In Jackson Heights

(sirens blaring) (car honks) (indistinct conversation) (radio music playing) (car honks) (praying in Arabic) (prayer continues in Arabic) (trumpet playing jazz tune)

MAN

Just to remind you again of the Julio situation. When Julio Rivera was murdered on July 1, 1990, not even the police wanted to do anything about it. Okay? They gave the case to a detective who was on vacation for two weeks. That was the value they placed on Julio's life. He was a throwaway, a toss-away. But we weren't going to have that. And that's when we decided we were going to stand up and organize the community. And little by surely, we got together and we worked with folks, we reached out to people in the community. We reached out to the Latino community in particular because, you know, Julio's killers themselves said that it didn't matter if Julio was, you know, gay or a homeless person, they were looking for somebody different to kill. And they found Julio, who happened to be gay. But it was because of that identification with the Latino community that we were successful in this neighborhood with Queens pride. I remember putting up wanted posters for his killers, and people coming up to me and saying to me in Spanish, is that for Julio? You know, because there was that identification. And when the parade went off the first year, we had police on the rooftops, okay? The parade was heavily policed. But this community welcomed us with the sound of tumultuous applause. And so we have to remember that. And year after year after year, as you go along the parade route you're going to see many families, people from different countries. The Colombians will cheer when the Colombian group marches by, the Ecuadorians will cheer when the Ecuadorians, and I shouldn't have gotten started with nationalities, because now everybody will want their nationality mentioned. Dominicans, South Asians, Bangladeshis, Indians, Colombians, Irish-- let's hear it for the Irish, yeah. (audience applauding) Italians, Puerto Ricans, Jewish, Dutch-- the Dutch! (laughter) Germans. Don't forget the Maldivians. Maldivians. The Maltese. All come out and want to be a part of this. But that is what probably affects me the most, is to see the young people out here. And, you know, when this parade started 22 years ago, some people were not even born when it started, and they've grown up with this parade here in this community, and they've never known that prejudice or that hatred in this community, because of the visible presence of LGBT here. We're just interwoven. And I have always said that Jackson Heights is the only neighborhood where we could have done this in those days. Because Jackson Heights is the most diverse community in the whole world. Literally. We have 167 different languages spoken here. We are very, very proud of that diversity. Let's salute that and let's all be proud of what we have accomplished here. (women singing in Spanish) (singing in Spanish) (continuing song in Spanish) (clattering) (conversing quietly) (woman speaking Spanish) No, no, no, no. Okay. Okay. (train clattering past) (car honks) A lot of people have been recommending space for our Queens Center for Gay Seniors to go to. And if you remember, last week we got into a spirited discussion about, what would it be like if we were in Kew Gardens. Does anyone have any thoughts about that? Do they think about that? Yes? I think we should remain here in Jackson Heights because of mass transit, and also our subway station has an elevator. Some of the local stations, like Rego Park, don't have elevators. And for those who aren't able to climb the steps, they may have a difficult time getting to, say, a center in Rego Park or Woodside even, or Forest Hills. Now Forest Hills has an elevator, but I wouldn't go any farther than that. And this is the place where someone was murdered because he was gay, and people...

and we also have two other institutions here

the Pride House, which is a gay organization, and the parade. Let's not forget the parade. The parade just may be one day, but they plan for it all year long. And they do the planning for the most part here in Jackson Heights. So I think it's important to stay here for that reason alone. And also mass transit is readily accessible.

MAN

Jackson Heights has a big history of being the hub of a lot of advocacy for LGBT community. Is that correct?

ALL

Yes. And, like I said...

MAN

Now Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, and now even Astoria, there's more gay populations in those areas, ZIP codes, whatever. But I think this is the birth of a lot of things here. I mean, not just because I know him and work with him, but Danny Dromm is the one that fomented-- that's not the right word-- you know, organized a lot of groups and everything. And they were all centered in Jackson Heights, even when he wasn't living in Jackson Heights. And I think we should keep that in mind. Forest Hills, Kew Gardens is okay. But if you start straying all over, and Rich brings up a good point, yeah, there is an elevator in Forest Hills and Kew Gardens as a matter of fact. But this is a bigger hub than most other stations. You know, you can get more trains here than, you know, the buses all come in at 74th, or whatever. So I'm not sure what other venues are being looked at. But have you thought about trying to speak to Steve Knobel here and see about some semi-permanency? Because I'm sure that he'd be amenable to that, and I know that the synagogue could use the money because, one, because it is a community center more than anything. And if this goes out of business as a venue, I think that'll be a tragedy. So we'd be helping them as well as them helping us. So I want to say that. The problem is, this is a temple. This belongs to the Jewish community. I want my own space. I'm not comfortable at Kew Gardens because Kew Gardens, although they're very nice, very polite, you have a lot of people there homophobic, and they kind of look down at you and, like, who are you? My space where I know that I'm going to feel I belong, rather than dropping in for a day or two or whatever it is that Kew Gardens is used for. I think it's only once a week? Twice a week. Twice a week. I mean, that's what I feel. Part of what we've been doing most of our lives, actively or passively, is fighting homophobia. We're going to stop now? (chuckling) This is really not just operating as a synagogue. I'm telling you, it operates as a community center. They have Muslims meet here, other groups, yes, everybody meets in this space. And yes, the Torah's in there, and this is the sanctuary. But the synagogue part of it is not very big anymore. And if it wasn't for all these outside groups, including, you know, political and everything else, this place would not be able to survive. I just want to emphasize that. So if it's a community center space, it'll disappear if people like us don't support it. They used to be on 82nd street, one of the biggest Jewish centers in this area. And they were very receptive to all kinds, whether you were... to... already to... well, non-Jewish people, all kinds. And they all had affairs there, it was a great place. But they also were very receptive to us, to gay people. And if it wasn't for them, we wouldn't... they had an influence and an understanding. And the rabbis there were all, because I was with them in the early '70s, '80s, a member there. And there was nothing... oh, you are gay. When they had the first parade here, there was, you know what, one I know in the early '80s, the whole synagogue, they were all here. The parents of the people. I mean, it was beautiful. So I mean, that's why I think even they didn't want to leave that synagogue, but they couldn't afford it anymore because they lost members. So they bought Sizzler's place, and they made the synagogue so people, if they're not, maybe not too many Jewish people, but they're holding on. And they're also giving us, not religious-based, but they're giving us the space to participate.

