NYC NOW - October 5, 2023 : Evening Roundup

Episode Date: October 5, 2023

Representative George Santos’ former campaign treasurer is expected to plead guilty in federal court. Plus, a former NYPD officer accused of punching someone over a dozen times pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in court this week. And finally, WNYC’s Michael Hill talks with Lilo Stainton, healthcare reporter for NJ Spotlight News, about New Jersey’s plan to protect gender-affirming medical care for trans people.

Welcome to NYC Now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. I'm Jenae Pierre. We begin on Long Island, where the former campaign treasurer for Representative George Santos will plead guilty in a federal court. Nancy Marks resigned from her post as Santos' treasurer in January. She's the second Santos campaign staffer to face criminal charges after federal prosecutors indicted another campaign staffer in August.

Santos, a Republican who represented, represents a sliver of queens and portions of Long Island, pled not guilty on a 13-count indictment in May. His case is expected to be back in court on October 27th. In Manhattan, a New York City police officer accused of punching someone 13 times pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in court this week. WNYC Samantha Max has the details. Prosecutors say Christian Zapata repeatedly punched a man while responding to a call about a child in emotional distress. Zapata has said he used the least amount of force necessary after the man became aggressive. The officer entered the courtroom and handcuffs dressed in a dark suit with a

close-croped beard and his hair combed back. After the cuffs were removed, Zapata leaned forward. He tapped his fingers on the table and stroked his beard. Sipata only said a few words during the brief arraignment, and his attorney declined to comment. The NYPD demoted Zapata earlier this year and has suspended him without pay. A judge released him without bail while he awaits trial. Stay close. We'll head to New Jersey after the break. As gender-affirming medical care becomes increasingly difficult to access for young trans people across the country, New Jersey is looking to position itself as a refuge. With at least a dozen states passing laws restricting such care for minors, Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive

order to ensure access and to protect New Jersey doctor. who provide care to people who come to them from outside the state. But even so, it isn't always easy for trans people to get the care they're seeking. WNYC's Michael Hill talked with Lilo Stanton, a health care reporter for NJ Spotlight News, who recently wrote about this. Before we get to their conversation, a quick warning. This discussion mentions suicide and includes Frank Talk about body parts.

You talk about gender-affirming surgery as life-saving care. Would you talk more about that? This was something that really struck me in my conversations with these doctors and other health care providers. You see the statistics like, you know, eight in ten people who are trans or non-binary consider suicide, as many as half actually attempted. And those are numbers that are way higher than sort of the population at large. But what really got to me was this anecdote about, I believe there were two individuals who were on the list for surgery, bottom surgery, and the pandemic struck and all non-essential surgeries were put on hold. And one person at least decided this is not a weight I can tolerate.

You know, the end is not in sight and chose to end their life instead. What kinds of procedures and services are included in gender affirming care, just so that we're clear? I think that's an important question because I went into this really thinking it was all about sex organs and what they call bottom surgery, which is either building a penis or creating a vagina. But there are many, many other parts of gender affirming care. It could be breast surgery reduction or adding breasts. I mean, there are many ways that people want to change their gender identity and how they express that. And bottom surgery is sort of the least common, a very small sliver

of people who go through any gender affirming care. I mean, hormone treatment is also a big part of this. So people who go through that, very few go through with sort of the ultimate bottom surgery. Gender affirming treatment has been available for decades now. And as I mentioned, New Jersey now has legislation to protect people's access to it. Why is it still difficult for trans people, though,

to get medical care? Well, I think one thing is people don't like to talk about it. even the providers who do the work, I think a lot of them are nervous and scared because they have been targeted in other states. Then there's the cost. I mean, the cost of these procedures are huge. They are supposed to be covered by insurance, but not everybody has insurance. There's the stigma, you know, going for treatments like this. There's the time off from work. A bottom surgery can involve multiple procedures and months near a hospital. because, you know, a follow-up care.

So there's a huge investment sort of economically and in life of what you have to put in to get this care. Lilo, you highlight specifically the work of two R.W.J. Barnabas Health Hospitals in gender-firming care. Tell us about what they're doing over there and why their work is especially important. The Cooperman Barnabas and Livingston was the site of the first falloplasty or penis construction in the state back in 2018. And since then they've really, Dr. Keith and his colleagues have really built out the practice. They've expanded and they now do this work at the Somerset Hospital as well. Dr. Keith also has a private practice. I mean, Dr. Keith said, you know, I would go to jail in Texas if I was, you know, for doing what I do.

But this is something that the hospital has felt is important. They have supported these surgeons and created actually an entire team. to support care. These are programs that Barnabas created to provide wraparound services. There's an enormous mental health and psychological component of this. While these are not the only people doing this work in state,

it does appear to be sort of the largest, most coordinated package of care available for trans people in New Jersey. Leelow, you say it's important, obviously, for doctors to be medically qualified to do this. But you also make a point that it's important for them to be culturally qualified. What do you mean by that?

Just like we learn about racism in medical practice, I mean, there is a lot of unconscious bias that's going on. I think it's very much the same with LGBTQ and particularly trans care. Look, doctors and nurses are humans too. Not everybody is comfortable with these concepts. But Dr. Keith says there's a real need to train the next generation of surgeons and other providers who understand the community, support them, and understand some of the little things that you can do or not do to make this care really a life-saving difference.

We mentioned Governor Murphy has signed an executive order, but that only holds for as long as he is in office. What does that lead the future of access to gender-affirming care in New Jersey? It's interesting. I mean, as I'm reporting this, Senator Ders, a conservative senator from the South Jersey, has a bill in that would ban gender affirming care for minors. I don't think that is going to get traction in New Jersey given, you know, the Democratic control of the legislature and sort of the liberal bent of this state. But on the other hand, we are watching Democratic leaders sort of side

with school districts that are choosing parents' rights over the rights of transgender students, perhaps in parental notification situations. It's interesting to me that, you know, this being an election year, some Democrats are sort of tiptoeing around this issue a lot more cautiously than they used to. That's Lilo Stanton, healthcare reporter for NJ Spotlight News, talking with WNYC's Michael Hill. Thanks for listening to NYC now from WNYC.

Catch us every weekday, three times a day. I'm Jene Pierre. We'll be back tomorrow.