HIV/AIDS in New York City
[1]: 16–17 The AIDS epidemic has been and continues to be highly localized due to a number of complex socio-cultural factors that affect the interaction of the populous communities that inhabit New York.
During the 1980s epidemic, the large presence of the gay community prompted local medical practitioners to take note of and respond to observed patterns of reported ailments early on.
[1]: 16 In June, 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a new strategy designed to "End the Epidemic" in the state through a combination of increased HIV screening and testing, promotion of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and improved linkage and retention in clinical care for HIV-positive persons.
[2] Two years later the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported a decline in new infections of nearly 8 percent annually or approximately 15% since the campaign was launched.
In 1984, it was also identified by Dr. Robert Gallo of National Cancer Institute and named the Human T-cell Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV III).
As late as 1986, the Reagan administration continued to discourage panic by saying that AIDS primarily affected gay men and intravenous drug users.
[8] The gay community organized a response to the epidemic through four stages: the development of community-based help and advocacy organizations such as the Gay Men's Health Crisis (GMHC); the evolution of broader advocacy, lobbying and funding organizations such as the American Foundation for AIDS Research; the formation of effective Washington lobbying groups; and the rise of militant activism exemplified by the radical tactics of ACT UP (AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power), which have been documented in over 180 interviews by the ACTUP Oral History Project.
They began to hold informational meetings and public forums, distribute literature, and started outreach efforts such as a hotline for counseling and referrals.
[10] By June 10, 1985, the GMHC developed a contract to deliver comprehensive education of high risk gay men and youth in order for them to offer counseling and open more offices in the Bronx and Brooklyn, so more people could receive their services.
The Estate Project supported artists, filmmakers, composers, and choreographers with AIDS in preparing their archives, organizing and preserving artworks, giving grants, and running a program that presented musical and dance performances.
[12] An effort to identify artists who had died from AIDS-related complications was started in 1989 by gallerist Simon Watson and art critic Jerry Saltz.
As Jonathan M. Soffer argues, "the ultimate blame for devastation of the city in the 1970s lies in Washington and the anti-urban administrations of Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.
This was largely because Health Commissioner Dr. Stephen Joseph took office in 1985, replacing Dr. David Judson Sencer, who was criticized for not taking action during his term.
[10] The NYC Department of Health (DOH) began outreach efforts including production of 5,000 HTLV-III flyers that were printed and distributed to community organizations.
"[10]: 58–59 As for the determination of children having handicapped status, the Assistant Attorney General Charles J. Cooper issued a memorandum on June 20, 1986, on AIDS-patient discrimination.
Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1974 was interpreted by the Department of Justice that discrimination was prohibited on those who were disabled by the disease, giving them handicapped status.
The City's Assistant Corporation Counsel issued a memorandum to Schwarz in July 1976 that the act did not protect asymptomatic AIDS patients and those who were AIDS-related complex.
[25] Development of these programs were slowed by opposition from a range of government officials and communities and Commissioner Ward later suggested the possibility of unethical practices that recalled the Tuskegee syphilis experiment.
[26] Dr. Joseph credited activists such as Yolanda Serrano, the head of the Association for Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment (ADAPT) for calling attention to how the problem of addiction was far less dire than the overwhelming number of deaths from the rapidly spreading AIDS epidemic.
For example, Mayor Dinkins who was previously Manhattan Borough President, intended to place people with HIV/AIDS into city-run shelters, not permanent housing as he had promised earlier.
However given the gravity of the health and social needs of people with HIV, the City Council urged Mayor Dinkins to establish dedicated services.
Mayor Koch raised rates for 24-hour home care attendants through the Board of Estimate because the NYC Human Resources Administration was unwilling to regulate contractual labor agreements.
In addition to the promise and demand of using more in rem properties converted into permanent housing, there was the issue of decaying buildings and management needed to address them.
This included, in one example, a conversion of a mansion into a facility to assist children with AIDS being housed with their parents, hospice care, and group residency within one property.
The Center of Disease Control (CDC) reported the first case of AIDS in the country in 1980, Ken Horne, a San Francisco resident.
[citation needed] As the public debate continued about what the two cities were doing, many government and community leaders in New York such as Councilwoman Carol Greitzer claimed that San Francisco had been spending more money on AIDS patients, particularly for counseling and housing.
Richard Dunne believed that "the comparisons between the respective performances of the city government of New York and San Francisco are of limited value.
A Department of Health Report given to Mayor Koch in October 1987 stated that New York had 11,513 AIDS cases and San Francisco had 3,775.
Sencer stated that because AIDS had been a disease that, up to that point, had affected young individuals, the city did not have the system necessary to take care of them.
This has [be]come confounded by the fact that there's still unfortunately a fair amount of unsaid discrimination against people with AIDS, whether they be drug abusers or gay men.