WOMAN

We are part of Queens Community House. We are an organization within Queens Community House, and they're not just looking for space for us, they're looking for space for other groups within Queens Community House. So I'm not so sure that they'd be willing to just have this space for us without considering the other groups that are within Queens Community House.

MAN

I'll just say, I'm here because I want to come here. I'm not thinking about the convenience of riding the subway, or it takes me an hour and a half or whatever it is. I come here because there's something here, I'm not exactly sure all the time why I come, but I keep coming back. So it's not a matter for me of convenience, it's a matter of the fact that for some reason I want to be here and be a part of what's going on. So I think if we keep that in mind, that we're here because we want to be here, we made an effort to come out here. If you have a mailing list of many, many people, but if you have a clubhouse, you have to have bodies in it. So you can't have a clubhouse and those beautiful sanctuaries, beautiful play space in the world, with three people. So I think it's really important that we kind of, like, take our time, you know, go along with Queens Community House, because that's important. But also understand, like, we had a reprieve. We have a second chance here, after the fire and everything like that. And if we want to continue that, we all have to be patient, understanding, and just keep together as best we can. Because, you know, we're given a second chance. We don't have anything like this in the Bronx, okay? All right, well, thank you, everyone. Like I said, I appreciate everyone being here today, not only for the clubhouse, but for Jackson Heights as well. "Why did the colonists fight the British?" (all repeating back) "They wanted to choose their own leaders." (all repeating back) So if I ask you, why do you want to be citizens of the United States? What do you say? (laughing) Freedom of speech. Freedom of speech. Freedom of religion. No, those are the responsi... That's the Bill of Rights. No, if the examiner asks you, why do you want to become a United States citizen, what do you say? (speaking Bengali) What? (laughing): I don't understand Bengali. I want to vote. "I want to vote." You say, "I want to vote, "I want to live in a democracy, I want to live in freedom." Yeah. Why do you want to become a citizen? Only for vote. (laughing) Well, you don't, you would say, to vote. To vote. (overlapping dialogue) I want to carry an American passport. I want an American passport and travel and going travel. And travel with an American passport. Traveling with American passport. Yes. I think the easiest thing to say is, "I want to vote." I think. Because it means... it means that you understand the democratic process. I am interested in my freedom of religion. I want to live in a place with freedom of religion. Yeah, that's a good thing to say. Freedom and speech. And freedom of speech. Yeah, but what you're doing is talking about the Bill of Rights. But you can use that. It's correct. That's the Bill of Rights. It's a different question. But that's good. It shows you understand. Say whatever you like. Whatever you feel. (siren blaring, car honking) (car honks) (speaking Spanish) (car honks) (car honks) (phone ringing)

WOMAN

This is Josey from Council Member Daniel Dromm's office. Hi, this is Josey. Yeah, but the service provider who... (phone ringing)...is going to be renting it, Samaritan Village, they will be providing different services. So the people that live there, there's going to be health services, different things, possibly even job services. Well, ma'am, that is not a question that I can answer at this level because funding for... funding for... Funding for schools happens both at the city and the state level, and so UPK funding, a lot of it comes from the state level, which means that the council member has no control over whether or not funding will be available in two years. (clears throat) On those making over, I believe, $300,000 a year. I'm not here to agree or disagree with that statement, ma'am. (phone ringing) Well, I believe that was actually... well, okay. So if you'd like to leave a concrete complaint, I'm happy to take it. Sure. What's your first name?

JOSEY

Yeah, they're already in. There's, I believe, 36 families. I don't think they're going to be moved out. Like I said before, I don't think that it's a matter of if there's not going to be a homeless shelter there or not, it's a matter of how many homeless families are going to be there. Well, I agree with you that there should have probably been some community involvement. Well, they were given advance notice. It was something that they were given. But for this one, the city issued an emergency order. So we were told about the homeless shelter just like an hour before people were moved in there. So it was an emergency order.

WOMAN

Like I said, ma'am, I... this was a decision that was made without the council member's knowledge. The particular people who were moved into the homeless shelters are mostly families with children. So... Okay, ma'am, well, I'm not actually... I'm not actually able to discuss that with you. If you're... if you have a concrete complaint... (phone ringing) That's actually a gross misunderstanding of federal law, but I'm happy to discuss... Those programs are mainly funded by the federal government. But if you'd like to leave your name and contact information, I'm happy to... Okay. No, sir, not like a natural disaster emergency, it was an emergency order that these... there wasn't enough space in other places around the city, so the city issued the emergency order to quickly find them space. (phone ringing) It was an emergency order issued by the mayor, yes. I can appreciate that you might feel that way, but I respectfully don't agree when you have a situation where children are run over in crosswalks because drivers are inattentive. I don't... (phones ringing) Well, I would characterize being a ten-year-old child and being run over by a garbage truck as slightly different than just a crime. Yes, and that also is horrible. And that, and measures are taken to prevent that kind of thing from happening as well. Sir, he didn't know that this was happening. It happened, like as he was being notified, they were being moved there. Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. But at both the... Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, but at both the city and the federal level, those things are guaranteed. You know, at the federal level it's guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. At the city level it's, you know... right. (phone ringing) It's going to be a rally, kind of rally, press conference. The council member will be there. Lots of members from the community and COMET will be there. Councilman Dromm, yes. I'll let him know you called. All right, thank you. Have a nice day. (exhales deeply) (phone ringing)

AUTOMATED VOICE

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MAN (on phone)

He y, I'm here. Hi, Isaac, it's Danny. And Katie. Pete Kelly. And Vinny. Hey, how are you?

