NYPD arrests 10 HIV/AIDS activists outside Gracie Mansion on World AIDS Day

Housing Works held its 15th annual World AIDS Day observance on Dec. 1 with a 24 hour vigil at the southern end of City Hall Park in lower Manhattan.

A mere eight hours into that event, New York Police Department officers arrested Housing Works staff who had disrupted Mayor Michael Bloomberg's annual World AIDS Day breakfast at Gracie Mansion. President and chief executive officer Charles King and nine others staged a sit-in at the entrance of the mayor's unofficial (he actually lives in an Upper East Side townhouse) residence. The NYPD arrested all 10 protesters as they protested "People with AIDS under attack, what do we do? Act up, fight back!"

"Another World AIDS Day breakfast, another year of Bloomberg failing to address the needs of people living with HIV and AIDS," King said before his arrest. "We will not come here every Dec. 1 and pretend that the mayor cares about the well-being of New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS until he proves it with his budget and his policies."

Housing Works-along with New York City AIDS Housing Network, whose members marched on Gracie Mansion following the arrests, noted Bloomberg recently opposed a 30 percent rent cap for poor New Yorkers with HIV.

Housing Works spokesperson Diana Scholl noted all 10 protesters spent the night in jail "and went through the system--which doesn't always happen." Authorities released the first protesters from custody around 11 a.m. And the NYPD let the second group go around 2 p.m. on Dec. 2. A court date is pending.

The Gracie Mansion protest is not the first time Housing Works staffers have clashed with the Bloomberg administration in their ongoing efforts to raise awareness of issues surrounding AIDS funding. The NYPD arrested Housing Works members inside City Hall in May after they protested $10 million in proposed cuts to the city's AIDS services and $20 million in general public health initiatives.

The City Council later restored most of the funding the Bloomberg administration had proposed to cut--and Scholl asserted she feels the May protests and arrests had an impact on raising awareness and compelling city lawmakers to act.

"The protest was a turning point in getting the City Council to understand the severity of the cuts," she said.

Scholl further responded to a question about whether her organization's public protests potentially alienate the same politicians whose support they need.

"There are different styles of advocacy and activism," she said as she further noted Housing Works has always used a carrot and stick approach in which behind-the-scenes meetings work hand in hand with public protests. "Our [number one] goal is providing health care and housing for people with HIV/AIDS. We wouldn't engage in the use of those tactics if we thought they would in any way be detrimental to the people we serve."

Scholl, who added ACT-Up inspired her, stressed Housing Works will continue to stage public protests as part of its advocacy.

"The reason AIDS funding has gotten what it has is because people don't let go, it's so easily," she said. "When there are budget cuts, some say 'fine, we understand.' They're easy targets. When you fight, you may not get 100 percent of what you want; but you'll get more than when you sit back and let the cuts happen."