Zoom rally calls for end to ‘Walking while Trans’ ban
BY DEAN MOSES
Transgender New Yorkers
and local elected offi cials
banded together on Dec.
3 for a virtual rally calling for
the repeal of an anti-loitering law
that’s come to be known as the
“Walking While Trans” ban.
On the books since 1974,
transgender advocates say the
statute under Penal Law Code
Section 240.37 gives police
offi cers the authority to disproportionately
target transgender
residents under the guise of
preventing prostitution. People
can be detained and/or arrested
for the length of one’s skirt or if a
bra strap is visible, leaving many
in the LGBTQ community to feel
unsafe simply walking through
the city streets.
Prior to a City Council Committee
on Women and Gender
Equality hearing Thursday on
two resolutions calling for the
“Walking While Trans” ban’s
repeal, Council Member Carlina
Rivera and the Walking While
Trans Ban Coalition hosted a
press conference through Zoom,
allowing those it affects and lawmakers,
who plan to vote on the
TS Candii, founder of the Black Trans Nation,
leads the discussion.
bill, the opportunity to air their
grievances.
TS Candii, the founder of Black
Trans Nation, led the discussion
and shared her experiences as
an advocate and witness to the
atrocities occurring under this
law.
“I am happy that we are fi nally
holding a hearing on these important
resolutions. We can build a
real momentum to get this law
removed at the state level,” TS
Candii said. “It is unacceptable
that in our city, in our state, after
the year we just experienced,
that New York State still permits
police to target New Yorkers
solely for their gender expression,
and frankly their existence.
Council Member Carlina Rivera hosted the Zoom
rally with The Walking While Trans Ban Coalition.
The “Walking While Trans”
Ban must be repealed, and New
Yorkers who have been previously
prosecuted deserve to have their
records sealed.”
In attendance were several
elected offi cials who each highlighted
how this law further
oppresses the Black and Latino
communities, and that the pandemic
has revealed the extreme
disparities that they already face.
Many Transgender individuals face
discrimination when applying for
jobs, and speakers shared how this
law exacerbates social stigmas.
Over a year ago, Rivera introduced
council resolutions calling
to repeal the “Walking While
Trans” Ban.
“For years this law has been
used by police offi cers to arbitrarily
single out and arrest people
suspected of prostitution and has
specifi cally been used to discriminatorily
target Black and Latino
trans communities,” Rivera said,
describing how offi cers profi le
these individuals in low-income
neighborhoods when they are
simply socializing.
“A single violation under this
law can follow someone for the
rest of their lives. It is one of
only two violations in the entire
state penal code that can never
be sealed. That could lead to the
denial of a green card, public
housing, or other critical lifesaving
benefi ts,” Rivera added.
The hearing will discuss two
City Council resolutions in support
of state legislation sponsored
by State Senator Brad Hoylman
and Assemblywoman Amy
Paulin: Resolution 923, which
would repeal the “Walking While
Trans” ban (New York State Assembly
bill A.654 and Senate bill
S.2253), and Resolution 1444,
calling to retroactively seal any
prior violations or convictions
under the “Walking While Trans”
ban.
TS Candii candidly shared that
this issue is not just something she
champions in her spare time. It
is a passion, expressing her personal
feelings on the effects of
the “Walking While Trans” ban is
not something that she can simply
cast aside.
“I can’t turn this off. I can’t
exist this Zoom and not have to
worry about the fear of walking
down the street. I have to fear life.
I have to fear the world because
of my truth, because of who I am.
My choice to live with happiness,
and due to fashion criminalization,
the Black transgender
women, and the state being a
one-sided state has done nothing
but kill us,” she said.
BY DEAN MOSES
On the eve of New York
City’s public elementary
schools reopening,
members of the #KeepNYCSchoolsOpen
movement rallied
in the shadow of City Hall on
Dec. 6 to demand that the doors
be reopened at the cities’ middle
schools and high schools.
Made up of parents, students,
and some teachers, over 40 demonstrators
crowded City Hall Park
on a frigid Sunday afternoon to
express their concerns to the Mayor.
The public address focused
on de Blasio’s decision to solely
open elementary schools on Dec.
7; all public school buildings were
closed on Nov. 19, as the city’s
COVID-19 7-day positivity rate
exceeded 3% for the fi rst time in
months, with classes shifted to
online instruction.
“We are here because almost
four weeks ago, over 300,000
New York City students were taking
some sort of hybrid education
in-schools throughout New York
City. We waited and we watched
Rally outside of City Hall to re-open schools
for middle and high school students
as we inched closer to the 3%
arbitrary number that was said to
have schools closed,” said Carly
Maready, one of the organizers
of the event, sharing her dismay
with the way in which the mayor
handled the recent school closures
through an obtuse tweet.
About 150,000 students who
opted for in-person learning are
left in limbo while waiting for the
mayor to share a plan for middle
and high school students.
Angered by the mayor’s “lack of
leadership,” individuals of all ages
touted signs reading, “Technology
is not a teacher,” “#OpenSchools,
We are not spreaders, K-12,” “All
I want for X-Mas is for Schools
to be open,” and “We cannot
abandon our teens.” This was accompanied
by chants of “Reopen
our schools!”
Protesters took turns sharing
their feelings on the temporary
termination of in-person learning
The rally in City Hall Park was made up of Students, parents,
and teachers
for grades 6-12, with even students
airing their grievances.
“For the fi rst few weeks it was
like one long snow day. Now, nine
months later I wake up at 9:56 for
my 10am class,” said LizaGreenberg,
a middle schooler. “Most
days I only have three classes,
45 minutes each. On the days we
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
used to go into school, I now have
a single class period. Our teachers
are rightly known as some of the
best in the city, and they are doing
everything they can to keep our
classes interesting and hold us
together, but remote classes are
just quicker to get boring. There
is no incentive to pay attention.”
Many of the children shared
that they miss the social interactions,
the team art projects, and
the simple act of eating lunch
together. Now, much of their days
consist of sitting in front of a computer
screen while participating in
class and homework assignments
on an endless loop.
Nation-wide, similar rallies are
being held to keep schools open
during the pandemic since some
parents and educators feel that
students are being left behind in
their studies. In New York City
alone, there are about 145,000
students who have chosen inperson
learning.
Some feel that schools are
operating safely and have a low
transmission rate, and yet the
mayor has not shared a plan for
reopening for grades 6-12. The
rally pushes for the Mayor’s decision
to be inline with medical and
public health experts.
12 December 10, 2020 Schneps Media