DANNY

Katie, the floor is yours. So this is our resolution to redistrict tax blocks 1458 and 1459. Whereas removing students from their neighborhood for three years of education is highly disruptive to the bond students form with classmates during pre-kindergarten through second grade; and whereas state education law 2590B3C13 states that districts should, to the maximum extent possible, keep intact communities and neighborhoods; and whereas state education law 2590B3C14-- is that four-- states that districts must bear a rational relationship to geographic areas for which the City of New York plans and provides services; and whereas state education law 2590B3C5 states that there should be minimum disruption of existing and planned elementary school, junior high, middle school, high school feeder patterns; and whereas families in blocks 1458, 1459 live, work, vote, volunteer, shop, worship, and socialize in the Jackson Heights community in district 30; and therefore be it resolved that community education council supports tax blocks 1458 and 1459 to be included into School District 30. Be it further resolved that Community Education Council 30 hereby calls upon Chancellor Faria and the panel for educational policy to redistrict blocks 1458 and 1459 into District 30. Let me just update you a little bit in terms of what I've done so far. So I've sent a number of emails over to the chancellor and to the deputy chancellor, Kathleen Grimm, requesting a meeting on the issue of redistricting, specifically for these blocks in particular. But since that time, actually other issues have come up in terms of redistricting, and the whole issue of segregated schools in the city, et cetera, so forth, and so on. It seems to me to be a way to get them to deal with, if they were to enlarge districts or something like that, be able to deal with some of those issues. But I don't want to really confuse the two issues. So I've kind of only stuck to the issue of these two blocks with them. They claim that they're so overwhelmed with UPK at this time that they just haven't gotten to address these issues yet, that they want to address it, and that they need a little bit more time. They also read the law that states that you're supposed to do redistricting every ten years, not as must do redistricting, but can, I guess is the word, redistrict, I'm forgetting the exact word. May, maybe. It's "may." Yeah, may redistrict. And that, they feel, allows them to go beyond the ten period, because they say it's not shorter than ten years. So they're saying to me now that if they don't get it done in '14, they're looking to move forward with it, you know, a little bit further down the road. It may be that we could start in September, and then it would have to go through to '15. I'm not exactly sure where they're at with the whole thing. But that's the extent of my conversations and emails with them.

KATIE

If you guys at District 24 pass this as a resolution, with the next step to be someone... somebody from each community education council would present this at a panel for educational policy meeting? We could. But it also is supposed to trigger a process they call the resolution response protocol. Okay. Where they're supposed to direct it to the appropriate office, and hit us back with a written response. Even if it's everything th at they've told us verbally, they're supposed to give us an official response. So I have to go back an d read the protocols to see exactly how this... how it works. But I want to trigger that, you know? Yeah, I do too. Is it possible for... when is your next monthly meeting for the education council? Can we get this put on the agenda to vote for this, this month, or? Let me see if I can get this on the agenda. It's June 19. Okay. And it's June 19 at our offices at Queens Plaza.

PETE

My concern is that they're trying to do the right thing but they're also using the fact that, you know, they don't have to do this every... what is it? Ten years. Ten years. We could do it any time. And now that might be used as an excuse. Correct. So that it doesn't get done, they can push it off, and then our kids are out of the school already. So you know, I don't want it to become that type of excuse. And if we can find out who has to trigger the protocol response, which it might be Kathy Grimm, then we can help facilitate it. Yeah. But I do think because the chancellor is aware of this, definitely very much aware of it. Because as soon as I mentioned it to her, she was aware of what I'd already done on it and everything, and that I think they are looking to try to accomplish this. And we can, you know, say, look, if by October we're not dealing with it, you know, then we need to take other things, other actions. One of the reasons why there's a loss from the public school system in our neighborhood to the private and religious schools is that there's parents who don't want to have to go through this. They don't want their kids to go to this school for two years and then have to go to another school for three more years and then come back to the neighborhood. It's too disruptive. And I think that's why you see a lot of the brain drain in the neighborhood to all these other schools in other neighborhoods. If we could, you know, remedy this, then you probably would see more kids and families keeping their kids in the neighborhood. This is one of the... I was thinking that too. It's a matter of going forward. Yeah, it's moving forward. Those parents probably won't take their kids out of the school they're in now. They probably won't. Yeah, because they don't like disruption. That's the whole point of why they're there to begin with. Yeah. That's why we want to fix this. Thank you. Pleasure working with you guys. All right, same here. (phone ringing) (siren blaring) (horn honking) (siren blaring) (playing rhythmic tune) (continuing rhythmic tune) (high-pitched percussion tune continues in background) (banging cymbals) (cymbals continue clanging) (music stops abruptly)

