[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E48-E49]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  HONORING THE LIFE OF GINA QUATTROCHI

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 11, 2017

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Gina 
Quattrochi, a champion for HIV/AIDS healthcare and housing, who passed 
away in December.
  In 1986, at the height of the AIDS crisis, Ms. Quattrochi was named 
to the board of the AIDS Resource Center and led negotiations to 
acquire a former hotel on Christopher St., in my district, which was 
renamed Bailey House. This hotel became the first group residence for 
people with AIDS in the country. At a time when HIV/AIDS was shrouded 
in fear and paranoia, Gina was fearless. She later served as CEO of 
Bailey House for 25 years. It was under Ms. Quattrochi's leadership 
that Bailey House grew from a small housing agency to a multimillion-
dollar organization that provides a wide range of health and housing 
services to over 1,800 clients.
  In addition to Bailey House, Ms. Quattrochi was a board member of 
several HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations, including the National AIDS 
Housing Coalition, where she also served as president; the Harlem 
Hospital Community Advisory Board; the Ryan White Integration of Care 
committee; and iHealth NYS. In 2014, she was appointed to Governor 
Andrew Cuomo's task force to reduce new statewide HIV infections to 
just 750 per year by 2020.
  Ms. Quattrochi also fulfilled her longtime goal of extending the 
city's HIV/AIDS Services Administration, or HASA, services beyond just 
AIDS diagnoses to qualified people with HIV. Her lifetime of work 
transformed the conversation about how to help house, provide health 
care to, and feed people with HIV/AIDS.
  As a longtime supporter and advocate for the Housing Opportunities 
for Persons with AIDS, or HOPWA, I am proud to have represented Gina 
and Bailey House for many years, but I am more proud to have called her 
a friend. She leaves behind an indelible legacy, she will be profoundly 
missed by the city of New York, the country, and the HIV/AIDS advocacy 
community. I can think of no greater tribute than the words of Emmy and 
Tony Award-winning author and AIDS activist Larry Kramer: ``She was the 
most noble of heroines. She fought not only for us, but for all of 
mankind.''

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