Victor Mendolia

Background: Victor is a 28 year old, white, (formerly) Catholic gay man. He grew up in Selden in Suffolk County, Long Island in a liberal family. He moved to Manhattan when he was 19. He got into the East Village scene and started planning events at Lucky Strike, Pyramid, and Danceteria with his friend Jeanette. He came to his first ACT UP meeting a bit before the FDA action in the fall of 1988.

Role in ACT UP:  Victor is the Outreach Committee’s representative on the Coordinating Committee.

Groups/friends at the meeting: Outreach Committee; Coordinating Committee

Specific tasks at the March 13, 1989 meeting: In preparation for Target City Hall, the Outreach Committee has created a subway poster with an image of Mayor Ed Koch that says "10,000 New York City AIDS Deaths -- How'm I doin'?" ("How'm I doin'?" is Koch's catchphrase). Victor is on the agenda to show the poster to the meeting and ask people to approve of the poster or suggest changes. The plan is to print the posters and bring them to the meeting next week so people can take some and put them up in the subways as they go about lives. The administrator will be bringing the mock-ups of the poster, so Victor should get them from the administrator before the meeting starts. Victor and Joe Ferrari will also speak to the Floor again later in the meeting as part of the City Hall Report to try to get people to help with wheat-pasting. They will ask people meet to meet them at the side of the room (now, not at the end of the meeting) to arrange the logistics (dates/times/neighborhoods/who will go out together/watch out for police).

Additional information: An image of the poster: "10,000 New York City AIDS Deaths -- How'm I doin'?"

https://actuporalhistory.org/numerical-interviews/097-victor-mendolia

(Note: Victor would go on to be involved in planning some major ACT UP actions over the next few years, but that is after March 1989.)

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