New York
Should a Straight Person Represent Stonewall’s City Council District?
For almost 40 years, a stretch of Manhattan’s West Side from Greenwich Village to Hell’s Kitchen has had a gay representative in the City Council, reflecting the district’s large L.G.B.T.Q. population and its role in history as the site of the Stonewall riots, a pivotal moment in the gay and transgender rights movement.
But a special election next Tuesday may see a straight person elevated to the Council seat for the first time in decades, after Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed Lindsey Boylan, an activist who was also the first woman to accuse former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of sexual harassment.
Mr. Mamdani’s endorsement has injected questions of ideology and identity into a contest that previously attracted little attention and raised questions about how important it is to the voters in the Council’s Third District, and to the city at large, to elect an L.G.B.T.Q. person to the seat.
It has also drawn the race into a broader conflict between Mr. Mamdani and Julie Menin, the Council speaker and a more moderate Democrat. Ms. Menin has endorsed Carl Wilson, a community activist and legislative aide who is gay.
Mr. Mamdani’s endorsement came just before the start of early voting and quickly elevated Ms. Boylan, a democratic socialist, in a contest that had previously been dominated by Mr. Wilson, who had secured a wide range of endorsements and said he planned to join the Council’s progressive caucus if elected.
The mayor’s decision to wade into the race has upset some gay activists, including Allen Roskoff, 76, who successfully pushed to create what he called a “gay winnable” Council seat in 1991.
“We want to continue honoring the people before us who did give their blood, sweat and tears to acquire this seat,” said Mr. Roskoff, whose late partner, Jim Owles, was a prominent activist who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in the area in 1973.
Mr. Roskoff has endorsed Mr. Wilson, but says he would not have done so if he did not believe him to be the best candidate.
“In this district we have someone eminently qualified, and our history needs to be respected,” Mr. Roskoff said. He added: “I don’t think a straight person can say, ‘I would represent you just as well.’ No. That’s not what representation is.”
Others, including Mr. Wilson himself, have pushed back, saying the focus should be on the candidates’ proposals and experience and not their sexual orientation.
“There have been wonderful queer people elected from the district over the last 30-some years,” said Cynthia Nixon, the actress and activist, who supports Ms. Boylan. “But I feel now and have always felt we should be voting for people not based on their identity, but based on who they are.”
Some have called the idea of a “gay seat” on the City Council reductive and patronizing to voters, especially in a city that now has many L.G.B.T.Q. elected officials.
“Hell’s Kitchen is an inclusive neighborhood of everybody — every race, every sexuality, every religion,” said Marisa Redanty, a community activist in that neighborhood.
Mr. Wilson and Ms. Boylan are competing to finish Erik Bottcher’s term, which lasts through December. Mr. Bottcher vacated his seat earlier this year when he was elected to the State Senate. The winner is expected to compete in the Democratic primary in June and the general election in November to serve a full term on the Council.
Two other heterosexual candidates, Leslie Boghosian Murphy and Layla Law-Gisiko, are also running but are considered long shots.
In an interview, Mr. Wilson said that while he thought it was “not a requirement” that the district be represented by an L.G.B.T.Q. person, “it’s an important perspective.”
“I am way more than just a gay candidate — way more,” said Mr. Wilson, who has deep relationships in the district and has worked as Mr. Bottcher’s chief of staff. “I’m also the candidate with the longest track record of on-the-ground service in this district and the experience to deliver from Day 1.”
Mr. Wilson and his supporters marked the first day of early voting last weekend with a “drag out the vote” event on Ninth Avenue, where local drag queens urged people to vote. Days later, he and Ms. Boylan both appeared in the West Village to commemorate the 60th anniversary of an important protest held at Julius’, a historic gay bar.
Ms. Boylan has responded to the debate over L.G.B.T.Q. representation delicately. In an interview, she said she would never “take away or diminish how anyone feels” about the prospect of replacing a gay council member with a straight one.
She has also pointed out that many issues, including affordability, affect people of all sexual orientations, especially in a district that includes some of the most expensive neighborhoods in the United States.
“About half of our residents are severely rent-burdened,” said Ms. Boylan. “It’s a real challenge to stay here.”
Ms. Nixon echoed that point, saying the Third District used to be “a much scrappier part of the city.”
“And a lot of those queer people have been priced out,” she added.
