Philadelphia Gay News Feb. 13 - 19, 2009
Vol. 33 No. 7
Honesty Integrity Professionalism
Mayor, LGBT business leaders meet
Construction could wash out Gayborhood businesses
By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer
By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer A proposed Philadelphia Water Department construction project could shut down portions of a main Gayborhood thoroughfare, leaving area business owners concerned about the future of their shops. The Water Department has targeted an area of Pine Street, between Broad and Seventh streets, as the location for a Storm Relief Project. If the project proceeds, the Water Department would close off one- to two-block segments of Pine Street to vehicular traffic for between two-three months each as workers dig down approximately 16 feet to install a new sewer system. Wooden planks will be laid across the sidewalk for pedestrians to access homes and businesses and many of the street’s trees may need to be removed. The Water Department estimated the entire project should last about two years, as long as everything goes according to plan. The project is meant to stem sewage backup that had been recurring in some of the city’s river wards as a result of heavy rains. Between 200406, several large rainstorms, which accumulated at least 2.5-3 inches of rainwater an hour, resulted in sewage pipes backing up into basements of properties in Northern Liberties, Washington Square West and parts of South Philadelphia. Joanne Dahme, PWD Watersheds project manager, explained that when the city experiences intense rain, the aging and inadequate sewers often can’t handle the added water and empty into the basements of area properties instead of draining into tanks and rivers. “When the sewers fill up and reach capacity from the rainwater, the only way for them to be relieved is by backing up through a property’s laterals, coming up through floor drains or utility sinks at the basement level,” Dahme said. “After 2005, we had a few storms and thought that this could be a fluke as it hadn’t happened in decades, but then it happened again. We recognized that this could be the result of climate change but we are seeing more intense rainstorms, and in order to stop the sewage backup, we have to provide additional conveyance capacity.” Although Dahme noted the city hasn’t seen widespread backups as the result of intense rain since 2006, the project would guard against future flooding. “We’ve been lucky that we’ve had two summers where this has not happened, but we don’t want to just say, ‘It’s all over with,’ and See CONSTRUCTION, Page 9
MAN OF THE HOUR: Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge Dan Anders (far right) mingled with Sherrie Cohen (from left), Gary Davidoff and Adam Hofe during Anders’ Volunteer Kickoff party Feb. 10 at Tavern on Camac. The event was meant to spread the word about Anders’ upcoming election campaign and to drum up support from the LGBT and ally communities. Individuals who committed to volunteer for Anders’ campaign received free food and drink tickets. Anders, the first openly gay man to run for public office in Philadelphia, was appointed to the position in 2007 by Gov. Rendell and will be up for election for a full 10-year term in the May 19 primary. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Nondiscrimination bill nearly ready in the House By Jen Colletta PGN Staff Writer A Pennsylvania lawmaker plans to reintroduce a bill that would ban discrimination against LGBT people across the state. The bill’s list of cosponsors has already surpassed the number of lawmakers who supported the legislation when it was first introduced last session. Pennsylvania Rep. Dan Frankel (D23rd Dist.) has thus far enlisted the signatures of 73 cosponsors for the
legislation, which would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Such laws already exist in Philadelphia and 13 other Pennsylvania counties but not at a statewide level. Melissa Lewis, a research analyst with Frankel’s office, said that while the lawmaker has not yet introduced the bill,
Mayor Nutter met with a group of LGBT community leaders last weekend to assess the community’s needs and inform its representatives about the current state of affairs within city government. Nutter participated in an hour-and-a-half discussion Feb. 8 at Duross & Langel, 117 S. 13th St., with 23 members of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus, Midtown Village Merchants’ Association and the Independence Business Alliance, the city’s LGBT chamber of commerce, during which he explained how the city’s budgetary concerns could affect different facets of the LGBT community and asked for feedback from the participants about how the city can most effectively serve the LGBT business and tourism communities. Gloria Casarez, the city’s director of LGBT affairs, said last weekend’s gathering was one of many the mayor is currently undertaking to establish connections with the city’s different communities. “As part of the budget discussions happening right now within City Hall, the mayor and other administration officials are engaging in a number of key stakeholder discussions,” she said. “This is a time for some of the stakeholders in various communities in the city to ask questions and voice their concerns.” Casarez said Nutter was able to get a better grasp on financial and other issues concerning the LGBT community from the diverse representatives. “These were people who have a heavy, deep stake in what’s rolling out now in the city in terms of the budget process,” Casarez said. “These were a range of business folks, from longtime business owners who have multiple properties in the Gayborhood to somebody who just owns one shop and to those who do independent consulting. To have all of those perspectives in the room was really beneficial, especially because they all had direct access to the
See HOUSE, Page 9
See BUDGET, Page 20
Obama names lesbian lawyer to White House staff Although President Obama is several weeks into his term, he’s still updating his list of staffers and the latest round of appointees includes an out lesbian. Late last month, Obama announced the names of 22 lawyers who would be joining the White House Counsel’s Office, and Alison Nathan, an openly gay fellow at New York University’s law school and a former assistant professor at Fordham University’s law school, was on the list. Nathan and her fellow associate counsel staffers will advise the president on various
legal issues. Nathan is a 1994 graduate of Cornell University and received her law degree from the school in 2000. She taught civil procedure at Fordham from August 2006-08 and also conducted a seminar on the Supreme Court and the death penalty. Nathan was the 200809 Alexander Fellow at NYU. Prior to entering the world of academia, Nathan was a litigation associate at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, where she focused on civil litigation, Supreme Court and appellate litigation, Constitutional
law and habeas-corpus litigation in deathpenalty cases. In 2004, Nathan served as an associate national counsel for John Kerry’s presidential campaign, and last year was the national voter-protection senior adviser to the Obama campaign and sat on the campaign’s LGBT advisory board. Nathan was recommended to the position through the Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute’s Presidential Appointments Project. ■
— Jen Colletta