He stuck his neck out PLENTY - as much as he stuck his neck out writing "Hooked - The Madness in Methadone Maintenance" (1988) which attacked NYC's way of managing the program; got the worst precinct (6th in East Village) to buckle when he wrote Point of Return about the Needle Exchange - which made it a health matter to PREVENT HIV - and was reproduced in 2 books, one by the ACLU - and has written some very personal and courageous autobiographical articles about his life in the red light district in Times Square.
And no, he's not in NYC now, he's in a tiny fishbowl community where it took guts to say these things. NO ONE has stuck up for ops or their customers, mind you, it's just been one media smear after another.
So if you knew who Bill Landis was and were familiar with his 20+ year body of work including 2 books, he's used to fighting against hypocrisy and even risking lawsuits when telling the truth.
SO WHAT you lived in the East Village briefly. Bill Landis has lived through more than most do in several lifetimes and LIVED despite some serious odds against him, has always stuck up for people - be it sex workers who have it rough in the old Times Square - to people who use ops.
Get your facts straight about who you're talking about.