In The News

THE DETAILS TO DELIVER: Stringer releases comprehensive LGBTQ+ agenda to advance justice and equity for LGBTQ+ community

June 18, 2021

Stringer’s bold 34-point LGBTQ+ agenda would strengthen protections and expand opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community

Stringer: “I’ve spent my entire career fighting and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and as mayor I vow to continue the fight in City Hall to make sure that every New Yorker is protected and supported in this city.”

New York, NY – With Pride month underway, Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer today released a bold,comprehensive LGBTQ+ policy agenda that strengthens protections and advances justice for the LGBTQ+ community.

Building on his 30-year track record of fighting for LGBTQ+ communities, Stringer’s LGBTQ+ agenda furthers progress for LGBTQ+ communities by prioritizing health equity and housing justice, ending unjust practices that target LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, and ensuring equal treatment and opportunity for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.

“We’ve come a long way in the fight for equality and justice for the LGBTQ+ community, but our journey isn’t complete until every LGBTQ+ New Yorker feels safe and welcome in New York City,” said Comptroller Scott Stringer. “I’ve spent my entire career fighting and advocating for the LGBTQ+ community and as mayor I vow to continue the fight in City Hall to make sure that every New Yorker is protected and supported in this city. Together, we can break down more barriers and embark toward a future that is inclusive and equitable for all New Yorkers.”

Stringer has an extensive, decades-long track record of advocating for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. During his time in the New York State Assembly, Scott rallied with activists to advance GENDA, kick-started an overhaul of HIV/AIDS education in New York City public schools, and was a co-sponsor of the original 2003 Marriage Equality bill. As Manhattan Borough President, Scott funded the City’s first AIDS memorial in Greenwich Village. During that time, Scott and his wife, Elyse Buxbaum, chose to get married in Connecticut in 2010 in protest of New York State’s repeated refusal to recognize same-sex marriage.

As Comptroller, Scott spearheaded efforts in the City Council to require gender-neutral bathrooms in public and private buildings and prohibit discrimination of LGBTQ+ owned businesses in City contracting — closing a glaring loophole in the City’s anti-discrimination protections. Scott has also released an annual LGBTQ+ Guide to Services and Resources; joined advocates to demand the abolishment of the Walking While Trans law, and during the pandemic, has pushed City Hall and the Department of Education to enable non-binary and gender non-conforming students to affirm their gender identity in the remote learning Administrative ecosystem. He has never faltered to speak out against homophobia, transphobia, and hate.

As chief fiduciary to the New York City Pension Funds, the fourth largest public pension system in the country, Scott has mobilized the full power of the city’s pension dollars to advance LGBTQ+ rights and diversity nationwide, including by:

Launching nation-leading board diversity initiatives inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, and pushing pension funds and other entities around the country to do the same;

Evaluating prospective investment managers seeking to do business with the NYC Pension Funds by their commitment to maintaining non-discrimination policies for themselves and the companies they invest in following the 2018 Supreme Court CakeShop ruling;

Demanding accountability from senior Gilead Sciences executives for engaging in anti-competitive practices, including the price-gouging of Truvada — the HIV treatment and prevention drug commonly known as PrEP — keeping the life-saving medication out of reach for millions, for years; and,

Mobilizing a global coalition of institution investors with over $11 trillion in assets under management to oppose the Texas “Bathroom Bill” SB6.

Stringer’s LGTBQ+ platform, “Be Proud, Be Visible, Be You,” is part of his mayoral agenda entitled “The Details to Deliver” – highlighting the need for specific, actionable plans to set New York City on a fundamentally new trajectory and build a city for every New Yorker.

In full, the proposals include:

Investing in LGBTQ+ health care equity

Part I: Scott will ensure holistic care for those living with HIV/AIDS, experiencing substance use and/or mental health challenges, and expand community-health services in all corners of the city. Scott’s plan to get there includes the following priorities.

Expand and invest in LGBTQ+ affirming health care facilities outside of Manhattan.
Expand transgender healthcare services citywide, ensuring training for all healthcare providers in the city, creating a TGNCNB Healthcare Advocate Program, create a citywide Transgender Family and Medicine Center by replicating the success of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery.
Establish data-collection protocols to ensure equity for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers in City public health services, including the pandemic response.
Fight the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City by directing more resources to lower HIV infection rates in communities of color, fixing HIV/AIDS Services Administration (HASA) housing voucher caps on rental payments to include Single Room Occupancy (SROs), expanding HIV/AIDS and sexual health education and access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) to pharmacies and community health centers in every corner of the city.
Invest in LGBTQ+ mental health services including fighting depression, suicide prevention, and senior isolation.
Push for inclusivity of LGBTQ+ couples, surrogacy, and adoption rights.
Extend paid parental leave for City employees to include stepparents, legal guardians, and other persons acting in place of a parent. Such a policy would cover a wider spectrum of caregiver-child relationships, especially ones where an LGBTQ+ parent may not have a biological or legal connection to the child.

Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth

Part II: Scott will combat LGBTQ+ youth homelessness and double-down on expanding mentorship programs for young LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Scott’s plan addresses the crisis of teen suicide, mandates LGBTQ+ inclusivity in public school curricula, and invests in the future of the city’s LGBTQ+ youth through life skills training and college readiness programs.

Combat LGBTQ+ youth homelessness and provide LGBTQ+ homeless youth with significant health, educational and legal support.
Create local 24-hour drop-in locations for LGBTQ+ youth.
Improve conditions for LGBTQ+ Foster Youth.
Invest resources in the DOE to build and infuse LGBTQ+ and transgender curricula in schools and mandate LGBTQ+ history.
Support and organize interfaith clergy to be inclusive of LGBTQ+ people.
Support and organize government, clergy and community leaders to help parents in accepting their LGBTQ+ children.
Bolster efforts to end teen suicide and root out bullying in schools.
Fund workforce development programs specifically targeted to LGBTQ+ youth.
Launch a citywide mentorship program for LGBTQ+ high school and college students.

Combating the housing crisis

Part III: Scott will expand affordable housing and related services for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. Scott will provide free and/or affordable legal assistance for those LGBTQ+ New Yorkers who experience discrimination to seek redress, while expanding the number of deeply affordable units and safe, welcoming housing for older LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and those experiencing homelessness.

Review all policies and procedures to ensure anti-discrimination and provide targeted assistance for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers who experience housing discrimination.
Expand access to affordable, safe, and welcoming housing for LGBTQ+ seniors.
Create LGBTQ+-specific homeless shelter services and training with educational, psychological, legal and health referrals or in-house services.
Add sexual orientation and gender identity to the 2022 NYC Rental Housing Finance Survey.

Ending unjust policing practices

Part IV: Scott will end unjust policing practices that criminalize the LGBTQ+ community. Scott will build trust between law enforcement and the LGBTQ+ community to prevent abuse and end unwarranted arrests to ensure the safety of all New Yorkers regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. He has also pledged to abolish the NYPD’s Vice Unit and called upon the State to fully decriminalize sex work.

Combat discriminatory interactions between police officers and LGBTQ+ New Yorkers.
Invest in community resources to protect LGBTQ+ communities from violence.
Inform TGNCNB New Yorkers about the “Walking While Trans” Repeal.
Disband the NYPD’s Vice Squad.
End the corrosive collaboration between the NYPD and ICE.

Championing Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary New Yorkers

Part V: Scott will be a true champion for TGNCNB New Yorkers. Scott will prioritize the urgent needs of TGNCNB New Yorkers by enacting policies and dedicating resources that prevent harassment and discrimination and promote health and wellbeing.

Direct the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) to strengthen its enforcement of the law on gender-neutral bathrooms.
Create a tailored jobs and workforce development program targeted for TGNCNB New Yorkers.
Create a Bill of Rights for workers that provides housing, health, employment and labor protections.
Provide more resources for TGNCNB New Yorkers to update their identity documents with their correct names and gender markers.

Bolstering LGBTQ+ Small Businesses, Institutions, and Community Voices in City Government

Part VI: Scott will promote and expand opportunities for LGBTQ+ small businesses while ensuring LGBTQ+ voices are represented in every corner of municipal government and the city’s institutions: Scott will promote, support, and expand LGBTQ+ inclusion in the City’s M/WBE contracting process and ensure LGBTQ+ voices are included in all of the City’s decision-making and advisory bodies.

Promote, support and expand LGBTQ+ inclusion in the City’s MWBE contracting process.
Include a member of the LGBTQ+ community in all City commissions, committees, and boards.
Create a pipeline of inclusion, funding and support for all New York City LGBTQ+ New Yorkers at City agencies.
Make the Unity Project a permanent Mayoral Office, and expand its reach.
Conduct review on all LGBTQ+ policies and laws citywide.

To read all of Scott’s plans, click here.

Scott Stringer was born and raised in Washington Heights. He attended P.S. 152 on Nagle Avenue and I.S. 52 on Academy Street. He graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Marble Hill and John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan, a CUNY school.

Stringer was elected City Comptroller in 2013. Prior to serving as Comptroller, he was Manhattan Borough President from 2006 to 2013 and represented the Upper West Side in the New York State Assembly from 1992 to 2005. He and his wife, Elyse Buxbaum, live in Manhattan with their two children, Max and Miles.

###