And Then I Danced

by Mark Segal

  Our negotiations with the community center fell through along the way due to differing expectations related to repairs and operating expenses. We parted on good terms, though, and Chris Bartlett managed to keep the line of communication open, so the center could help out as needed.

  When we entered discussions with the city for a parcel of land on 13th Street, Mayor Michael Nutter pushed his administration along with record speed. It was a choice parcel, and some people really didn’t want to give it up. The mayor deserves tremendous credit, along with the Redevelopment Authority’s board chair James Cuorato, for making it happen. With the new location secure, Jacob Fisher pulled all the strings together and completed a new plan. From the time we parted ways with the community center, came up with that property on 13th Street, and drew up the new plans, a mere ninety days had passed—we were rushing to make the filing deadline with PHFA.

  Meanwhile, Republican Tom Corbett was elected governor—and we discovered that Ed Rendell hadn’t been able to complete the state’s part of the project. So I had to go begging a new Republican governor to finalize the state funding. Pennrose had a good relationship with the Corbett administration, but to ensure our success, I began to make myself known within the governor’s circle. Soon I was told that if it was a good project, they’d fund it. They not only did this, but when various issues stymied us, as they usually do on a project of this magnitude, the administration was always fair and helpful. They helped calm the waters. Then, in April of 2012, we were approved for tax credits. This is how I wrote about it that week:

  On Monday we announced that the pie-in-the-sky project, which was made public about two years ago, is now a reality. For many of us, it’s the most ambitious project we’ve ever undertaken. To find a home, a safe place to give our LGBT seniors to live; to bring them a home to thrive in their very own community—that’s the goal. I have no illusions that the proposal has many more milestones to meet. It is not a done deal yet. And it will take the support and input of the entire community and our elected officials who have committed to follow through on this dream.

  Last Thursday, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency met to decide which projects would be awarded tax credits this year. I’m happy to report that the pie-in-the-sky project was awarded credit in that very competitive field.

  The project is now fully funded at $19 million. It is, as the mayor said during the announcement, the largest LGBT-friendly capital building project in the United States. The White House and HUD spotlighted the project as “pioneering innovation in US housing solutions for low-income LGBT seniors.”

  Good things kept coming our way. When our board decided to name the building after John C. Anderson, a former city council member who was both African American and gay, and who had died from AIDS, we had no idea of the impact it would have. At the groundbreaking for the building, State Senator Tony Williams spoke with great emotion: “You may have bridged the gap between the African American and LGBT community with this building, since it is to my knowledge the first building in America purposefully named after an LGBT African American public official.”

  When Mayor Nutter cut the ribbon, he was joined by former governor Ed Rendell, US Senator Bob Casey, the entire Philadelphia congressional delegation led by my old friend Bob Brady, Brian Hudson, who was president of the National Council of State Housing Agencies, various other state representatives and senators, and members of the city council—headed by Council President Darrell Clarke—along with District Councilman Mark Squilla. The council had suspended rules in order to pass our zoning changes, unanimously.

  By the time we started to build, the vision had grown. We understood that we had to nurture a broader LGBT senior advocacy movement. We knew we couldn’t do it alone and we wanted this project embraced by the community and dearly wanted them to have a feeling of ownership. So we went back to the community center and suggested that once we opened, they could take charge of the activities and social services. We asked the Mazzoni Center to create courses on law and safe sex. ActionAIDS was chosen as the HIV/AIDS services agency in the building. We even built an office on the first floor for outside organizations to work from.

  Joe Salerno became our architect; he was a gay man who wound up, in a way, coming out during the process. My instructions to him were simple. We were building in an upscale area, and the concept must give our residents dignity. I wanted them to feel that “wow” factor when they walked through the front door. Joe and I came to a quick agreement, though Pennrose didn’t like how much our vision would cost them. I had learned that a good partnership always involves compromise, so with every change they’d explain how much it would cost, and we’d attempt to find savings in another area.

  The vision: Enter the building into a spacious open area with staff offices and resident mailboxes. Walk a little farther and you’ll discover the lobby and library, complete with etched glass and fireplace. Sitting by the fireplace, you can peer out through glass windows that reveal a five-thousand-square-foot private courtyard with paths, benches, and even a fountain. There’s a community room with an eighty-inch flat screen and seating for sixty. Farther down the hall is a computer lab station for the residents with five computers hooked up to the Internet. On the fifth floor there’s a sundeck with sweeping views of the city’s skyline.

  Negotiating all of those areas, especially my request for glass walls, was a constant battle with Pennrose, with Jacob Fisher in the middle. But they were eventually completed and, in my opinion, completely worth the cost. The one item that most surprises people actually happened by mistake.

