With less than 48 hours remaining in office, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams rolled out a plan to distribute $2 million in what the city is describing as “emergency funding” to 20 organizations serving transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary individuals in a bid to counteract federal budget cuts.
The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene will administer the funding across organizations delivering the most pressing community services, including in the areas of health and wellness, legal advocacy, youth and family support, safety and crisis response, community building, and economic empowerment, according to the mayor’s office.
Organizations are eligible to receive up to $92,000, which can be used for staff, travel, supplies, and services — so long as most of the clients are transgender, gender non-conforming, or non-binary.
Organizations seeking to apply for the grant must fill out an application by Monday, Jan. 5 at 5 p.m.
CitizensNYC, a non-profit which helps cut through red tape and act as an intermediary between the city and applicants to disburse city funding to various organizations in a timely manner, is partnering with the city to help facilitate the funding, though the city will ultimately determine which organizations receive it.
The funding follows a tumultuous year during which the Trump administration repeatedly moved to slash funding for LGBTQ community services in New York City and elsewhere.
After President Donald Trump issued several executive orders early this year targeting funding for LGBTQ organizations and other groups, federal agencies warned non-profits that their budgets could be slashed if they served transgender individuals or conducted what officials described as “equity-related” work. Lambda Legal, which led a lawsuit against the Trump administration in February, later won a court order restoring $6 million in funding for nine nonprofits serving LGBTQ people and individuals living with HIV.
In September, the Trump administration announced it was cancelling around $36 million in funding for the city as punishment for its policies protecting transgender individuals — a move that prompted the city to sue the Trump administration.
Most recently, the Trump administration issued multiple proposed rules that would require healthcare providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs to stop providing gender-affirming care for youth.
“We saw a need after federal budget cuts, and we are responding to it,” First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro said in a written statement. “There are essential services at stake for this community. Therefore, it was an imperative for us to take action and fill that need.”
In a written statement, Adams said the city is “putting our money where our values are and stepping up to serve those who need our care.”
Dr. Michelle Morse, the acting city health commissioner, said the federal government’s attacks on trans and gender non-conforming individuals are “unconscionable.”
“Supporting New York’s community organizations that provide lifesaving services and are eligible for the emergency funds is a key part of the Health Department’s commitment to supporting the health and well-being of all New Yorkers,” Morse explained.
The mayor’s announcement comes roughly three months after Adams sparked widespread criticism when he attacked trans-inclusive bathroom policies in a series of comments. At the time, Adams said he opposed what he described as “girls and boys using the same restroom,” saying he would evaluate his “authority” to change laws on that issue, but ultimately conceded he lacked the power to do so.
