New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. with honorees at his 2007 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Pride celebration at The Center in Manhattan on Wednesday, May 30, 2007. Pictured (back, l to r) are: Rev. Pat Bumgardner, Pastor, Metropolitan Community Church; Doug Wright, Pulitzer Prize - and Tony Award-winning Playwright and Book Writer of the Musical GREY GARDENS; James E. Law, Senior Financial Planner, Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.; Thompson; Rabbi Ayelet Cohen, Congregation Beth Simchat Torah; (front, l to r) Denny Meyer, President, American Veterans for Equal Rights New York; Rosemary Palladino, Co-Founder, Staten Island Stonewall; and, Clarence Patton, Executive Director, New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and Acting Executive Director, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. 
Photo Credit: Marla S. Maritzer
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New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. honored Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winner Doug Wright and five City leaders at his annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Celebration last night.

The event, which was co-sponsored by Empire State Pride Agenda and Gay Men’s Health Crisis, was held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center at 208 West 13th Street in Manhattan.

“Thanks to the efforts of countless pioneers, in many areas of our country today, members of the LGBT community are able to live freely and openly in a way that was unimaginable a generation ago,” Thompson said, “and in some pockets of the country, important legal protections that were once only dreamed about have been secured.”

“But we all know that we have a long way to go, and we know that time alone will not bring about the changes that still need to happen. We know that it is only by working together and by taking action that we will advance the cause of equality and win real and lasting progress.”

Comptroller Thompson added that: “This effort to bring about change can take many forms. Every time two men are allowed to exercise their right to marry each other, progress is made. Every time two women are able to adopt a child without discriminatory treatment, progress is made. Every time a company decides to extend equal rights to all of its employees, progress is made.”

We need to keep pursuing workplace equality…and marriage equality…and all basic rights until full equality is achieved. We will not wait for time to change things. We are bringing about change today.”

Thompson presented his Creative Artist Image Award to Doug Wright, who was just nominated for a Tony for writing the book for the critically acclaimed Grey Gardens, a musical based on the 1975 documentary about Jackie Onassis’s eccentric aunt and sister.

Wright won a Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2003 for I Am My Own Wife, a one-man play about German transvestite Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. Previously, he won the National Arts Club’s Kesselring Prize for Best New American Play in 1995 for Quills. He is adapting Walt Disney’s The Little Mermaid for Broadway.

“Doug Wright has delighted and moved theatrical audiences with his imagination and his insight,” Thompson said.

The next honoree was business and community leader James Law, a financial advisor with Ameriprise since 1991. Previously, he served as a Vice President of Shearson Lehman Brothers.

“Throughout his career, he has been a leader in addressing the specific needs of the gay and lesbian community in the Financial Services field,” Thompson said.

Andy Marra, Board Co-Chair of the National Center for Transgender Equality, received the next award. She also sits on the Board of the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy, and is the People of Color Media Strategist for the Asian-Pacific Islander community at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

“Andy Marra has worked tirelessly to give voice to, and protect the rights of, a community that has been traditionally under-recognized and under-served,” Thompson said.

The fourth honoree was community leader Denny Meyer. Meyer left college and joined the Navy during Vietnam, and later as a U.S. Army Reserve civilian/military administrator, rose to Sergeant First Class. He left the service after a decade in order to live his life as an openly gay man.

“After AIDS took the life of his partner of 20 years, he joined the movement to achieve equality in the armed forces,” said Thompson, “and as part of this effort, he founded the New York Chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights.”

“Denny Meyer has provided outstanding community leadership on behalf of LGBT veterans and those currently serving in the military,” the Comptroller added.

Thompson presented the next award to civic leader Rosemary Palladino, who in 2005 co-founded Staten Island Stonewall and has been a member of Dignity Staten Island, Lambda Associates of Staten Island, Staten Island Lesbian Kinship, and LeGal, Stonewall Democrats of New York City, and the Greater Voices Coalition.

Rosemary Palladino also has been a driving force behind the annual Staten Island LGBT Parade in June. “She has made tremendous contributions to the life of our city, and has helped the LGBT community in countless ways,” Thompson said.

The final honoree was community leader Clarence Patton, Executive Director of the New York City Gay & Lesbian Anti-Violence Project.  AVP serves LGBT and HIV-positive victims of violence and others affected by violence by providing free and confidential services.

Patton also serves as Acting Executive Director of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, and previously was Program Coordinator at the Empire State Pride Agenda.

Steven Brinberg, the writer and star of “Simply Barbra,” which is widely regarded as the premier Barbra Streisand impersonation act, performed at the event.