My New York: Hot subway tranny mess

Caught this at one of Manhattan's subway stations. Embedded in the subway tiles for posterity perhaps to record the wobegone days of the 80's and early 90's West Side meatpacking district (I guess?). It's housed at the Spring Street R/N/Q subway station and designed by artist Janet Zweig (h/t Splog).

My New York: Subway Condoms - New York to the core?

So, with much fanfare, the New York City Department of Health launched a free condom initiative today which happens to be St. Valentine's Day. I'm not so sure they were inspired by this but kudos to them.

Find out where to get some here.

The City, it must be said, had already instituted a free condom give away program, but they say that this is the first time that a city has commissioned its own condom brand. As for their claims that the condoms are "New York to the core?" Hm...

The Gothamist already pointed out that the letter coloring does not match all the true subway line colors (they also got some YouTube action of this morning's launch).

But proof is in the packaging: Turn the condom package around and you see that the "New York to the core" condom is actually a product of... Malaysia?

Cool thing is, I got 'til 2011 to use it! Yay!

My New York: Meanwhile, on the No. 6 to Harlem...

Yesterday's ride on the No. 6 train to Harlem. Hat tip to Modern Monk. Photo by sgoralnick. More by kenyee. An explanation here.

My New York: I am gay (and this is where I stay)

So walking down the still muggy subway platform station as I made my way to work yesterday morning, I just had to stop and take the picture above: "I AM GAY, and this is where I stay."

Well, ok!

Of course I got a little bit closer and was surprised to see that the subway poster was actually part of a campaign funded by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) called "The Campaign for Black Gay Men's Lives" and developed under contracy by Better World Advertising to "respond differently to HIV."

Now, this is old news, apparently, as I see that the campaing launch actually took place back in April. Perhaps it took a few months for the posters to make it to Queens subway stations? In any case, it's refreshing to see a campaign targetting African-American communities in New York City that proactively affirms the value of black gay men's lives in this city.

Three years ago, we did a series of similar ads in Spanish-language newspapers in New York City with not nearly as much money and without access to an advertising firm. In the ads, we featured Latino gays and lesbians from all walks of life talking about their identity, their nationality and their connection to Latino communities throughout New York City (the first such ads to run in the country, I believe).

Perhaps in the future we can also get the same level of support for a wider campaign.

All in all, the ad left me feeling optimistic, for the first time in ages, that HIV prevention among people of color communities in the city might be entering a new, more effective stage. And that would be great news for all.

Updates: From the Vacilón to Luisma

Looking at past blog posts, I thought that it might be time to bring people up to date on some of the postings:

In Spanish Media No Longer Immune (Sat., Aug. 13, 2005) I commented on the rampant homophobia (and AIDS-phobia) that exists in Spanish-language radio and on past skits performed during one of New York City's top listened radio station, La Mega, and their morning show "El Vacilón de la Mañana" (in one a man sings about getting raped the night before and how he pines for more of the same, in another a man is told that he might have AIDS and might die in hours if he doesn't seek medical help, and in another a 5 year old kid whose dad called the station is encouraged to tell dirty and homophobic jokes on air). Undaunted by anyone or anything, subway posters started appearing this summer announcing an upcoming "Vacilón" movie with the legend "Con La Mega No Se Juega" (Don't play games with La Mega). Well, the movie's out and has been generally panned by all the reviews I have read (not that this was unexpected). Unfortunately, those listeners are certainly flocking to the movie screens as today's New York Times reports (the Times mentions some of the bawdiness but doesn't detail any of the truly offensive stuff that they put out there).

In "Argentina a Goo-Goo" (August 19, 2005), I reported on how Argentina was in thrall about a gay couple, Andrew and Martin Farach-Colton, and their twins. The couple, who currently live in New York but were mulling a move to Argentina, are already back in New York and were thrilled when they saw the posting on my blog. I have referred the Farach-Coltons to the Spanish-language newspaper Hoy for a possible upcoming article and will be having lunch soon with them as my schedule and theirs allow. It's actually a great story and I was glad to write about it here first.

In Another Gay Man Murdered (September 13, 2005), I commented on a story in El Diario La Prensa (and a blurb in the NY Times) about Oswaldo Hernandez, a gay Latino man who was stabbed to death in Washington Heights. Alas, there are no updates to give. Just another murder of a gay man that becomes a blip in the city's consciousness.

In Jass Stewart Update: On to the Nov. 8th Runoff Election (September 21, 2005), I spoke of the exciting mayoral race happening in Brockton, MA, where Jass Stewart might be poised to become Brockton's first gay mayor. This week, the campaign sent out messages requesting support for Jass's campaign. Even if you can donate $25 to the campaign, it will be much appreciated. To find out more about Jass go here.

Finally, in Luisma: 275 pounds of love, pure testosterone (October 17, 2005), we introduced you to Luisma Molinari, a big chunk of goofy Argentinian beef, and the ad he did for a car maker. No, we still have not been able to confirm is that is his real name or if he really plays for an Argentinian rugby team but it took RuggerJohnnyD (a new addition to my Personal List at the right of this column) to point out that, yes, there are links to outtakes of the commercial in the ad site. Just go here and click on "Mira el comercial" (watch the commercial). As the commercial loads, you can actually click on 5 short outtakes on the bottom of the screen. For a translation of the original ad, please click on the Luisma link above. For translation of the outtakes, get a Spanish-speaking friend to watch them with you.

That NYC subway terrorist threat...

By now, you have probably heard that one, possibly three Iraqui men were reported to be in the New York City, to push baby carriages filled with explosives down the crowded subway stations of New York City last Sunday, it being a Jewish holiday and all. 'Cept, none of it was true.

This had us waking up on Friday to a live CNN feed from Penn Station showing unidentified government security personnel wearing bright-yellow anti-bioterrorism hazmat suits while they prodded at something or other at one of the station's entrances.

Mind you, trains were apparently on schedule and train boarders just stood there with their morning coffee cups and bagels, staring non-chalantly at the bizarre scene. One thing is for sure, those New Yorkers certainly do their reputation proud: Logic would dictate that the lack of evacuation might mean that, dude, it was too late to evacuate! Then again, logic doesn't necessarily define Naw Yawker's attitudes. Bioterrorist threat? Fogettabaudit!

Yet, the reason why some of us were actually concerned - and this is something that I haven't seen mentioned in the developing bru-ha-ha about whether Mayor Bloomberg should have warned the public (despite the apparent flimsy evidence and on election debate night, non-the-less) - is that Bloomberg had always shown restraint in the past about similar terrorist warnings since 9/11.

While the nation as a whole was being terrorized by the Department of Homeland Security's fluctuating 'terror color code' scheme, Bloomberg kept calm and sometimes even contradicted some of the dire warnings coming from DC. So when Bloomberg decided to go public with the recent threats, he was banking on that sort of restrained credibility.

Some political consultants are 'shocked' that Bloomberg's Thursday press conference is being called into question and are using the ol' Bush trick of raising doubts about the patriotism of those who dare to ask.

Personally, I am glad that Bloomberg went public with the warning BUT he would have been better served if he had aknowledged from the start that the evidence was flimsy instead of 'credible.' As a result, any questions raised are totally on the mark. Specially since it appears the terror threats did wonders to increase the lead between Bloomberg and Ferrer as you will find out in this morning's newspapers.

My New York - And a Detour

69th Street R Train Station - Queens

On a related subject... maybe we should also talk about sex.