2013 City Council Candidate Questionnaire

Candidate Information Full Name: Antonio Reynoso Address: Personal Phone: Work Phone: Personal Email: District Information District #: 34 Are you an incumbent? No If yes, when were you first elected? Campaign Information From which parties are you seeking a nomination: Democrat, WFP Full Name of Campaign Committee: Friends of Antonio Reynoso Campaign HQ Address: HQ Phone: HQ Fax: Campaign Manager Name: Managers Cell: Managers Email:

Additional Candidate Information Endorsements List here the union, organizations (community, civic, media, issue groups), and elected officials that have endorsed you.

32BJ, 1199 SEIU, UFT, HTC, UFCW, CLC, RWDSU, UFOA, NOW, PSC, Speaker Christine Quinn, Comptroller John Liu, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, New Kings Democrats, LID, Candidate Experience - Please explain any activities and/or experiences that demonstrate your commitment to the LGBT movement. I have attended the Make the Road Bushwick Pride parade for the last 4 years. I also assited in the capture of the culprits of an attack on brothers who were presumed gay. One of the brothers was killed. I have been an adcocate of rights for all people my entire life and will continue to advocate on behalf of marginalized and opressed groups. - What experience do you have to demonstrate you are the best person to represent the district office you seek? I grew up in this neighborhood and began my career as a community organizer here. For the past 7 years I have advocated on behalf of the residents in this district as Council Member Reynas chief of staff. - Please detail any specific policy proposals you may have that will affect the LGBT community, that are not addressed in the next section.

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. I think discretionary funding should be used to fund and support community projects wherever there is a need.

What actions do you think the City Council should be taking to provide emergency housing for homeless people living with AIDS? As the homeless population in New York City continues to rise we need to be actively seeking out new ways to find permanent housing for people. We need to put pressure on our colleagues in state government and at the congressional level to provide additional funding and we need to ensure that people living with AIDS are cared for immediately. 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. We need to ensure that the LGBT community isnt facing undue scrutiny when applying for liquor licenses but there also needs to be an understanding that community concerns should be addressed before any new licenses are approved.
Please outline the criteria you would use in selecting Community Board members. I would have a demographically representative community board.

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? I would push for sensitivity training of all officers and would request swift and harsh penalties to any officers that use profiling as a tool to police. Do you support reforming Stop-and-Frisk? Please detail any specific changes to the program you believe are necessary. Yes, Stop and frisk has to be reformed and can not be considered as a primary tool of policing. Changes should include educating the

public on thier rights when stopped and training officers to not target any groups of people outside of specific requests regarding crimes. Do you oppose the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution in criminal cases? Please explain your support or opposition. I oppose the use of condoms as evidence of prostitution. This is an arcane law that needs to be changed immediately; this does nothing to make New York City a safer city and provides law enforcement with a tool that is only causing harm.

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? The sustainability of these sites should be of priority to the City Council. Funding to ensure the future of our youth should not be threatened by a weak economy. Given the current homlessness problem, sites for runaway youths should be expanded.

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? Yes, I will work to create new funding sources for the LGBT community. 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?

LGBT Services and 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? 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? Please explain your position. I am seeking office for the first time and I would work to provide LGBT services funding wherever there is a need. 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?

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

Have you endorsed any LGBT candidates? Which ones? Carlos Menchaca, Jimmy VanBramer, Danny Dromm and Rosie Mendez 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