LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/ CUNY

Coming Out on Univision: Maritza Martinez, Latina Lesbian Activist in Queens, 1990s

Activists Daniel Dromm and Maritza Martinez co-founded the Queens Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee in 1992. Under their leadership, the committee organized and raised funds for the inaugural Queens Pride Parade and Festival in 1993. Martinez, a Cuban-American originally from Miami, was one of the first lesbian Latinas to speak openly to the Hispanic community in Jackson Heights about “coming out of the closet” and “being proud of who you are.”  In the following clip, she reflects about coming out very publicly on Univision, the American Spanish language broadcast television network.

Daniel Dromm: Queens Pride Parade fundraising in gay bars

In this 2-minute clip Council Member Daniel Dromm talks about fundraising for the first Queens Pride Parade.

Stephen Joseph: AIDS and the Needle Exchange

Stephen Joseph was commissioner of health of New York City from 1986-1990. Already considered one of the most challenging public health jobs in the United States, Joseph took the position when New York City was at the epicenter of the AIDS crisis. While Joseph was supported by the Koch Administration, he faced opposition from the public and activists over issues such as disease reporting, contract tracing, education, and the needle exchange. In this podcast, Joseph discusses his support of the needle exchange as a means to stem the spread of AIDS amongst intravenous drug users and the subsequent public resistance to the program. ​

 

This oral history with Dr. Joseph was conducted by students at LaGuardia Community College as a part of the Koch Scholars program run by the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. You can read the transcript in its entirety here: http://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/FILES_DOC/Koch_FILES/ORAL_HISTORY/08.100.0039V0039.PDF

 

Stephen Joseph: New York vs San Francisco

Stephen Joseph was commissioner of health of New York City from 1986-1990. Already considered one of the most challenging public health jobs in the United States, Joseph took the position when New York City was at the epicenter of the AIDS crisis. While Joseph was supported by the Koch Administration, he faced opposition from the public and activists over issues such as disease reporting, contract tracing, education, and the needle exchange. In this podcast, Joseph discusses the differences between the New York and the San Francisco models and the political implications of estimating the numbers of people infected with the AIDS virus. Joseph details what he considers the pivotal moment in the rupture between the gay community and the Koch Administration.  

 

This oral history with Dr. Joseph was conducted by students at LaGuardia Community College as a part of the Koch Scholars program run by the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives. You can read the transcript in its entirety here: 

http://www.laguardiawagnerarchive.lagcc.cuny.edu/FILES_DOC/Koch_FILES/ORAL_HISTORY/08.100.0039V0039.PDF

The Knapp Commission: Jay Kriegel and Mike Armstrong

In what TheNew York Times today has labeled, “one of the most significant roundups ofpolice supervisors in the recent history of the police department,” the U.S.Attorney for the Southern District has arrested 3 NYPD commanders on federalcorruption charges. The commanders are accused of accepting free overseas anddomestic trips, expensive gifts and sending security business to a privatecompany in exchange for acting as chauffeur, bodyguard and concierge to twobusinessmen.

Theseallegations echo those uncovered by the Knapp Commission in 1970, whichrevealed a far broader and enduring corruption scandal by the policedepartment.  Listen to the recentlyrecorded podcast by The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives with Michael Armstrong,Chief Counsel to the Commission, and Jay Kriegel, Chief of Staff and SpecialCounsel to Mayor John V. Lindsay as they discuss their own memorable roles inthe Commission.  Moreover, they discussthe political climate surrounding the Commission, the roles of PoliceCommissioner Murphy and Leary, and the oftentimes bizarre, even violent, natureof police corruption itself.

Sam Roberts on Labor History

Sam Roberts of the New York Times speaks on labor history at the unveiling of the 2016 Working People calendar, outlining important labor milestones from the Tompkins Square Blood or Bread Riot of 1874 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of 1911 to the more recent Occupy Wall Street movement and formation of the Working Families Party.  Roberts notes the steep decline in unionization and the importance of labor unions in NY history and political culture.  The 2016 Working People calendar is produced in partnership between the City University of New York, the New York Times in Education program and the New York City Central Labor Council, and is designed by the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives of the LaGuardia Community College.

Professor Richard K. Lieberman: Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

At the launch party of CUNY's 2011 Health in America calendar, Professor Richard K. Lieberman, director of the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives, described the horrible details of the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire that killed 146 mostly Italian and Jewish young females. This fire sparked public outrage over unsafe working conditions and led New York State to establish a Factory Investigating Commission, which toured factories throughout the state and recommended dozens of new laws to safeguard workers, 36 of which were ultimately passed.

Dr. June Jackson Christmas: Sydenham Hospital

Dr.June Jackson Christmas, a psychiatrist, was the first African-American womanappointed Commissioner of the New York City Department Health and MentalRetardation Services by Mayor Lindsay in 1972. She was re-appointed by MayorsBeame and Koch, and sat on the Board of the Health and Hospitals Corporation,the city agency that operates Municipal Hospitals and neighborhood family carecenters.  

Inthis podcast, Dr. Christmas discusses the symbolic importance of Sydenham Hospitalas the first integrated not-for-profit hospital in the city to the blackcommunity in Harlem. Dr. Christmas was forced to support the controversial closingof the hospital in 1980 saying “I had orders to support the closing becausethat was the city policy.” However, she offered alternatives for the hospital’sfuture that were rejected.  

Openedin 1925 as a private hospital, Sydenham was the only place black doctors hadadmitting privileges. By the time Sydenham was taken over by the city in 1949, whenit went into bankruptcy, black doctors were slowly able to admit patients inmore hospitals across the city.  

Duringthe 1970s New York City fiscal crisis, Sydenham was one of the four hospitals designatedto close in order to save the newer hospitals in the Health and HospitalsCorporation system. New York State cited Sydenham, high maintenance costs and itsdifficulty complying with newer hospital codes.

Protestorsopposed the closing of Sydenham citing a public health concern that the nearesthospital, Harlem Hospital was 12 blocks away and often operated at full capacity.Much opposition came from union members over the loss of jobs, although anagreement between the City and Federal Government stipulated that workers wouldbe moved to other health facilities across the city.

Todaythe former Sydenham hospital is a 10- story building housing the elderly andhandicapped. Mayor Koch has since admitted that he was wrong to close thehospital and failed to see the symbolism for the Harlem community.

The Great Snow Storm of 1969

Sid Davidoff was administrative assistant to Mayor John V. Lindsay for seven years.  Jay Kriegel was Lindsay’s Chief of Staff and Special Counsel.  They were widely considered two of the Mayor’s top personal aides.  In this oral history, Davidoff and Kriegel reveal the inside story of the great snowstorm of 1969.  It was one of the biggest snowfalls of the 20^th century in New York City.  When Mayor Lindsay went to visit Queens after the snowfall he was confronted with impassable streets and angry residents.  The city’s failure to clear the streets in Queens convinced many middle class white New Yorkers in the outer boroughs that the mayor was not interested in them or their problems.  Davidoff explains that sanitation workers (who are also responsible for clearing the snow in New York), still angry with Mayor Lindsay over the sanitation strike the year before, purposefully left the snow unplowed in parts of Queens.  Kriegel explores practical failures of the city’s response and how the storm transformed snow from a weather event to a political issue for mayors of New York ever since.  

Alice and Bill Havlena

Alice and Bill Havlena talk about their experiences with health, healthcare, and access to food during the Great Depression. This oral history was conducted in 1987.