WOMAN

Hi. You're with the church, right? Where, Texas? Alabama. Alabama. Did you hear our accents and think we might be from the South? No, but who does prayers here? We all do. We all do. Okay, can you guys do me a favor? Okay, this is going to be really weird, but I'm going to see my father. He's in New York Presbyterian. His kidneys shut down. My father only has a few more days to live. So I'm on my way to see my dad. So can all of you guys-- it's weird that you guys are out here-- but can you guys just say a prayer for my dad? What's his name? Thomas Donahue. Thomas? Thomas Donahue. Can we pray right now for him? Yeah. Thank you. Let's pray. Thomas? Thomas Donahue. I have dirty hands. It's okay. It's okay. He has cancer, and we know that he's going, and we're trying to bring him to hospice, but we don't know if he's going to make it. All right, let's pray. Father, we just love you so much, and we're so thankful that we are able to come to you, because you are the one who is able to meet all of our needs. Lord, we just ask that you divinely intervene today on behalf of this family. We pray for Thomas, Lord. We pray first of all that he knows you as his personal Lord and Savior, that his heart is right with you, Father, that he experiences the peace of knowing for certain that his eternity is secure with you. Lord, we just pray, Father, for the logistics of getting him to a hospice, Father, whatever that he needs. We pray that you will smooth the way so that that can be taken care of. And we just do lift his family up to you. I have lost a parent as well, and I understand what that can do in a family, God. We're just so grateful for the comfort that you give. So we just ask in Jesus' name, Lord, that you would bring comfort to this family today. And we pray that you will let this family see you at work so that they can praise you and give you the glory. And it's in Jesus' name we ask this. Amen. Amen. We'll continue to pray for him. Thank you. Thank you. Can I hug you too? Yeah. Thanks. I'm on my way now. Thanks. Bye, guys. Thank you. Bye. Praise God. (siren blaring) (Spanish soccer commentary on television) (indistinct Spanish dialogue) (TV sports commentary continues)

MAN

Colombia, Colombia! Colombia! (engine starting, car honking) (train clattering past) (speaking Spanish) (ice cream truck jingle plays) (ice cream truck jingle continues) (people singing on TV) (music continues in background) (music continues) (bottles clattering) (bottles clattering and shattering) (on

radio)

Been around the world, don't speak the language But your booty don't need explaining All I really need to understand is When you talk dirty to me Talk dirty to me Talk dirty to me Talk dirty to me Get jazzy on it... (speaking Spanish) (train clattering past) (horn honks) (fiddle, guitar and bass playing) diame por piedad yo te lo pido diame sin medida ni clemencia Odio quiero mas que indiferencia Por que el rencor quiere menos que el olvido Si tu me odias quedare yo convencido De que me amaste mi amor con insistencia Pero ten presente de acuerdo a la experiencia Que tan solo se odia lo querido Pero ten presente de acuerdo a la experiencia Que tan solo se odia lo querido Que vale mas yo humilde y tu orgullosa O vale mas tu y dbil hermosura Piensa que en el fondo de la fosa Llevaremos la misma vestidura Si tu me odias quedare yo convencido De que me amaste mi amor con insistencia Pero ten presente de acuerdo a la experiencia Que tan solo se odia lo querido Pero ten presente de acuerdo a la experiencia Que tan solo se odia Lo querido. (cheers and applause) (indistinct chatter) (music playing) (speaking Spanish) I got this bread as well. Who wants bread? All righty. Here, one more. Give me one minute, please. Uno? (train rumbling by) (music playing) (speaking Spanish) (man singing in Spanish on recording) (singing continues) (needle buzzing) (buzzing) (music continues in background) We can make it look more realistic, make the wings a little bit bigger, so it goes out a little bit. Yeah, that's what I was thinking more. Where do you want to put it at? My arm probably. How big? Like to take up from top to bottom? Maybe a little bit smaller than that. So like if you were to stand straight. It would be something like sleeve, like sleeve length? Yeah, yeah. Something like that you're looking at like $400. $400 or $500. We can do it in about two sessions. (car starts up, horn honks) (music playing) (man singing in Spanish) (lively Latin dance music playing) (man singing in Spanish) (truck beeping) (siren blaring)

MAN

I don't know what Jackson Heights would be like without Joe. I met Joe 15 years ago, and Joe was involved in everything in this neighborhood. He is the mayor of this neighborhood, he is highly respected in this neighborhood. I remember seeing Joe get down on his hands and knees and put those flowers in the flower bed year after year after year. And the other thing that I know about Joe is that he is a man of faith. He believes deeply in his Catholic religion, and he's always involved in St.Joan's and he knows all the priests up at Blessed Sacrament. And he loves his faith as well. And I think that it's his faith, in many ways, that motivates him to want to do good for the community. And so Joe has kept this tradition of the men and women's club going week after week after week, and the pay is wonderful, right Joe? (laughing) 13 years he's been doing this for nothing, for no pay, but only because of his love for the people in this community. And that to me is like faith in action. But Joe doesn't stop there. Joe goes to Regal Heights, he visits the sick, he puts up with my mother. (laughing) She would kill me if she knew I said that, you know? (laughing) But he just doesn't forget about anybody in the neighborhood. He calls me on the phone, he says, "Danny, I need this for this, I need you to help me with that one." I have a very close relationship with him. But I have to tell you, the highlight of my relationship with Joe was when he married Nancy. And I was able to go to the wedding at the Old Cavalier... (applause) And I don't know. Joe, you just represent so much good in this neighborhood, and you keep everything together. And I guess ultimately what I want to say is that I love you, the neighborhood loves you, and we could not have such a nice neighborhood if it weren't for you. So Joe Ricevuto, we love you, God bless you, I have a proclamation. Come up here, I want to give you this as well. (sighing) (laughing) Don't get me started, right? "The New York City Council, "city council member Daniel Dromm "presents this award to Joseph Ricevuto "on the occasion of your birthday "in recognition of your service to the Jackson Heights community." Joe, you are amazing. We hope that you do this for many, many more years. Oh, I forgot. Not only does he do the breakfast, he does all the dinners and the lunches, right? And the St. Patrick's celebration. And I got to tell you, for an Italian guy he doesn't do bad maintaining those St. Patrick's celebrations. (laughing, applause) Joe Ricevuto. We love you. Congratulations. Thank you. How do you talk when you're crying? (laughing) I want to thank Danny. You're always there for me. And Danny was at my wedding when Nancy and I, and Bertine and Ivan, I got you all hanging up on my wall. So I just want you to know. And to see all these people here is absolutely... I'm completely shocked. So thank you very much.