  At our first meeting with the full construction team, many of whom were men employed by our general contractor, Domus, we all gathered around a table in one of Pennrose’s conference rooms. Joe, who was reviewing the architectural drawings, noted that due to the shape of the building and the configuration of our courtyard, four apartments would have larger closets and a smaller bedroom than the others. I explained, “That’s not a problem for our proposed clientele. We’ll call them ‘drag queen closets.’ In fact, can we do the same in all the apartments?” The look on their faces was priceless as they all began to smile. Those closets are one of the most popular features of the building.

  Residents must be sixty-two and above and earn no less than $8,000 a year and no more than $33,000. Surprisingly or not, there are lots of LGBT people with low incomes, especially those seniors about whom we know so little. Consider, as just one example, a trans person in 1969. What kind of job could they keep, and what savings, Social Security, or pension do you think they would accrue thirty or forty years later? Think of those stereotyped and shunned individuals in the 1960s who had to receive welfare in order to survive.

  During the construction, we’d offer tours of the site to those who had taken part or those we wanted to get involved in the project. My friend Klayton Fennell from Comcast sent me a box of pink hard hats to give out on tours, and soon it became fashionable for a public figure to be photographed wearing one while touring the site. Those hard hats with our logo have become collectors’ items.

  The project was going in so many directions at once and often kept us guessing where we were actually headed. But behind the scenes was my board of directors, each with her or his own specialty. Irene Benedetti, the longest-serving member of the board, worked with the women’s community, while Tyrone Smith, a pioneer in black gay rights, did the same with the African American community. Jane Shull coordinated with the HIV/AIDS community, while my good friend Rob Metzger handled small LGBT contractor firms. Larry Felzer was our liaison to the regional senior organizations. Jeff Guaracino dealt with government affairs and public relations and Judith Applebaum connected to the neighborhood organizations. Rick Lombardo worked on security issues while Judge Dan Anders was the guy I’d call and say, “What would you do?” No project of this size gets done without the support of its board. I have never been so honored to work with a board in my life. And, of course, there was Micah, who
was by my side seven days a week, keeping me on track.

  * * *

  The Department of Housing and Urban Development asked us to showcase the project at their first conference on LGBT senior housing. Webcast live from their headquarters in Washington, DC, they and the White House hailed the project. From that meeting with President Obama in 2012 to the day we took in our first resident, only three years and nine months had passed. Yes, that was record timing for a project like this. Since opening, we have been deluged with requests to both tour the building and assist those wishing to replicate our success.

  As I was driving myself to the state capital one day, my phone rang and I had to pull over to the side of the road. The call was from Openhouse, a group planning a similar senior project in San Francisco. They had finally gotten their seed money, found a developer, had site control, and were planning a forty-unit rehab facility. They asked, “How did you do the marketing to get the desired population?” San Francisco was asking us how to get members of the LGBT community into their building—the enormity of that question spelled out for me a job well done.

  * * *

  At the ribbon cutting on February 24, 2014, I took the microphone to welcome the large crowd. I pulled out a letter I had recently received and began to read it:

  I send my warm regards on the opening of the John C. Anderson Apartments. For generations, courageous lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans spoke up, came out, and fought injustice, blazing trails for others and pushing us closer to our founding ideals of equality for all. In the face of impossible odds, these leaders and committed allies demonstrated that change is possible and helped our nation become not only more accepting, but also more loving. And across America today communities are tackling challenges that remain and writing bold new chapters in this story of progress.

  By working together as advocates, business leaders, and officials throughout government, we can address the problems of LGBT discrimination in housing. Offering security and affordability for Philadelphia’s LGBT seniors, this apartment community is an example of how we can create a more hopeful world when we better care for one another. My administration stands with all those in the fight to ensure every American has equal access to housing—no matter who they are or whom they love. May this effort inspire us to continue striving for equality for all people in our time.

  As the John C. Anderson Apartments opens its doors, I hope it provides warmth and comfort to all who call it home. I wish you all the best for years ahead.

  —Barack Obama

  The audience stood and applauded, and for an instant in the emotion of that moment I saw an image of my cousin Norman—who had never gotten the chance to live among people who treated him with decency and respect.

  Chapter 15

  And Then We Danced

  In June 2014, I drove for an hour and a half in the rain to Harrisburg on the boring Pennsylvania Turnpike for a meeting at the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, one of the nation’s oldest journalistic organizations, of which I now serve on the board of directors. It was the same organization that had refused me membership for fifteen years. The meeting would be held at a grand Georgian mansion overlooking the Susquehanna River, the organization’s headquarters.

  Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association is just a few blocks from the governor’s official residence, where six months before I had met with our Republican governor, Tom Corbett, after he’d made a very public gaffe that caught national media fire. When asked about same sex-marriage in an October 2013 TV interview he’d compared it to incest. Shortly after that show, I received a call from one of the governor’s staff members, asking if I’d come to Harrisburg and meet with the governor privately at his residence. The meeting would include Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, Chris Labonte of consultant firm Sellers Dorsey, gay lawyer Tom Paese who was a codirector of Corbett’s transition team, and Betty Hill, executive director of the Persad Center in Pittsburgh. The governor’s chief of staff would also be present. This was a high-level meeting with people who meant business on LGBT issues. In a premeeting we had decided to focus on the nondiscrimination legislation currently sitting before the legislature. Martin would bring a slew of data and polling information. Hill would provide the personal stories of her clients and the negative effects caused by the absence of such legislation. Labonte knew how to stage a campaign, and Paese already worked closely with the governor.

  In order to move the meeting forward quickly, the governor started out with an apology, which we all accepted. But when we got down to the basics, the governor was concerned that if he did anything now it would just look like a political move since he was about to enter a reelection campaign. That was my cue.

  “Governor, as a member of the media, with all due respect, we see a man with a loose tongue. Someone will, in the near future, try to get you to make another statement on marriage. If I can humbly suggest that next time that happens—and it will—turn it around on that reporter. Turn directly to that reporter and say, Why haven’t you asked me about nondiscrimination?”

  And that is exactly what happened. This time the governor kept to the script. On December 18, 2013, the progressive blog Think Progress reported:

  Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R) announced Tuesday that he was “coming out in support” of a bill that would create nondiscrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In his statement, Corbett claimed that he did not previously realize that the LGBT community was not protected by federal laws.

  The Human Rights Campaign in DC quickly put out a national press release that included the following passage:

  In a surprise move today, Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett announced his support for a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. The governor joins other Republicans in the state who are in support of such legislation, including State Senator Pat Browne. Congressman Dent and Senator Pat Toomey are supportive of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act which passed the Senate in early November and now heads to the House for consideration. Their position on the state legislation is unknown.

  The governor not only followed the script, he improved on it. At that meeting, all of us present had suggested that we would be more than willing to stand by his side and help field any negativity, particularly from our own communities.

  The governor had one more pleasant surprise in store, as well as at least one disappointment along the way. In February 2014, when we had been finally ready to cut the ribbon on the John C. Anderson Apartments, we were hoping that Vice President Biden would do the honors. Mayor Nutter and Senator Bob Casey, along with our congressional delegation, wrote a letter of invitation. When we discovered the VP could not join us, we quickly set another date, which unfortunately came at the same time as the National Governors Association Winter Meeting. Governor Corbett would be unable to attend.

  But he made up for it when the marriage-equality issue found its way to Pennsylvania. I began a very private lobbying campaign with my friends in the governor’s office. After all, they had now worked with me for three years on the John C. Anderson senior housing project. We expected that Judge John E. Jones III, a Republican appointed by George W. Bush who was handling the case, would rule in our favor, but we never expected how strong his ruling would be.

  My campaign was only known by my most trusted friends and of course the governor’s office. This was a highly controversial issue for a man who many thought was a Tea Party Republican, and my friends thought it was crazy that I believed Corbett would allow the state to accept the judge’s ruling, should he strike down anti–gay marriage laws in Pennsylvania. The judge stated that he would not hear debate, choosing instead to rule from the briefs each side provided to him. During my conversations with Corbett’s staff, I became aware of the timing of Judge Jones’s expected ruling, which led me to suggest various options to the governor’s legal team.

  Option 1: explain that the judge had overruled a la
w that the legislature had passed and toss it back to them to start anew, but don’t request a stay.

  Option 2: explain that your hands are tied, since the attorney general should appeal this. AG Kathleen Kane had previously stated that based on the Constitution as well as her personal beliefs, she would not defend anti–gay marriage laws.

  Option 3: pass it over to the state treasurer, who would have to handle the effect of the new marriage law on taxes. State Treasurer Rob McCord had also stated that he personally believed in marriage equality.

  Option 4, the hardest and bravest option: do what Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey did. State that while you have personal objections, you won’t get in the way of the judge’s ruling, and allow marriage equality in Pennsylvania.

  * * *

  While attending the New York Tech Expo to help my nephew Jeffrey launch his new company, my cell phone rang. It was the governor’s chief legal counsel, Jim Schultz.

  “Mark, I promised to give this to you first. We’re doing the Christie.”

  After everything I’d been through in politics, Jim was giving me a political surprise I hadn’t seen in years. All I could think to do was offer my assistance if the governor needed some cover. Jim declined; they were good. I also knew that it was Jim who’d fought the hardest for this.

  Soon after that call, the governor issued a statement: “Given the high legal threshold set forth by Judge Jones in this case, the case is extremely unlikely to succeed on appeal.” Corbett went on to say that he still believed that marriage should be between one man and one woman, and that his faith had not wavered. That line was somewhat understandable, as he was running for reelection and needed to preserve his electoral base.