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Neil Broome Interview 33April 25, 2004SS:NB:SS:You didn’t fit in?I’m my own person.I remember you being very involved, were you working on projects?What were some of them?NB:There was another project that Gerri and I worked on that we got people inACT-UP – St. Vincent’s Hospital.SS:NB:Tell us about this.That was hideous. Another thing that happened – I’m sorry I forgot. Ineed some more pre-Alzheimer’s medication. St. Vincent’s Hospital – there was a writerin the Village Voice who had written a series of two or three articles about securityguards, security personnel, at St. Vincent’s physically attacking and accosting people –women – I forgot her name, she was a long time ago.SS:NB:Joy – a big dyke, right?Yes. It was her. They attacked her. Her girlfriend was attacked in ananti-gay assault, and they had some serious problems there. They had security guardsbecoming hostile to people coming into the hospital for treatment. Either they wereinjured or they were beaten up in an assault or several people who were HIV came inwith partners and the security guards would tell them that they weren’t allowed to lean onanother man. It was crazy – it was out of control there. This is what happens when youhave – never mind.So, the bottom line is – after two or three incidents, I just said, this is nuts. AndGerri and I – we wanted to respond to it, and we did. And I said – I forgot thechronology, exactly, but we organized a series of demonstrations at the emergency room
Neil Broome Interview 34April 25, 2004of the hospital, and it was brilliant. It was in the Voice and the Daily News. We hadthree hundred people. It was fabulous. It was not only fabulous – I had never – well,maybe because I was younger and I wasn’t as calm. Maybe there was a shrillness thatpeople didn’t want to respond to. But, the bottom line is, I have never encountered somany arrogant idiots in my life.The hospital administration initially was not interested in meeting with us, untilthey saw three hundred people there, and until they had news cameras there. And then,of course, it was damage control. But, they just are simply people who don’t give a shit.And Gerri, who was – she’s quite a bit calmer than I am – she was able to be negotiator.I sat in on one negotiation. They had several. The Human Rights Commission –Elizabeth Zarella was the representative, and Elizabeth Zarella now lives in Quincy[Massachusetts]. She was the representative from the Human Rights Commission, andTape II00:30:00she was supposed to be a neutral party to arbitrate a resolution to their – we wanted thepolicy changed. We wanted training for the security personnel, and we wanted acommitment that this was not going to continue to happen – where security guards wouldcome up to people and say, you can’t lean on somebody, and then hit them. This is crazy,but again, only in New York, because that wouldn’t happen anywhere else. Peoplewouldn’t do that somewhere else. It just wouldn’t be accepted. I don’t believe it would.That’s another issue.But, anyway, people have a much higher tolerance for physical contact, I suppose.So, what I was going to say was, we brought the CEO of St. Vincent’s Hospital. He wasenraged that he even had to be there. He was angry. He was condescending, arrogantand he was overtly anti-gay. He had no clue. Here it was, a hospital in the village and
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