2013 City Council Candidate Questionnaire

Candidate Information Full Name: Mark Levine District Information District #: 7 Are you an incumbent? no If yes, when were you first elected? Campaign Information From which parties are you seeking a nomination: Democratic, Working Families (already received) Full Name of Campaign Committee: Levine 2013 Additional Candidate Information Endorsements List here the union, organizations (community, civic, media, issue groups), and elected officials that have endorsed you. ELECTED OFFICIALS Gov. David Paterson NYC Public Advocate Bill de Blasio Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer Congressmember Jerry Nadler State Senator Adriano Espaillat Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez Councilmember Dan Garodnick Councilmember Mark Weprin Councilmember Daniel Dromm Assemblymember Herman Denny Farrell Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz Assemblymember Dan Quart Assemblymember Gabriela Rosa ORGANIZED LABOR 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East 32BJ SEIU Communications Workers of America District 1 Communications Workers of America Local 1180 Hotel Trades Council AFL-CIO

Mason Tenders District Council of Greater New York and Long Island Teamsters Joint Council 16 United Association Local 1 Plumbers of New York United Federation of Teachers Uniformed Fire Officers Association United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1500 ADVOCACY GROUPS Democracy for New York Progressive Caucus Alliance Working Families Party DEMOCRATIC CLUBS Broadway Democrats Community Free Democrats

Candidate Experience - Please explain any activities and/or experiences that demonstrate your commitment to the LGBT movement. I have been a life-long advocate for LGBT rights, and have prioritized the issue in my political work since my first campaign for City Council in 2001. I founded the Barack Obama Democratic Club of Upper Manhattan, which has support for marriage equality enshrined in its by-laws. I have called for passage of the GENDA Act at the state level, for banning of so-called curative therapy in New York, and for greater inclusion of LGBT history in the curriculum taught in NYC public schools. I am proud that my club helped elect one of our members, Tony Cannataro, who is openly gay, to the Civil Court in 2011.

Policy Positions Please answer the following questions in full, using your policy proposals and including specific examples of your previous actions on any given topic when possible. Marriage Do you support full marriage equality for same-sex couples? Yes

Will you work with New Yorks congressional delegation to support the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act? Yes

Adoption: Do you support full adoption rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples? Yes Human Rights Do you support equal rights and treatment for people of transgender experience in the New York Shelter System, both adult shelters and youth shelters? Yes HIV/AIDS

In 2011, Mayor Bloomberg proposed cutting 248 case managers and millions in rental assistance from the HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA). Individual legislators ended up using discretionary funds to fill the gap. Do you support increased funding for the HASA? Yes

Please explain your position on using discretionary funds to support agencies like HASA. Funding for HIV/AIDS services should be base-lined in the City budget, so that there is not an annual fight for re-allocation. But in the case that such services do see their funding cut, I will support restoration with my own discretionary funds.

What actions do you think the City Council should be taking to provide emergency housing for homeless people living with AIDS? The Council should fight for full funding for HASA in the City budget. AIDS funding no longer corresponds to the demographics of which communities represent the greatest number of HIV cases in NYC. Would you support yearly statistics of both the geographic areas where HIV is most prevalent and as well as which populations in those neighborhoods are most effected, and then allocate yearly funding to services and communities based on these results? Yes

Community Boards: Many Community Boards routinely oppose applications for liquor licenses in their areas, particularly if the proposed venue is tailored to appeal to the LGBT community. Please explain your position on the appropriate balance between support for nightlife, minority communities and respect for neighborhood concerns. Nightlife is essential to the identity of New York City, and is a source of economic vitality. Community Boards should keep these benefits in mind when approving liquor licenses. Under no circumstances should venues catering to the LGBT community face negative treatment in the approval process.

Please outline the criteria you would use in selecting Community Board members. Among the qualities I would consider are applicants connection to the community, history of local involvement, relevant expertise, and ability to work with and understand diverse constituencies. I would also seek to appoint a cohort of Board members that reflect the diversity of the district, including in terms of sexual orientation and gender expression.

NYPD

The NYPD often targets bars, restaurants and clubs serving the LGBT community for increased scrutiny. They have used health code violations, allegations of drug use or sale, allegations of prostitution, allegations of serving minors, and a myriad of tools at their disposal. What changes would you implement to ensure LGBT institutions are treated equally by enforcement agencies? Such discriminatory targeting is absolutely unacceptable, and should be prevented through better training of NYPD officers and clear directives to commanders to punish those officers who employ such tactics. Do you support reforming Stop-and-Frisk? Please detail any specific changes to the program you believe are necessary. Yes, I believe there should be more narrowly defined circumstance in which stops are made, clearer guidelines on the respectful behavior expected of officers during stops, and more transparency and reporting of stops for public scrutiny. Do you oppose the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution in criminal cases? Please explain your support or opposition. Yes, because this disincentivizes use of condoms by prostitutes, exposing them to a greater threat of contracting STDs.

Runaway and Homeless Youth Will you support increasing the funding for both emergency shelter beds and transitional beds for homeless youth, a huge percentage of whom are from the LGBT community and will you pledge to support capital and expense funding for programs serving this population? Yes

What will you do to expand access to services for runaway and homeless youth? I will support increased funding for street outreach and referral services, borough-based drop-in centers, crisis shelters, and transitional independent living.

LGBT Services and Funding:

The LGBT community has no direct funding for the arts from the NEA or other funding sources because of institutional homophobia. Would your office help with funding for LGBT Arts? If yes, please explain how. Yes, I would advocate for City funding for LGBT arts, and provide support through discretionary funding. The LGBT community is in great need of senior housing for many of our aging population. Many seniors experience homophobia in senior facilities making them feel they must be closeted. Would you help with the funding of senior housing for the LGBT community in your district? Yes. If you are currently in office, have you made member item grants or supported LGBT funding requests? If seeking office for the first time, would you give strong consideration to LGBT social service organizations seeking funding from your office if elected? Yes What actions will you take to help support the LGBT community center in your borough? If there is not an LGBT community center in your borough, what actions will you take to help develop one? I consider the Manhattan LGBT Center to be a vital resource, and would support it through advocacy of continued funding.

Other: Please state concrete achievements for the LGBT community that you are responsible for in your current, or previous, elected office/s. n/a

Have you endorsed any LGBT candidates? Which ones? My Democratic club helped elect one of our members, Tony Cannataro, who is openly gay, to the Civil Court in 2011. I recently supported Brad Hoylman for State Senate. If endorsed will you display the endorsement of the Stonewall Democratic Club of NYC in your literature whenever you list other endorsements and will you display the endorsement on your website? Yes Will you hire openly LGBT staff and/or designate a liaison to our communities if elected? Yes