Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf (D) on Tuesday joined a number of state, federal and city officials to celebrate the awarding of $2.5 million in taxpayer funds to a gay and transexual activity center in Philadelphia’s “Gayborhood.”
Wolf said the money from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) would go toward several major renovations envisioned for the William Way LGBT Community Center just south of City Hall. The grant comes in addition to $1 million the center received from the state in 2019 to improve the property’s heating, ventilation and cooling systems as well as to remodel the building’s front area.
“The William Way LGBT Community Center is an anchor of the Philadelphia community, serving more than 15,000 unique visitors each year from all backgrounds and walks of life,” Wolf said in a statement. “Their walls provide a safe, welcoming space for residents to gather, learn and grow together. My administration is proud to support that legacy and contribute to the next chapter of growth at a time when our nation is experiencing heightened hate speech and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The governor did not cite any data that suggest animosity toward homosexual and transsexual people is worsening in America. Discussions of violence toward these groups appeared aplenty in the media after five people died and 25 more were injured from gunfire allegedly from a 22-year-old male shooter at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, CO in mid-November. But any narrative that a far-right, anti-gay zealot acted out of bigotry, in that case, collapsed when the attorneys for the identified perpetrator observed the young man considers himself “non-binary,” meaning he acknowledges being neither male nor female.
Political progressives were happy to justify pumping state dollars into revamping the William Way building based on an atmosphere of hostility toward non-heterosexuals. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D), U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), U.S. Representative Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) and State Senator Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia); Philadelphia Democratic state Representatives Brian Sims, Jordan Harris and Malcolm Kenyatta; as well as City Councilman Mark Squilla (D) all pushed for the second round of state funding. William Way’s executive director Chris Bartlett was happy his organization got such largesse from the commonwealth.
“We are grateful to [these public officials] for going to bat for the center again,” Bartlett said. “They recognize that William Way is an important center for LGBTQIA+ community and culture throughout the city and the surrounding region, and now the world through online programming. We’re thrilled to receive these resources to renovate and expand the center in a way that will reflect Philadelphia’s role as the leading city for LGBTQIA+ community and culture in the United States.”
William Way was established in 1974 and is the most prominent gay cultural center in Philadelphia. It hosts a variety of artistic, athletic, civic and other events. The center’s leaders expect to use the funds to improve handicapped access to the building, replace the structure’s rear wings, spruce up the 300-person event space, start a new art gallery and install a new computer lounge.
Under Wolf’s governorship, the RACP program has occasionally been used for other projects at the request of LGBT activists. An item in the most recent RACP project list indicates that $2,150,000 this year went to a Pittsburgh housing structure built by the Presbyterian SeniorCare Network specifically for gay and transgendered seniors.
– – –
Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tom Wolf” by Governor Tom Wolf. Background Photo “LGBT Community” by Aleks Magnusson.