DANNY

Joe, what can I say? We love you, we love Nancy, and thank you very, very much for everything you do. (applause)

WOMAN

Excuse me! I have an arrest warrant for the mayor. Joe? Joe, where are you? Joe, Joe, where are you? Come here, Daddy. Come here. Give me a hug. Oh, Daddy. You're in a lot of trouble. Come on. You can do better than that. Bigger hug, bigger hug, bigger hug. Oh yeah, that's it. That's it. I've got to sit down now. No, come on back here. I'm going to take the mayor's microphone now so you can all hear me. I'm not my best in the morning. But this is a very... yes, go ahead and take a look. Go ahead. Mr. Mayor? There you go, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, go ahead and look. All right. (to the tune of "There's No Business like Show Business") It's your birthday, a great birthday And we all want you to know You're the birthday kid we love who's standing tall Kick up your heels, let's have a ball If you want to celebrate, you know who to call We'll tell the world you've got it all. (applause) Thank you. (breathy): And finally, Mr. Mayor. Yes? (laughing) (

la Marilyn Monroe)

Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you. I like the way you're holding my wand. Happy birthday, Mr. Mayor Happy birthday to you. Give him a hand. (cheers and applause) I was a little bit late, so I'm sorry. This is for you from singing telegram any time, and your friends and family who love you. Congratulations. He held up good, right? (applause) Let's give her a nice hand. ("Chicken Dance" playing)

MAN

Go all the way down, all the way! You did it! (music continues) (indistinct chatter) (all praying at once) (speaking Arabic) (children reciting) Everybody's pointing?

ALL

Yes. Go ahead, keep on. (continuing) (children reciting) (continuing) (children reciting) (continuing) (children reciting) (teacher continuing) (children reciting) (continuing to read) (children reciting) (teacher continuing lesson) (children reciting) (children speaking Arabic, voices overlapping)

WOMAN

And they go into the store and she's going to do the shopping, I give her my credit card. Okay, she does that. Come upstairs, she unpacks, this is your lunch, puts you back in your chair. That's about all you do. Sometimes you think to yourself, wish you had nerve to kill yourself. But you don't do it. What the hell. I'm 98 years old. What am I doing here? Nothing. I have one friend, and that's all right. And there's a woman that I'm friendly with. But that's all. But they don't bother. If I call them and talk to them for five minutes, okay. But they don't call me and talk to me for five minutes. I'm not really complaining, I'm just letting out steam, that's all. Tell me the secret for longevity, to live, tell me the secret. What do you do in your life? And you... I was happy until my husband died. That's all. We didn't do anything. We went on trips to Europe. Your brother, your sister, they were old people, too? Because of your age. I'm talking about your age. There's nobody left in my family. Nobody. Except you? And if there is, I don't know of them. You must have a secret. Well, if I find out what it is, I'll tell you. Please tell, because I am in a hurry. I'd be all right except if it wasn't for the damn foot. If I could move around... You don't have any secret, eh? No secrets. No secret. Could you help me? (laughing) What do you think? No secrets. As soon as I find it out, I'll tell you. I think I'm losing my voice. I lost my eyesight. What else have I got that's gone? You lost your voice. I lost my brains, never mind your... Brains? Sometimes I... I could do without brains if I could walk. That's the trouble. You know, when you get old and you can't do things, and you have people doing things for you. It's no good. You have two choices. Either to celebrate that you reach your age, or to be cranky and be miserable. It's up to you. Because I don't have nice people around me. There aren't nice people. Here it's nice. You talk to me. I don't talk to anybody all day. I'll say, I want a cup of coffee. Okay. I'll have my lunch now. Don't they talk to you? Very little. Very little. They talk when I say something. They'll never say, "I went out yesterday and I did this." Nothing. For that, you pay them $2,000 a week. But don't you have any friends to invite for coffee and talk about the past? Just one person. And she just became a grandmother. And she's busy with her daughter. She has a family of her own. Since you are a rich lady, why don't you pay people to come and talk to you? They call you up on the phone and say, "How are you?" They call me up on Wednesday in the morning. That's a big deal. Instead of calling you on Thursday or on Friday, they call you Wednesday morning,

about 10

30,

11

00. Big deal. Pay some people to entertain you, to sing or to say stories. Money talk. If you have money, you can buy many things. No? Do you have any idea if you were... No. If you were in a place close to 100 with money, what would you do? And you had your brains. Because she is very sharp. What would you do? I want an answer. You figure out, you tell me. Okay. I would pay friends to come, ladies, young ladies. Because money talks. If you pay, you can find everything. Everything. Even a boyfriend. (laughing) Excuse my expression. I'm all for that. (laughing) I give up.

WOMAN

Are there any neighbors in your building? People that take care of me. The neighbors don't come in. They don't come in. The ones that were friendly, both have died. So they're gone. The new ones don't make friendship with you if they're young people. They're not going to bother with you. I know enough the woman next door to say hello to me. At Thanksgiving, they sent in a plate of food for me, she sent it back to them. Oh, she should not have done that. That was not... Of course not. They could take it and not use it if they don't want to. I know what they should do, but they're stupid. That was not, that was not the correct thing to do. I know that. What they do isn't right. (chanting in Spanish)

MAN

Whose streets?

