The City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus rolled out an 11-point policy platform outlining a host of proposals to protect queer and trans New Yorkers in the face of the incoming Trump administration.
Dubbed “Pride in Policy,” the detailed platform follows up on the LGBTQIA+ Caucus’ previous policy handbook, The Marsha and Sylvia Plan, which was unveiled during Pride Month in 2023. The new policy platform factors in the results of the 2024 election and emphasizes the potential roles of local and state governments to bolster the queer community across the five boroughs.
LGBTQIA+ Caucus members announced the new platform at City Hall on Nov. 18.
“Our new report, Pride in Policy, is a blueprint for the path forward,” LGBTQIA+ Caucus Co-Chair Tiffany Cabán said in a written statement. “Over the next few years, the Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus must fight to enact each and every one of these policies and budget proposals. This blueprint was developed in coalition with many of the incredible advocates and organizers standing here today, over the course of countless community roundtables, rounds of outreach and over two years of collaboration with queer and trans leaders.”
The policy platform’s 11 main points feature goals relevant to LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers across different demographics, including older adults, youth, transgender individuals, sex workers, and more.
“Now more than ever, we need to band together as a community and fight for our rights,” said Councilmember Erik Bottcher, who is also co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus. “New York City has and always will be a safe haven for our community, including our transgender siblings who are under attack nationwide. The New York City Council will do everything in our power to fund programs and pass legislation that protects the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The policy platform was created with the expectation that the incoming Trump administration will “certainly” slash federal funding, which means it “will be up to city and state legislatures to take on that responsibility” to support the queer and trans New Yorkers, the platform states.
The first area of focus pertains to arts and culture. The platform calls for the city to baseline $5 million in funding for LGBTQIA+ cultural organizations with a focus on marginalized communities; pass resolutions recognizing key dates like Transgender Day of Remembrance and Transgender Day of Visibility and designate Jan. 31 as Cecilia Gentili Day; and establish programs for drag and ballroom communities.
The second pillar is education. The LGBTQIA+ Caucus is encouraging colleagues in the City Council to work together to expand all-gender facilities in public schools, improve income access and job security for LGBTQIA+ youth, increase funding for LGBTQIA+ education, empower LGBTQIA+ teachers and student groups, and provide in-school medical and educational support for trans students.
For the third part of the platform — government operations — the LGBTQIA+ Caucus’ top goals are to create and fund an Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, require city agencies to offer an “x” gender option, and create a hiring program for LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers to build on the Pride at Work Initiative.
The fourth point is healthcare — another critically important area of focus for the LGBTQIA+ community. The platform calls for expanding outreach and distribution of PrEP, PEP, and DoxyPEP; ensuring access to gender-affirming care; baselining at least $15 million to fund non-profits serving trangender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals; and offering $10 million in funding for homeless LGBTQIA+ people.
On a related note, the seventh point covers mental health. It seeks to invest in the mental health workforce, expand mental health crisis teams and clubhouses, and establish an LGBTQIA+ Mental Health Advisory Committee.
The fifth point, housing and homelessness, proposes the creation of a task force dedicated to expanding housing for LGBTQIA+ individuals. It also encourages the city to allocate at least $10 million to non-profits operating youth shelters and supporting housing for LGBTQIA+ youth and to direct the Department of Youth and Community Development to open and run facilities for LGBTQIA+ young adults.
For the sixth point, immigration, the LGBTQIA+ Caucus seeks to allocate $550,000 to non-profits serving LGBTQIA+ immigrants and asylum seekers; improve and expand the shelter system for LGBTQIA+ immigrants and asylum seekers; and bolster city and state housing voucher programs to cover immigrants.
Older adults are covered in the eighth point, which intersects with other areas such as housing and healthcare. The City Council’s LGBTQIA+ Caucus is encouraging the city to build more housing for LGBTQIA+ older adults; mandate anti-discrimination and competency training for older adult service providers; and provide free sexual health and wellenss programming at older adult centers.
Under the ninth point, public safety, the LGBTQIA+ Caucus’ goals involve improving services for TGNCNBI people in custody; establishing “community safety centers” and “hate response” funds; and eliminating both the NYPD’s vice squad, which targets quality-of-life issues but has developed a reputation for aggressive policing of sex workers, and the strategic response group, which has been widely criticized for its actions at events such as the Reclaim Pride Coalition’s Queer Liberation March, where the Strategic Response Group allegedly pepper-sprayed and roughed up marchers on a previous Pride Sunday.
The 10th point is sex work. Out city lawmakers hope to pass the Sex Worker Protection Act, which would establish some protections for sex workers in the city. The LGBTQIA+ Caucus is also hopeful for ongoing funding of a $4.4 million initiative to support people involved in the sex trade. Another goal for the LGBTQIA+ Caucus is to bar employers from discriminating against individuals for engaging in sex work.
The 11th and final part of the platform covers youth and foster care. Lawmakers want to allocate $5 million to help the Administration for Children’s Services recruit LGBTQIA+ parents and ensure affirming placements, as well as another $5 million for community-based family acceptance programs and services. The LGBTQIA+ Caucus hopes to see legislation requiring ACS to report on the number and placement of LGBTQIA+ foster youth.
The fine print of the detailed policy platform outlines specific bills on the LGBTQIA+ Caucus’ wish list, as well as legislative proposals that out city lawmakers are recommending for state lawmakers to tackle in Albany. Among the city-based legislative goals include Int. 625, which would require correction officials to house TGNCNBI people in accordance with their gender identity or where they would feel safe; and Int. 620, which would require the city Health Department to create a plan to prevent the spread of mpox.
Read the full report here.
