➤ BROOKLYN HOSPITAL CENTER, from p.8
Still, Asarian later found out about
Jensen’s sexual orientation and
“targeted and demeaned him because
he was gay,” according to the
suit.
In one of Jensen’s examples, he
pointed to a time when he was returning
to work after nursing a
case of strep throat. He said he was
met with a verbal onslaught of homophobia
when Dr. Sandeep Sirsi,
the associate program director,
along with a chief resident probed
him with questions about “how his
‘gonoherpesyphilis’ was” and joked
that Jensen was HIV-positive.
In November of 2017, Jensen
said another chief resident threatened
him physically. The suit also
alleges that doctor told Jensen via
a text message that “Dr. Asarian
stands for the same principles I
➤ #WALKAWAY LAWSUIT, from p.8
TV networks. Public fi gures bear
a higher burden of proof against
those they accuse under libel and
defamation law. Green described
the nature of the fi ling by the
plaintiffs’ attorneys as “shocking.”
The plaintiffs’ legal team, led
by Manny Alicandro and Richard
Zarco, invoked the cyberbullying
charges and said their clients were
falsely accused of being transphobic
and anti-Semitic simply because
they have different political
views. They also charged that in
cancelling the event, the Center
impugned their clients as posing
“an impending danger” to those
using the West 13th Street facility.
They argued that their clients
posed no such danger to the community
and that the defendants
were simply trying to “stifl e any
speech they didn’t agree with.”
The Center’s legal team, led
by Kevin Loftus, a partner at
O’Connor, McGuinness, Conte,
Doyle, Oleson, Watson & Loftus,
sought to poke holes in the accusations
by arguing that there was
no discrimination on the basis of
anyone being gay and that, in any
event, the allegations against the
Center must include evidence of
intent.
The Center’s attorneys then cited
Straka’s tweets dismissing nonbinary
identities to justify cancelling
the event, calling the rhetoric
“unacceptable” to the institution’s
do,” which Jensen interpreted as
meaning that the chief resident’s
hostility toward Jensen was motivated
by homophobia and was approved
by the program director.
Jensen said he later received copies
of threatening text messages in
which that chief resident allegedly
told other chief residents, “The ass
to mouth crew will pay eventually.
Death before dishonor.”
The bigotry continued even when
Jensen sought an escape route
from the discriminatory environment,
according to the suit. In
April of 2018 he emailed Asarian,
Sirsi, and the program coordinator
to inform them that he intended to
resign from the program, and he
subsequently told Asarian that the
workplace culture made it impossible
for him to work there.
That apparently set off Asarian,
who allegedly responded by saying
Jensen’s intention to resign was
mission.
Justice Freed made no ruling as
the hearing concluded. As reported
by Gay City News, the defendants
fi rst moved to dismiss the suit in
August of last year when Loftus
argued, “The facts as alleged in
plaintiffs’ complaint fail to establish
an intent to discriminate on
the basis of plaintiffs’ sexual orientation
and/ or gender identity”
and that “Plaintiffs simply make
conclusory allegations and overexaggerated
claims regarding a
simple contract dispute.”
At that time, Loftus also pushed
back against the allegations when
he said the Center’s statement
cancelling the event was not defamatory
or an example of cyberbullying.
Further, Loftus said “no
interpretation of any act or statement
made by The LGBT Community
Center defendants are actionable
under the theories espoused
by the plaintiffs.”
In a separate August fi ling last
August, Green also blasted the
lawsuit.
“As fi led, the lawsuit fails to state
or even gesture at a single legally
supportable claim against Gordon
Beeferman or Jason Rosenberg,”
Green wrote. “The complaint suffi
ciently identifi es one statement
each by Beeferman and Rosenberg,
a tweet that does not mention
a single defendant, and an open
letter you allege was ‘principally
drafted’ and signed by defendant
Gordon Beeferman.”
not clear how much money Jensen
seeks in this case.
Gay City News sought comment
from Jensen and his legal team.
An attorney representing Jensen,
John Beranbaum, told Gay City
News in a written statement that
Jensen “brought this lawsuit not
only to assert his own rights but
those of others who may be facing
similar discrimination and
harassment based on their sexual
orientation or identity.”
Court documents show Asarian,
Sirsi, and the hospital denied
the allegations in November of
2018 and rejected the notion that
Jensen should be entitled to “any
relief whatsoever.” Neither the hospital
nor an attorney representing
the hospital, Asarian, and Sirsi responded
to Gay City News’ requests
for comment. Beranbaum did not
respond to a follow-up about next
steps for Jensen’s legal team.
TWITTER/ @BRANDONSTRAKA
“extremely inappropriate.” Asarian
then forwarded the email to
the dean of the medical school that
Jensen attended, the suit claims.
“In response to Asarian’s email,
the dean called Jensen to discuss
his potential resignation and
proceeded to threaten his future
employment, stating, ‘You know,
I have a lot of contacts at Lincoln
Hospital,’ where Jensen had already
been accepted into a fouryear
residency program,” the suit
stated.
Jensen wound up leaving the
program before his residency was
complete, and now he is seeking
redress for the treatment he alleges
he suffered. He wants the hospital
to hire a Lambda Legal-appointed
individual to train supervisors
and employees on discrimination
and harassment policies as well
as to be paid “compensatory damages,”
among other demands. It is
Brandon Straka and two MAGA allies have sued the LGBT Community Center and others, but the defendants’
attorneys were in court on February 20 to call BS on the suit.
GayCityNews.com | February 27 - March 11, 2020 9
/GayCityNews.com