The mayor’s endorsement of Ms. Boylan came at a time when he needs allies on the Council. Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Menin have been engaged in a feud over a range of issues, including taxation and the budget.
When he endorsed Ms. Boylan, Mr. Mamdani praised her as a leader who shared his vision of New York’s future, and noted her courage in speaking out against the former governor.
“As we work to usher in a new era in our city’s politics and advance our affordability agenda,” Mr. Mamdani said, “I need partners in the work like Lindsey.”
A spokesman for the mayor, responding to controversy over the endorsement, said in a statement on Thursday that Mr. Mamdani’s “commitment to the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community is clear, as is his record on the issue: establishing the first Mayor’s Office of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Affairs, naming director Taylor Brown as the first and highest-ranking transgender leader in the history of the city’s government and supporting numerous queer candidates over the years.”
Ms. Menin is very invested in the outcome of the race and has begun soliciting funds for Mr. Wilson’s campaign, according to someone familiar with the outreach.
Before Mr. Mamdani made his endorsement, Mr. Wilson had secured the backing of influential local political clubs and labor unions, as well as elected officials including Representative Jerrold Nadler, whose district overlaps with the Council district, and the city comptroller, Mark Levine.
He has also received the backing of outside groups headed by influential Democrats, including Greg Goldner, the campaign manager for Mr. Cuomo’s mayoral bid.
Representative Nydia Velázquez, who represents parts of Brooklyn and Queens and has been in her own conflict with Mr. Mamdani over who should succeed her when she retires at the end of her term, has backed Mr. Wilson.
A former actor who lives in a walk-up rental on 10th Avenue, Mr. Wilson helped start a political club in the district, the Hell’s Kitchen Democrats, and served on the local community board before going to work for Mr. Bottcher.
Ms. Boylan rose to prominence as the first of a number of women to accuse Mr. Cuomo of sexual harassment, allegations he has denied but that nevertheless led to his resignation in 2021.
Since then, she has run unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020 and Manhattan borough president in 2021. She campaigned for Mr. Mamdani last year and joined the Democratic Socialists of America after he won the Democratic mayoral primary.
Mr. Mamdani defeated Mr. Cuomo in both that race and the general election last November. The mayor’s decision to endorse Ms. Boylan is widely seen as suggesting some lingering animosity toward Mr. Cuomo.
The debate over the district has highlighted the vast changes in New York and across the country since the election in 1991, when the place of L.G.B.T.Q. people in society was different.
Outspoken homophobia was widespread, there was little public understanding that transgender people existed, and the AIDS crisis was at its peak, with more than 30,000 New Yorkers dying of the disease in 1991 alone.
Today, there are many elected L.G.B.T.Q. officials in New York, including Representative Ritchie Torres, who represents parts of the Bronx in Congress, and Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the Manhattan borough president.
The City Council has several L.G.B.T.Q. members, including one gay Republican and gay Democrats from districts once seen as unwinnable for gay candidates.
Chi Ossé, 28, the co-chairman of the Council’s L.G.B.T.Q. caucus and ally of Mr. Mamdani’s, said he thought the debate over gay and transgender representation extended far beyond the Third District now.
For example, he said, he did not think a gay candidate could have won in his Brooklyn district 40 years ago.
“Decades ago, this was one of the only seats, if not the only seat, where a gay candidate could run and win,” he said. “But that has certainly changed.”
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, the rabbi emeritus of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, an L.G.B.T.Q. synagogue in Chelsea, has worked closely with each of the district’s council members since the early 1990s.
She said it was “really thrilling” when Tom Duane became the first gay candidate elected to represent the area in 1991. A vocal supporter of both Mr. Mamdani and Ms. Menin, she has endorsed Mr. Wilson.
“I think now it is less important whether or not Carl is gay than the values and perspectives he has,” Rabbi Kleinbaum said. “I think it’s great that he’s gay. I think we need to have that as part of the mix, but it’s not the only issue.”
Sally Goldenberg contributed reporting.
How can people possibly afford to live in one of the most expensive cities on the planet? It’s a question New Yorkers hear a lot, often delivered with a mix of awe, pity and confusion.
We surveyed hundreds of New Yorkers about how they spend, splurge and save. We found that many people — rich, poor or somewhere in between — live life as a series of small calculations that add up to one big question: What makes living in New York worth it?