MARCHERS

Our streets. Whose streets? Our streets. Whose streets? Our streets. (shouting in Spanish) (speaking Spanish) (chanting continues) (train rumbling by) (quacking) (clucking) Bismillahi allahu akbar Bismillahi allahu ak bar Bismillahi allahu akbar (squawking) Bismillahi allahu akbar Bismillahi allahu ak bar Bismillahi allahu akbar (squawking, chirping) Bismillahi allahu akbar Bismillahi allahu ak bar Bismillahi allahu akbar (bird squawking nearby) (speaking Spanish) (bird squawking nearby) (birds chirping) (blade whirring) (speaking Spanish) (horn honking) (speaking South Asian language) (singing) (Latin music playing) (music continues) (music continues) (music continues) (train rumbling by) (speaking Spanish) (music playing) Belly, belly, belly, belly, belly, belly, belly, belly, belly, hands up. Okay, despacio. One, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, one, two, and one and two, and one and two. (belts jingling) (speaking Spanish) Hey! Go! (music continues) (music stops) (bell jingling) (horns honking) (speaking Spanish)

LAURA NEWMAN

Hi, everybody. Wow, this is just beautiful. My name is Laura Newman, I'm from Make Queens Safer. We're a grassroots group. We've been in existence for about eight months. We're in direct response to some tragedies that are happening in our neighborhood around pedestrians getting killed and hurt. But right now, we're feeling very proud and we're feeling pretty happy and encouraged because our neighborhood is making some improvements. We've already seen some improvements on Northern Boulevard. We already have one of the first slow zones in the city. We already have a proposal for another slow zone, and I think it's supposed to be one of the first ones in Queens. And that warms our heart and makes us feel very happy and proud to live in such a proactive community that won't tolerate death to innocent people, to children, to elderly, to disabled, or to anyone. Right now we just want to express complete support for the proposals that are up right now to make engineering safety improvements on Northern Boulevard, and to implement the new slow zone area proposed by Danny Dromm. We support that fully. These are huge first steps. However, we also feel that in the strength of these steps lie the vision of making even greater improvements, because this neighborhood cannot tolerate any more deaths or any more serious pedestrian injuries. We know that Vision Zero includes engineering, education, and enforcement. We commend our police enforcement folks, because they're doing a tremendous job increasing the number of stopping cars, arrests, and reducing pedestrian hits. We thank them very much and we know that we'll continue to see improvements because our city officials support that, and New York City citizens support that. We certainly here in our community support that. Right now the most important thing is to... for our community board to support these two proposals for Northern Boulevard and for the new slow zone, and we heartily, heartily urge you to do so in order to save lives. Thank you. (siren blaring) (horns blowing, people chanting "Colombia") (chanting "Colombia") (horn blowing) (metal clanking, horns blowing) (loud clanking and tooting of horns)

MAN

Colombia! (whistling) (huge cheer) (horns blowing) (cheering, horns blowing) (cheering continues) (siren blaring) (horns honking, crowd cheering) (engine revving) (horns honking) (cheering, metal clanking) (horn blowing, crowd chanting) (siren blaring) (train rumbling by) (high-pitched bell ringing) (chanting, cymbals clanging) (chanting) (chanting) (thunder rumbling) (horn toots) (thunder) (train rumbling by) (speaking Spanish) (singing in Spanish) (Latin dance music playing) (musical tempo picks up) (announcer speaking on mic) (music blasting) (music continues faintly, from within club) (laughter, indistinct chatter) Next, step down, please. How are you today? (dog yipping) Tamales, tamales, tamales, tamales. (ice cream truck jingle plays) (children laughing, excited chatter) (child squeals) (chimes jangling) (children laughing, crying) (band playing mellow jazz) (brass instruments play solos) (music continues) (priest speaking Spanish) (trumpet playing) (trumpet music continues)

WOMAN

There is a cemetery the next block over... that has been......neglected. Neglected and dumped on. And there are no gravestones, I heard. There aren't any gravestones. It's a very old one. It's very old, and I don't know, Ed said somebody was asking. I think Ed said if you really dug down deep you might find something, like a grave marker. But they've all sunk. Well, Danny said at the last Democratic meeting that they tried-- well, not the last one, one of the Democratic meetings-- that they wanted to try and do something with it. That's a problem... Because they don't know who owns it. They do know who owns it. There's one remaining person from the family who lives in New Jersey, who doesn't want any part of it. He doesn't want to be responsible. And if anybody in the community takes over the responsibility, you run into a legal problem where we will then essentially own it and own the responsibility forever. And that's not something that is... Well, it's probably not something that's good for the neighborhood. We've got enough things to take care of. And nobody can see that anyway. Has it been made an historic landmark? There's some sort of a special law for historic graveyards. But I don't know exactly how that works. And it's just, we don't want to take anything. Well, beautification group, Jackson Heights Beautification Group doesn't want to take on responsibility for that piece of land. Every place else where we garden, it's either around a tree pit, on a public street. Or it's something that's in front of a school where we cooperate with the people of the school. Or the one up near Junction Boulevard on... I think that's 34th Avenue, there's a strip alongside the parking lot, the owner, you know, the store says we can work there. But it doesn't belong to us. Or even when we do it with the composting area and the garden areas along the BQE, we don't own it. State owns it, it's under the Department of Transportation, and all we have to do is have some sort of insurance coverage for liability. How long has it been known that it's there? Well... I mean, it must have always been known. I think it's been known forever. They just built around it. Yeah, literally. Literally. Yeah. But legal responsibility is not something that... it's controversial. But... Is it a family graveyard? Yeah, from the Leverich family, after whom Leverich Street was named. So the 17th through 18th century? How old is it? I have no idea. I have no idea. I'm not into cemeteries. (laughing) I only knit for live people. When I was growing up in Brooklyn, there's still... it's on New Lots Avenue. It's an old Dutch Reform Church that I'm sure has been made an historic landmark. And we used to love going into that. They had a cemetery right next to it with gravestones with the names, all the street names. You know? Van Siclen, Van Sinderen. Because they named them after the families. Where the farm was, they put the street. Or you know, nearby. In New Brunswick, I mean, there are old cemeteries. But there's a parking lot in... when I was in college it was Great Eastern, but now I don't know, it's some kind of discount place. It used to be someone's estate, and the person was buried on their estate. And when they built the store, they sold the estate and built the store, they couldn't move the body because they couldn't contact any of the descendants to get permission. So they just built the parking lot around there, and there's this little fence. And you can go in and look and there's this grave. It's very... There's an African-American burial at the bottom of Manhattan that they... Yeah, they discovered that. Right, during construction. But this was always there. This was always there? Oh. They knew it was there, they just couldn't... they couldn't move the body. I'm sure there's a human being buried somewhere just about any place on earth that's inhabited. So most of our buildings are built on somebody's grave, but nobody remembers. Right. In high school, my friend Judy, who lived in Harlem and was much more sophisticated and worldly than I was, said to me... Well, she liked Ben Casey, remember? You either liked Richard Cham... you know, Dr. Kildare or Ben Casey. She liked Ben Casey. And she said to me, "He's gay." And I say, "How could you know that?" I don't even know if I knew what, but she told me, you know, we didn't know much about this sort of stuff back then. And sure enough, she was right. And so was Tyrone Power, and so was... who I loved... Did you ever see the Captain from Castile? I read the book. Well, the movie had Tyrone Power and, um... Oh, very famous Latin American actor. Cesar Romero played Cortez. And he had the most marvelous pirate smile. He had this big grin with all these teeth like... And it turns out that they fell in love with each other while they were making the movie. And when Tyrone had his heart attack, Cesar was devastated. But who knew about it then? I mean, they were like the great Latin... Well, Tyrone Power was Irish, but Cesar Romero, the Latin lover. (sighing) Every actor I ever liked was gay. What does that say about me? (laughing) (engine whirring) (birds chirping) (drums playing)

