pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 22 June 2-8, 2017
Family Portrait: Meegan Coll on artistic liberties PAGE 29
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
• Local libraries to show LGBT pride • Flurry of filings in federal trans-student suit • SEPTA: No ‘do-over’ for city in antibias case
Out musician shows Philly some ‘love’ PAGE 2
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First LGBTQ Community Conversation addresses controversies, new initiatives By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com More than 200 community members were in attendance at the Office of LGBT Affairs’ first LGBTQ Community Conversation last Thursday. The event, held at the William Way LGBT Community Center, included remarks from newly appointed director Amber Hikes, a Q&A session with community members and presentations from the Commission on LGBT Affairs’ eight committees. “I know the conversations we are going to have tonight are coming from a place of trauma, coming from a place of oppression and they’re coming from pain,” Hikes said. “I recognize it because I see it. I feel it. I know it deeply. This is our opportunity to come from behind those computer screens, come from behind those picket lines and sit in the room with our community members.” Hikes also addressed recent controver-
sies that have hit the commission in its first months. “We were very fortunate to already have a Community Conversation planned and then we had some events and we said, ‘We are going on exactly as intended and we’re going to put ourselves in front of the community in the same way that we will be requiring others to do,’” Hikes added. “It’s time for accountability. It’s time for transparency. We have to do better as a community and it’s going to start tonight.” On the recent ousting of Sharron Cooks as chair “I never run away from difficult conversations so I’m going to address the elephant in the room,” Hikes said, referring to the recent ousting of Sharron Cooks as chair of the commission. In a 13-3 vote, the commission removed Cooks from her posiPAGE 18
AMBER HIKES OPENS THE CONVERSATION WITH OVER 200 LGBT ATTENDEES MAY 25 AT WILLIAM WAY LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER Photo: Scott A. Drake
City Council bill would enhance benefits for city workers
LGBT-friendly youth residence hits potential roadblock By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com City Council member Helen Gym last week bill introduced a bill that she says would make available to all city workers in-vitro fertilization coverage, egg-freezing coverage and related infertility treatments. At presstime, Gym’s office said the bill would make the coverage available to all 23,000 city workers. But a Kenney spokesperson believed the bill only would apply to about 6,000 city workers in a city health plan that’s mainly utilized by non-union workers. Some unionized city workers already have IVF and related infertility-treatment coverage. But there’s no city law mandating the coverage. Last year, the Kenney administration discontinued IVF coverage for about 5,000 non-union workers and 1,000 union workPAGE 18 ers, citing financial con-
LAST SUPPER: Despite the dreary day, hundreds came out Tuesday for a block party to mark the closing of Little Pete’s. The longtime diner at 17th and Chancellor streets was a Center City staple, in business for 39 years. Its former incarnation, Dewey’s, was the site of an LGBT-rights sit-in in 1965, one the nation’s earliest LGBT-rights demonstrations. Little Pete’s was packed throughout its closing weekend, with lines stretching down the street, including at Tuesday’s party, where the diner treated customers to souvlaki, hoagies, spinach pie, fries and more, as well as wine and live Greek music. The restaurant’s 2418 Fairmount Ave. location remains open. Photo: Scott A. Drake
The clock is ticking for a project that would create 30 units of LGBT-friendly housing for young adults. A judge is expected to consider this month whether to allow the sale of several parcels of land currently owned by North Philadelphia Health System to Project HOME. The two parties entered into an agreement of sale in May 2016, but NPHS declared bankruptcy at the end of last year and, in court filings, has sought to halt the sale process as it moves through the Chapter 11 process. Project HOME and partners announced the project in October. Ground was slated to be broken in April on 1315 N. Eighth St. to develop a four-story building of one-bedroom units, laundry and exercise facilities, a community space and an outdoor courtyard. In a second phase, Project HOME intended to develop 40 units for young adults and adults, not necessarily specific to those who identify as LGBT. Delaying the $1.75-million sale could significantly threaten the future of the project, said Laura Weinbaum, vice president of public affairs and strategic initiatives at Project HOME. Project HOME has lined up millions in PAGE 15