holylman] due to his backing from deep pockets and well-established political roots, but I believe I was called to serve the people and conserve our community’s right to a fair democracy.”

Issues that concern Inlaw include animal rights, affordable housing, affordable health care and marriage equality.

“What sets me apart from the other candidates is my intuitive ability to relate to peoples’ personal experiences. I am personally invested in our fight,” Inlaw wrote in a statement.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christie Quinn announced on Tuesday that a study by the City Clerk’s office  and NYC & Company, the city’s tourism agency, estimated that same sex-marriages have contributed $259 million to the city’s economy since New York passed the Marriage Equality Act one year ago on July 24.

“Marriage equality has made our City more open, inclusive and free – and it has also helped to create jobs and support our economy,” Bloomberg said in the statement. “New York has always been a great place to get married and since the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, we’re welcoming more and more couples, their families and friends from around the country and the world.”

According to the survey, over 201,000 same-sex wedding guests visited from outside the city. They booked over 235,000 hotel rooms at an average rate of $275 a day, as well as paid for dining, celebrations, gifts and various other wedding-related purchases. Add this income to at least 8,200 gay-marriage licenses that were purchased in the last year (couples are not required to disclose their sexes) and $16 million in tax revenue from the marriages, and you start to get a sense of the same-sex wedding business’s size.

“Thirteen months ago our legislators did the right thing and voted to make same-sex marriage a reality, ensuring that New York State was among the leaders in equality,” said City Comptroller John Liu in a statement. “Today’s announcement is simply the icing on the wedding cake.”

In addition to New York, same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and the District of Columbia. Massachusetts led the charge in 2004, and found similar economic growth: gay marriage added an estimated $111 million to the state’s economy in five years.

“I wanted to do something else and realized it’s time to start the next chapter,” Duane said in a recent interview. “I would say ‘retire’ is not a completely accurate term; I’m just not ready for re-election. I plan to continue working in my own small way to make the world a better place.”

Duane, who was elected in 1998 and was New York’s first openly gay senator, was the first senator to introduce the Marriage Equality Act in 2001 and continued to push for its support until it was passed last year. He also made waves in 1991 when he won election to the City Council after disclosing his HIV-positive status, and in the Senate he passed legislation expanding routine HIV testing.

Duane said he is proud to have passed laws that directly impact his constituents as well as serve as models for other cities.
“I supported the Midwifery Modernization Act to allow nurse midwives to practice in New York State. I’ve supported routine HIV testing and helped lessen the stigma, particularly within correctional facilities. I also supported the prohibition of insurance companies to create tier four drugs with incredibly expensive co-payments,” Duane said of his accomplishments.

He also introduced the anti-bullying Dignity for All Students Act in the Senate and fought for its successful passage, helped secure passage of a law that eliminates the criminal statute of limitations on many serious sex crimes and worked on measures that toughened laws against hate crimes and discrimination.

Duane’s announcement to leave public office after the current Senate term, which ends Dec. 31, has many already lamenting his departure and others scrambling to replace him.

“I am sad to hear of Tom Duane’s departure from public life,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose district overlaps Duane’s, in a statement. “Locally, he has been a powerful and unyielding advocate for affordable housing and tenants’ rights, serving his constituents as only a truly committed and compassionate public servant can. In Albany, Tom has been a legendary champion for civil rights, sponsoring and supporting legislation over the years to benefit all New Yorkers.”
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio also praised the senator, singling out his contributions to gay rights in the state.

“Today’s generation of LGBTQ youth will grow up in a world made more free and more fair because of Tom’s service,” de Blasio said in a statement. “He will always be remembered for his pivotal role in securing marriage equality for all New Yorkers.”

Hoping to follow in Duane’s footsteps, current chair of Community Board 2 and longtime Democratic activist Brad Hoylman has already officially declared his candidacy for the seat. Hoylman is promising to bring reform to Albany and continue Duane’s legacy of fighting for equality at the state level, and political players expect him to receive the coveted endorsement from Duane himself.

City & State also reports that a woman named Tanika Inlaw has been going to local Democratic clubs to seek support for a 29th District candidacy that she announced on Facebook last week.

Duane said that for the time being, he’s focused on finishing out his final term strongly. But he said that he’ll definitely miss parts of the job.

“I’ll miss the challenges of garnering the widest possible support for issues I believe in, especially from people who have not shared my points of view,” Duane said. “I’ll miss finding that common ground and working with people in a collegial manner to pass bills that help people in a way they should be helped.”

Tom Duane - photo by PhilipRobertson

After what will be 14 years as part of the New York State Senate, Senator Tom Duane, 57, has “decided that it is time for a new chapter” in his life. In a statement released Monday, Duane announced that he does not intend to run for an eighth term.

“The fight never ends,” Duane said in his statement, “On January 1^st, while I may no longer be a Senator, I will continue to be an activist and an advocate. I will hold those positions for life.”

Grabbing headlines as the first openly-gay member of the Senate, Duane, also openly HIV-positive, is best known for his efforts to help the gay community. He was an influential voice in the effort for the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York and the promotion of accessible HIV testing. While much of his focus was on medical issues and healthcare protection, Duane also headed efforts to eliminate bullying in schools, to eliminate statutes of limitations in sex crime laws, and to bring light to sex trafficking.

Below are a few of Duane’s noteworthy political achievements:

• In 2001 Duane proposed the Marriage Equality Act and, after a decade fighting for its approval, was finally successful when it was enacted in 2011
• In 2006, Timothy’s Law, strongly supported by Duane, was passed and helps mentally ill patients avoid discrimination from insurance companies
• In 2007, with Duane assuring that key elements of it were passed, Manny’s Law, which requires hospitals to tell all patients of the funds available to them, came into effect
• In 2009, the Dignity for All Students Act, created by Senator Duane, was passed and helps keep vulnerable students safe from bullying and harassment
• In 2010 Senator Duane helped pass the Family Health Care Decisions Act, which gives family members medical decision-making power over incapacitated patients
• Also in 2010, the Sex Trafficking Victims Second Chance Act, proposed by Duane, was passed and helps sex trafficking victims clear their records of prostitution-related charges

According to his statement, Senator Duane plans on moving back to New York Citywhen his current term ends on December 31^st.