MAN

Let's hear it, Queens, New York! (cheering) You'll be coming home with me tonight And we'll be burning up like neon lights Thank you, thank you, thank you. Happy Pride. Oh, the MCC! Metropolitan Community Church of New York! (band playing Katy Perry's "Eye of the Tiger") (music continues) Queens Pride, I tell you, 22 years!

BILL De BLASIO

This parade is a celebration of life. It is a celebration of diversity and inclusion and strength in this city. It's also a moment to remember the things we've all fought for. This parade is always in memory of Julio Rivera, and that senseless death, that person we lost who had such love from his family and community. We remember him and honor him by fighting against intolerance, by fighting against bias, by fighting against any form of violence against the LGBT community. You have my commitment. The City of New York stands with you. The NYPD stands with you to stamp out bias and intolerance in all its forms. (cheers and applause) Because of your efforts, equality is spreading like wildfire across this country, and we are living up to the ideals of this country. And that is something to celebrate. Happy pride, everyone. (cheers and applause) Before I turn the mic back, I want to say, Mr. Mayor, thank you very, very much for coming. You today have made history. You are the first mayor in the history of this parade to march in the Queens Pride Parade. (cheers and applause) (dance music playing) (man speaking Spanish) (cheering, cars honking) (dance music playing, indistinct loudspeaker announcement) Danny Dromm, founder of the Queens Pride Parade! (sirens blaring) (sirens continue) (horn honking) (siren wailing) (horn honking) (beeping) I have another Chihuahua. Thank you. (beeping) (squealing) It's okay. Nice baby. (beeping) Good, good. That's okay? (buzzing) (ice cream truck jingle playing)

MAN

Hi, how are you? We have free HIV testing. Want a testing? Free HIV test? Free condoms? Free HIV testing? Hey, guys, free condoms, free HIV testing? Free HIV testing? Thanks. We have free testing. Free condoms, free HIV testing?

WOMAN

I think-- this is just my guess, I wasn't there-- but she was this young transgendered African-American woman. And she was walking down the street with I think two friends of hers, and this bunch of guys came up, and they kind of wolf-whistled them, and they were clearly attracted to her. And then suddenly one of them realized that she was transgender. And I think if he'd been alone, maybe he might have let it go. But he obviously felt that his masculinity and heteronormativity were in question, and that he had to react with hostility and even violence. So he punched her in the face. And he punched her so hard that she died from the injury. And this was in front of a police station. Believe it or not, right in front. And in that kind of situation I think, as I say, my guess is maybe if he'd been alone, he might have been willing to let it go. But the fact that he was there with his buddies... Yeah, they were all saying... Right. They were joining in on it. Exactly. And if one of them had said, "You know, look, man, just let it go," or something like that, you know, then he might have, you know? Exactly. Or you know, look, you know, it's... it's an honest mistake or something like that. You know? But... but they weren't. They were going the other way. That's right, egging him on. Unfortunately the streets aren't safe for folks. So we have to be very careful and very aware of our environment, take precautions. I actually feel safer like this. Why's that, Victoria? Being African-American male, I actually have... I actually have... People won't look at me walking down the street like this. They'll look at me in my male persona walking down the street. Interesting. They'll cross the street, think I'm going to do something in my male persona. In this persona I can walk right down the street and nobody will look at me. You know, grab their purses, or... Do you experience less police harassment dressed as a woman? Or... I don't get really harassed by the police. But what I do for a living, as soon as they find that out, they think I have a camera on me and they run away. But do you find people have a different reaction to you in different neighborhoods? Like, you know, to your male persona, that, I mean, if you're in a black neighborhood or something like that? Yeah, it's different, but it's different because of, not because of them, but circumstances. Because, you know, quote, unquote, "I don't act black." And that's the whole thing for me, even back in high school. So in black neighborhoods, I don't fit in. And like you were saying before, you're worrying about fitting in or whatever. I have never fit in any group in my life. So for me, going somewhere you don't fit in, I'm like, okay, this is normal. Well, it's actually not about fitting in, because I've never really fit in. It's about being liked, which is slightly different. You know? You know, I feel like there have been groups where I haven't fit in and I've felt like they, you know, they accepted and liked me as an individual. And there have been other groups where I felt like I... you know, like I... you know, maybe I fit in even more than I did in other places but they, you know, they decided that I wasn't okay or whatever. There's a bunch of groups where I felt something where they weren't just accepting of me in some way, and they would just... and I just didn't go back. That's how I handled it. I would like to be part of groups. That's why I found this group and that's why, you know, I want to be part of the group, I want to have community, I want to have friends. And I do. And yeah, you do worry about it. And I've worried about it too. But then there's a part of me that was just like, okay, well, if you go there and they don't like you, okay. Because I've been to groups, other groups, and I've been there and I've got the feeling that nobody there liked me or whatever. And I just like, I just kind of disappeared. I'm like, okay, I'm not going back there anymore. We remember the Holocaust. We recall with bitter grief the catastrophe, which overwhelmed our people in Europe, adding an unprecedented chapter to our history of suffering. We mourn for six million of our people brutally destroyed by civilized people behaving like savages. The cruelties of Pharaoh, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, and Titus, cannot be compared with the diabolical schemes of the modern tyrants and their design to exterminate an entire people. The blood of the innocent who perished in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Treblinka, and Theresienstadt cries out to God and humanity. We will never forget the burning of synagogues and houses of study. The destruction of holy books and scrolls of Torah. The sadistic torment and murder of scholars, sages, and teachers. They tortured the flesh of our brothers and sisters, but they could not crush their spirit, their faith, their love. We recall our brothers and sisters in the Warsaw ghetto and in other hellish places, who valiantly rose up and defied the monstrous adversaries. We recall the heroism of those who in the face of unprecedented and overwhelming force, maintained Jewish life and culture, and asserted Jewish values in the very midst of enslavement and degradation. Even as we mourn, we recall those precious few compassionate men and women of other faiths and nationalities who, at the peril of their lives, saved some of our people. Truly the righteous of all nations have a share in the world to come. O Lord, remember our martyred children. Remember all who have given their lives for the sanctification of your name. (man speaking Spanish) (applause) Bueno.