Weixun Hu enjoys what might sound like the ultimate professional perk. New Yorkers pay some of the country’s highest taxes on their income, more than $12,000 on average per person between state and local governments. But Mr. Hu’s income tax this year? $0.
That’s because Mr. Hu, 32, who was born in Guangzhou, China, conducts social development research at an international organization, where most employees are exempt from national income taxes or reimbursed for the cost. His gross and net income are one in the same; he earns roughly $110,000 after his insurance and pension contributions.
Mr. Hu became one of New York City’s 3.1 million foreign-born residents nearly three years ago, after reassignment from a post in Bangkok in the summer of 2023. But he quickly ran into a hurdle: finding an apartment with no credit history, no tax returns and no one to co-sign a lease.
“It sounds very cool that you don’t pay taxes,” Mr. Hu said. “It also creates a lot of problems.”
He discovered that many of his co-workers landed in a handful of pricey residential developments including Stuyvesant Town. Yet renting there felt worlds apart from Thailand’s capital city, where a luxury studio in a high-rise condo with a rooftop infinity pool and premium gym might run $600 per month.
So he found a studio in Long Island City, Queens, where he has in-unit laundry and falls asleep to the sound of waves hitting the shore near Hunters Point South. His employer subsidizes $700 of his $3,900 rent, and utilities and internet cost about $150 monthly.
“It’s much better value compared to renting in Manhattan,” he said.
Saving for Tomorrow
A good deal of young adults in New York City don’t know how to drive, and expect to remain renters for most of their lives. Not Mr. Hu.
He puts away $2,000 or so a month into a high-yield savings account, aspiring to buy a car. His sights are set on a Mazda CX-5. But he expects he’ll need to pay upfront in cash, another consequence of lacking a credit or tax history — and it’ll take about three more years to build up enough.
Eventually, he wants to own a home. “I know most people in New York City don’t care,” he said. “But for me, it’s very important.”
Mr. Hu also supports his parents in their retirement, sending about $3,000 every three months. As their only child, he feels both a sense of guilt for living about 8,000 miles from home — and an obligation to pay them back for their sacrifices.
“People will say, ‘Oh, you’re single. You don’t have a wife. You don’t have kids,’” he said. “‘So all your money is yours.’”
“And I’m like, ‘Excuse me, my parents are still alive.’”
In other ways, though, Mr. Hu fits the profile of an everyday bachelor: He rarely cooks meals at home. “My oven is basically storage space.”
Rather, he searches for affordable deals on Too Good To Go, a popular app where restaurants sell excess food at a discounted price. His No. 1 spot is Chinese Musician in Greenpoint, which offers a three-course meal for $9.
Sometimes, Mr. Hu does the $16 tonkotsu ramen at Nishida Sho-ten on 49th Street for lunch, an $8 lamb over rice meal for dinner from the halal truck in front of Bellevue Hospital or a hot dog for $3.25 from Gray’s Papaya. He’ll swing by the Dollar General in Astoria to stock up on his favorite drink, Coca-Cola Orange Cream.
And he saves up for an upscale dining experience every couple of months. He recently feasted at the Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud’s steakhouse, La Tête d’Or, where he spent roughly $300 and ordered what he called the standout filet mignon.
The Lions Over the Knicks
For any sports buff, it’s an incredible time to live in New York City.
But for Mr. Hu, ticket prices to see the Knicks play at Madison Square Garden felt “a little bit off-putting” — and that was even before their championship run. So he started religiously following basketball at Columbia, going to games that often run $10 to $12 on the Morningside Heights campus.
Yankees games, where a 400-level seat might run $45, are a no; he opts to watch the Columbia Lions up close at Robertson Field in Inwood without charge.
He is willing to spend up to about $300 on some singular sports showdowns. He can still recall how Kylian Mbappé flew down the field at MetLife Stadium during a Real Madrid match against Borussia Dortmund last summer.
Typically, though, he elects for low- or no-cost events like this spring’s edition of the Madison Avenue Gallery Walk.
And he regularly joins free lectures at the Asia Society, where he has a complimentary membership through his employer, and at local universities like N.Y.U., where he’s met the minds behind two of his favorite video games, The Elder Scrolls and Monument Valley.
A Sense of Wanderlust
Ever since Mr. Hu can recall, he’s felt a magnetic pull to experience the world. And few things embody such a yearning as aviation.
