SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

A still from the video segment. What diner is this, anyway?

In an upcoming segment of ABC News’ “What Would You Do?”, patrons of a Sheepshead Bay diner witness gay couples harassed by a waiter. The staged intolerance is part of an experiment to see how locals react to the prejudice. The result? Well, apparently Sheepshead Bay doesn’t care for lesbians.

Here’s the scene:

While enjoying a bite to eat at a local diner, you overhear a waiter giving two women at the next table a hard time.

“Are you sisters?” he asks them. “Are your husbands joining you?”

At first, he just seems to be a nuisance but then he gets personal.

“Oh, you’re lesbians?” he exclaims. “What about your kids? Don’t they need daddies?”

The two women and their children are shocked and embarrassed. As they try to place an order, the waiter gets even more incensed and finally asks them to leave. As the family of four gets up to go, they catch your eye.

What Would You Do?

Keep reading to see how Sheepshead Bay residents reacted

(courtesy of NBC New York)

Over the weekend, gay rights activists marched in front of State Senator Carl Kruger’s Mill Basin home, enraged at the senator’s recent vote against marriage equality in New York State. According to NBC New York, activists called Kruger a “bigot”, and are planning more protests in the coming weeks.

Kruger has defended his vote as a reflection of his constituents’ wishes, not of his own beliefs. He said he considers the Orthodox Jewish community a “bedrock” part of his district. He added, “When it becomes an emotional, gut-wrenching issue, when it cuts through the fabric of traditions and values, then I have my community as the cornerstone of my decision.” (Others say Kruger’s vote was the result of a “chit cashed” by fellow “Amigo” Ruben Diaz.)

What do you think? Should a senator put his constituents’ wishes before his own moral beliefs? Always/Never? And is the Orthodox Jewish community reflective of the the entire district, which includes Bergen Beach, Flatlands, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, and Midwood.

Meanwhile, in other Kruger news, the good senator continues to get slammed for his budget shenangigans and role in the MTA deficit (here and here).

Gay rights advocates are "outing" Kruger, alleging he is a closeted homosexual.

From the Daily News:

After voting “no” on the gay marriage bill yesterday, Sen. Carl Kruger exited the Senate chamber and walked straight into the buzzsaw that was Allen Roskoff and Corey Johnson.

The two outspoken gay advocates stunned onlookers by heckling the Brooklyn Democrat, publicly calling his sexuality into question and threatening to support a primary candidate against him in 2010.

I reached the duo, who arrived in Albany Tuesday night in time to see the Assembly pass the marriage bill for the third time since 2007, as they were en route home to New York City. Roskoff proudly confirmed he and Johnson “told Carl off.”

Continue Reading »

A distinction to be proud of? We think not.

Sheepshead Bay’s two state senators – Carl Kruger (D) and Marty Golden (R) – remain the only Brooklyn-area representatives standing against gay marriage in New York.

Of the nine members of the Brooklyn delegation to the State Senate, seven have publicly stated support for same-sex marriage rights, according to a survey by NY1. The majority of state senators from all five boroughs and Westchester support the bill, as do the majority of residents statewide, according to one poll. Continue Reading »