Morano on legacy of James Zappalordi and hate crime activism

I also want to take a moment to speak about the legacy of a Staten Islander who lives in my district,

and there's a street named for him six minutes from my office and ten minutes from where I grew up, and that is James Jimmy Zappalordi, a gay Vietnam War veteran who was murdered because of his sexual orientation.

His murder was the first officially designated hate crime in the borough of Staten Island,

and his plight inspired activism that led to the passage of the New York State Hate Crimes Act of the year 2000, which was signed by Governor Pataki, which allowed harsher penalties for crimes motivated by bias

against race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.

And Zappalordi's murder did more than just cause grief.

His legacy united communities.

It sparked a level of activism that really hadn't been seen before, certainly in the Staten Island South Shore community, certainly in the LGBT community, and certainly in the military veteran community.

There was the Zappalordi Society, which was founded in 1992, and the Pride Center of Staten Island, which was founded in 2013,

and all about providing lasting support and services to Staten Island's LGBTQ plus community.