He sometimes goes to Canarsie to watch planes land at Kennedy International Airport, studying the way pilots pull up the nose of their aircrafts and slow the descent before touching down. He’s even found others who share his passion on walks in the neighborhood.
And traveling draws him even closer to his hobby.
He spent $4,400 on a trip to Guangzhou last June to fly for the first time in an Airbus A380, the only full-length double-deck aircraft in the world. Qatar Airways is one of the few airlines that still has an active fleet — so Mr. Hu arranged his trip by way of Doha.
“Some people treat it as bragging,” he said. “But no, it’s just to admire such an incredible machine that’s very rare to be seen these days.”
“It’s a weird, niche hobby, but I’m happy spending my money on it.”
As a young man living in his seventh country — after Belgium, China, Italy, Poland, Thailand and the United Kingdom — he appreciates that as “a foreigner in this city, you don’t have to worry about whether you stand out.”
He’s relished exploring from Crown Heights to Jackson Heights, taking the train to a random stop and popping into bodegas to chat up the owners. He considers Staten Island — and its Chinese Scholar’s Garden in Snug Harbor where adult admission costs $5 — to be a hidden gem.
And when he boarded the U.S.S. Bataan during a past Fleet Week, he felt obliged to tell a Marine that he was Chinese. “He said: ‘Oh, no worries at all. Everybody can be an American’.”
“To be honest, I still don’t think it’s a value option for the money,” Mr. Hu said of New York City. “But there’s something so unique, and I think it’s that inclusiveness.”
“You don’t need to go to the world,” he said. “The world comes to you.”
We are talking to New Yorkers about how they spend, splurge and save.
Welcome to the Metropolitan Diary challenge, part of our 50th anniversary celebration for a column that, by design, could only have gotten this far with readers’ contributions. Metropolitan Diary is a weekly collection of New York experiences that capture the essence of this remarkable metropolis at its best — and it is composed entirely of submissions from readers sharing short personal stories.
In the next two days, the plan is to help you carry us to the 100-year mark. We want your New York story! Today, we’ll help you jog your memory to find a good one. Tomorrow, we’ll offer tips for how to turn it into a great written submission.
Metropolitan Diary is a grab bag with one constant: Every story is set in the city. Odd snippets overheard on the street; snappy comebacks from waiters; random encounters with strangers that illuminate human kindness; and, of course, the occasional celebrity sighting. It’s all column fodder.
So what’s your Metropolitan Diary story? First, a few basic parameters: It must be true, something you saw or experienced firsthand and be a tale you can tell in no more than 300 words (we are quite strict about that). We keep politics, and pretty much anything else that could be divisive, out. Also, nothing vulgar and, generally, no “kids say the darndest things.” Again, when we say “Metropolitan,” we really do mean a story about New York City.
Beyond that, it’s up to you. It’s almost certainly true that the submissions we wind up publishing begin with something that stuck in the author’s head for whatever reason — for a day, a week or 20 years — and made them think, “that’s New York to me.” It’s something you can’t wait to share with a partner, parent or friend over coffee or drinks. And very often, it’s something that others can easily relate to because there is something familiar in the details.
A story like this may already be in the back of your mind or on the tip of your tongue. If you’re unsure of how to begin the process of writing it down, consider these durable Diary categories as potential starting points. Here are some popular standbys:
Getting From One Place to Another
New York’s mass transit system, that great urban unifier, is a reliable source of items. Virtually everyone rides the subway or buses. Do you recall something funny that happened on the train? Ever see something unexpected during your daily commute? Did running late (or early) put you in a spot to meet someone you otherwise wouldn’t have?
The Kindness of Strangers
Did a stranger ever do you a good deed or vice versa?
Nostalgic Places
Do you have a memory of a special moment tied to one of the city’s well-known landmarks or neighborhoods? Is there a particular room at the Met or a favorite diner in Queens where you once had a memorable encounter?
Memorable Lines
Do you still laugh about something you overheard a passer-by say? Did a waitress or counterman ever respond to your order with a snappy comeback dripping with New York attitude?
Did these stories remind you of anything? Spend some time today thinking about it. Once you have some ideas, jot them down. Come back tomorrow for Day 2 of the Metropolitan Diary challenge and we’ll help you develop one of them into a full story.
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