Mayor Eric Adams on Sept. 18 vowed to “look at my authority and power to change” the city’s policy governing student bathroom access on the basis of gender identity — an approach that would be at odds with state and city law.
“I don’t support girls and boys using the same restroom,” Adams said during a press conference coinciding with the United Nations General Assembly. “I don’t support that. We’re going to always respect how one identifies themselves. But my utmost importance is to ensure that when my children are in school, they’re in there in a safe environment. And I do not believe a safe environment is allowing boys and girls to use the same facility at the same time.”
The mayor, trailing in the polls in his re-election bid, went on to say he would “dig into” city policy, saying, “If it permits young boys and young girls to share the same restroom at the same time, I’m going to look at my authority and power to change that… I don’t believe that should happen. And I think that we have become so politically correct that we are incorrect.”
The mayor’s stated goal would be incompatible with both state and city policy. New York State law stipulates that “unlawful discrimination because of gender identity or expression” includes “denying the use of restrooms or other facilities consistent with a person’s gender identity.” New York City Human Rights Law also makes it clear that individuals must be permitted to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity. The New York City Department of Education’s online guidelines state that students “must be provided access to facilities consistent with their gender identity asserted at school.”
“Safe and supportive schools play a vital role in creating an inclusive and nurturing environment where transgender and gender expansive students can thrive academically, emotionally, and socially,” JP O’Hare, a spokesperson for the New York State Education Department, said in a written statement. “Under the State Human Rights Law, transgender and gender expansive students are entitled to use the restroom or locker room that aligns with their gender identity. The mayor is well aware of this fact, which was reiterated in joint guidance issued by the Department and Office of the Attorney General earlier this year.”
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor, blasted Adams’ comments.
“Awful and dangerous to hear the mayor echo the transphobic bigotry coming from the Trump administration,” Mamdani wrote on X. “It’s completely at odds with the values of our city and another reason why his single, disgraced term in office cannot end soon enough.”
Manhattan Councilmember Erik Bottcher, the co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus, described the mayor’s comments as “outrageous, absurd, and profoundly disappointing.”
“To frame a non-issue as though it is a crisis is not leadership — it is fear mongering,” Bottcher said. “In our schools, there are no serious problems with trans girls or trans boys using the restrooms that align with their gender identity; it works, it’s safe, and it’s part of basic dignity.”
Queens Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, also a co-chair of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus, said, “Eric Adams wants to violate New York State human rights law. Luckily, it is not in his power to do so. Students must be allowed to use the bathrooms that correspond with their gender. New York will continue to prioritize student health and safety over hateful lies about the trans community. Trump and his allies are hellbent on spreading lies and scapegoating the transgender community. We will not allow Eric Adams to echo rightwing hate without pushback. We will always support the transgender community. We will always support our children.”
The Stonewall Democratic Club of New York City also criticized the mayor’s comments.
“The rights of trans New Yorkers are not up for debate,” the club said in a written statement to Gay City News. “Trans, gender non-conforming, and non-binary New Yorkers and their allies have been fighting for protections for decades. As a result of that work, trans rights have been codified in New York City laws, New York State laws, and the New York State Constitution. That’s just one of the reasons New York is a beacon of hope for trans people and trans youth around the world. While Eric Adams may cave to Donald Trump on core New York values of inclusion, New Yorkers won’t.”
State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal of Manhattan told Gay City News that although the mayor can say what he wishes, “what the mayor suggests is illegal,” citing the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act and last year’s passage of the Equal Rights Amendment.
“It’s extremely disappointing that any candidate would throw trans kids under the bus out of an attempt to restart their political campaign,” said Hoylman-Sigal, who added that the LGBTQ community has had concerns about Adams “almost from day one when he appointed an avowed anti-LGBT member to his transition committee — and it turns out we were right to be suspicious about his support for the transgender community.”
“I think it’s incumbent on the LGBT community as a whole to speak out in support of trans youth,” Hoylman-Sigal said.
The mayor’s comments drew further criticism from Sean Ebony Coleman, the executive director of the LGBTQ organization Destination Tomorrow.
“It is difficult to find words to express the level of disappointment I feel towards Mayor Adams and his administration’s decision to forgo all promises once made to the LGBTQ+ community and deliberately target trans youth,” Coleman said, adding: “Trans New Yorkers have always been at the forefront of the fight for our collective survival, and we deserve better than this.”
The mayor’s latest comments come eight months after the Trump administration issued an executive order directing the cabinet to carry out an “Ending Indoctrination Strategy” featuring a plan to eliminate “federal funding or support for illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”
When asked about the Trump administration’s attacks on transgender individuals during a Pride Month interview with Gay City News earlier this year, Adams said, “I don’t speak for the federal government in spite of what people believe — [like] I’m the VP or some sort.”
“New York has been in support of gender-affirming care and we will always stand up for the transgender and non-binary communities,” Adams said at the time. “I’m going to continue to fight and raise my voice, and we’re going to continue to do the right thing.”
Earlier in the week, the Trump administration sent letters to New York saying it was “deeply concerned” about its policies regarding trans students, according to the New York Times. Craig Trainor, who serves as the federal Department of Education’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, made the case to the city that its rules conflict with Title IX and that its bathroom policy “means that male students who identify as female or transgender are given unqualified access to female intimate spaces,” the New York Times reported.
Attorney General Letitia James and the State Education Department issued a joint statement earlier this year stating that the president’s executive orders “do not affect the rights of transgender students and individuals in New York’s public schools.” The statement further expressed that state law continues to affirm the right of students to use bathrooms and locker rooms and to participate in sports teams in accordance with their gender identity.
“Any attempt to roll back student protections is reckless, cruel, and legally baseless,” the New Pride Agenda, a statewide LGBTQ non-profit organization, said in a written statement. “Both New York State and New York City law both affirm the rights of all students, including transgender students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity. The mayor does not have the authority to take away these protections — period. This desperate statement is not about governance. It is about whether New York will continue to lead the nation on civil rights, or flounder in the name of cheap political points at the expense of transgender kids’ dignity. New Yorkers deserve better than fearmongering and scapegoating from City Hall.”
