Here is an outstanding article from Andy Humm at the Gotham Gazette that takes a close look at member item funding from City Council members that goes to organizations that promote a religion and discriminate against certain groups such as gays or women. The article cites a number of examples, including a St. Patrick's Day committee in the Bronx funded by Councilman James Vacca, and explores the moral and legal issues raised by such appropriations.
The councilperson counters by funding the Mermaid Parade. Or, Vacca can get a backbone and counter the Member Item Funding review by saying that Women's shelters should not overwhelm any one district, because it is only for women. Councilpedia has exposed the beneficiaries of Member Items. So if a developer or organization heavily donates to a councilperson's campaign and shelters start overwhelming a district, the focus can expose that discrimination as well.
ReplyDeleteBut, I suspect these kinds of reviews are to keep Vacca sitting quietly down.
Another anti-Catholic rant with no legal basis. The AOH does not preclude gays from marching in the parade - it does not allow a Gay organization to march. There is a big difference. The group in questions has an agenda that the AOH does not want to promote. The AOH has never made anti-gay statements, to call them a discriminatory organization is a misrepresentation and unfair. Faye is an attention whore who used the AOH to raise his profile - its well documented that he cried discrimination after his intial request for the group to march despite the several year long waiting list for new groups to join the parade. There are many organizations that the AOH does not want to affiliate itself with, including some Irish Republican groups. Say what you want about them, they are consistent - just ask the firefighters they moved in the line of the march for not adhering to the groups requirements to march in its private parade. They also refused to allow a Bloody Sunday commemoration a few years back. No mention of that in the article. If you check out the member item lists there are so many religious based organizations getting funds, I have to question why the author signals out a private group whose members are catholic.
ReplyDeleteCouncil Member James Vacca is an excellent city legislator with an enviable record except for that UNFORGIVABLE and SELF-SERVING about-face he did on term limits.
ReplyDelete