By Stephen Witt
Newly installed City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is the first woman—and the first openly gay Councilmember—to be elevated to the post. And in a borough where opinions flow like the cascading Niagara Falls, local political watchdogs weighed in on the landmark event. “This is an historic victory, both for Councilmember Quinn and also for the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community locally and nationally,” said Gary Parker, president of the Park Slope-based Lambda Independent Democrats (LID), the only political club representing Brooklyn’s LGBT community. “Chris is the best person for this job, will be an extremely effective speaker, and will continue to champion the rights of LGBT citizens and all New Yorkers,” Parker added. Openly gay Park Slope Democratic District Leader Alan Fleishman said, “Many of us have worked with Chris over the years, first when she worked for Tom Duane and then as Executive Director of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project as well as during her tenure on the City Council, so we know firsthand what a skilled organizer and terrific advocate she will be for the people of the City of New York.” On the other side of the issue is the Flatbush-based Jews For Morality (JFM) spokesperson Shlomo Winter. He criticized City Councilmember Simcha Felder, the only Orthodox Jew in the City Council, for not being more forceful in expressing the Orthodox viewpoint that having a city leader with such a lifestyle is abhorrent. Felder was present for the Council’s 49-0 vote with one abstention to pick Quinn as the speaker, but did not vote. The one abstention was Charles Barron. There are 51 total Council members. Felder refused to comment on why he didn’t vote, but sources said the reason was Orthodox religious views that homosexuality is an abomination. Felder did call Quinn a consensus builder in city government and a very capable leader. “I feel she was the most competent candidate and had worked well with organizations in my community and has been extremely helpful in terms of meeting the needs of the community, and I think she will be a wonderful speaker,” said Felder. Felder continued that he didn’t believe that issues regarding the gay community would be at the top of Quinn’s agenda. If these types of issues come up in the Council, it will be dealt with when it happens, said Felder. “Her [Quinn] priority will be that everyone in the city is served well,” he added. Also standing up for Quinn’s open lifestyle choice was Borough President Marty Markowitz. “All of Brooklyn celebrates with Christine Quinn as she takes on her new role as Speaker of the City Council,” said Markowitz. ““I also celebrate the rise to power of a proudly gay woman, and say to all you red-states out there, here in New York we know that we are all children of the same almighty. “New Yorkers proudly challenge those who would demonize the members of any community, LGBT or otherwise, to face the facts: all of us have the ability and the right to contribute to our civic life, regardless of nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation. “To those who say otherwise, I would like to remind them that a great prophet once said, ‘Judge not, lest you be judged,’” he added.
