New York.– New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced this Friday the creation, by executive order, of the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, and appointed Taylor Brown to lead it, the first trans woman to head an agency in the history of this city.
“This is a day long awaited. It took years of activism by community leaders who recognized how often queer New Yorkers are left without support when trying to access our city’s social services,” said Mamdani at a press conference.
He also recalled that these leaders organized and demanded changes, inspired by the legacy of countless figures who preceded them, such as Marsha P. Johnson or Sylvia Rivera, who founded Star House, “a place where transgender New Yorkers could feel safe and comfortable in the city that belongs to them today.”
He highlighted that since the founding in 2008 of the Pride Community Center in Brooklyn, where he signed the executive order, the space has become a place that provides medical care and housing, while offering queer New Yorkers a place to learn, find companionship, and build community in the five boroughs.
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This is the story of queer New York, a story of adversity overcome, of solidarity demonstrated, of resilience and ingenuity in the face of enormous obstacles,” he pointed out, and also recalled that this city is home to the largest number of queer people in the U.S.
Finally, he added, the City Council created an office dedicated to protecting their health, safety, and dignity, receiving applause and cheers from
enthusiastic members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Taylor, who takes office after serving as Deputy Attorney General of the Civil Rights Office of the State Attorney General’s Office, will oversee municipal initiatives affecting this community, promote measures against discrimination, and strengthen the protection of safe spaces for LGBTQIA+ people.
He also previously worked at the national office of the LGBTQIA+ and HIV Project of the Civil Liberties Union and at Lambda Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
“New York has given me everything: medical care that has saved my life, education, a home, a career, my chosen family, and a life with purpose. I am proud to serve this city as the first director of the Mayor’s Office for LGBTQIA+ Affairs,” she said.
The city’s Unity Project, which also serves the needs of New York’s LGBTQIA+ community, will be integrated into the new office, whose creation comes at a time when the administration of President Donald Trump has warned hospitals that it will withdraw their federal funding if they provide gender-affirming services to minors.
New York has traditionally been a haven for the LGBTQIA+ community and for families from other parts of the United States seeking this type of care for their children.
However, last February, NYU Langone hospital, one of the main providers of gender-affirming care, reported that it would stop offering that service due to the “current regulatory environment”.
In response, the state Attorney General sent a letter to the hospital last week ordering the program to be resumed and warning that the suspension could constitute a violation of New York’s anti-discrimination laws.