JUAN CARLOS

(applause)

MAN

Class, you guys are here to study Brooklyn so you can pass an exam given by the City of New York for a Yellow Cab. Good evening, Shema? Good evening. Your train had a flat tire, my friend? You were here late yesterday, you're late today. You're late every day, brother. Cell phone? Cell phone, darling? Have a seat, Shema. Battery Tunnel. Is it toll? Is it free? Or I don't know. Toll. How do you know that? Because tunnel is always toll. Oh, my God, give him a shabashi, excellent. Tunnel is always toll. Tunnel, always toll. Easy to remember. T for tunnel, T for toll. Bridge, sometime toll, sometime free. Tunnel, always toll. Let me ask you a question, Pemba. Who will pay the toll money? Customer, driver, or government, Pemba? Customer. Give him a shabashi, good job my friend. Who pays for the toll? Passenger? Who pays for the toll? Passenger. Near the Battery Tunnel on the Brooklyn side, we have a neighborhood. TLC likes to use the word neighborhood. So if you're a new student, copy the word "neighborhood" in the back side, please. Copy this. Neighborhood. Temba, darling, how do you say "neighborhood" in Nepali language? (speaking Nepalese) Give him a shabashi, excellent. Dawa, how do you say "neighborhood" in Tibetan? Zhong. Zhong. How do you say "neighborhood" in Bengali language, Mr. Kashim? Paramo hala. Paramo hala. Give him shabashi. And Urdu, Punjabi Pejam? Muhalla. Muhalla. In French we say voisinage, in Arabic we say mantaka. Right now we're sitting in which neighborhood? Jackson Heights. Jackson Heights is a neighborhood. Flushing is a neighborhood. Astoria is a neighborhood. Sunnyside is a neighborhood. Yes? Now, you can open a map of Brooklyn, you can open a map of Nepal, you could open a map on China, I don't care. Every map, going like this to the nose is north. So this means north. Yes? When you go down to the shoes. Indra, is he wearing shoes or he is without shoes? Wearing shoes? Red shoes. Red shoes, thank you. Going to the shoe, shoe starts with S, S will be south. Right? Pemba? South. Most people, I would say 99% people in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Africa, eating with the right hand. Because there is no fork and knife, right? So 99% people eating with hand. So this hand is used for eating. Right, Mr. Pemba? So eating, eating, eating will be east. So this is east, eating, yes? Mr. Pemba, in Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, no toilet paper, my friend. So back area, poo-poo washing, cleaning the back area, right? Poo-poo wash with this hand, is west. So all over the world, this means north, this is south, this is east, and this is west. And for you, Dr. Shema, I know you. "Never ever smoke weed." Remember? "Never ever smoke weed." Got it? Directions. So on the final exam, five or maybe six questions can be coming for directions. So you have to know every map. Going to the nose, north. Going to shoe, south. Eating, east. Poo-poo washing, west. Got it? Yes? I will give you a photocopy of this drawing. What you do, you put the drawing in the front, and you practice one time, two time, three time, four time, five time, six time, seven time, eight time, nine, ten. Practice the drawing. When this drawing is inside the head, then you move on to the next drawing. Do you understand that? A lot of people what they do, they're just reading the drawing. If you're reading the drawing, you're an idiot, you're wasting your time. Trust me. Most people are not geniuses. Trust me. Most people just looking at the drawing, you're not going to remember. The best way to study, trust me, I went to school, trust me. The best way to study, whatever you see, write it down, practice. You need paper? I got more paper. You need more? I'll get you more. Got it? Let's move on. (indistinct chatter in Spanish) (speaking Spanish) (indistinct chatter in Spanish) (guitar playing, group singing in Spanish) (song continues) (music continues) (song ends) (new song begins) (singing continues)