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Mayor Mamdani creates LGBTQIA office, with NYC's first out trans agency head in charge
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Mar 13, 2026
Modified Mar 13, 2026
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From video by the mayor's office
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Mar 13, 2026
Modified Mar 13, 2026
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani is establishing the first Mayor’s Office for LGBTQIA+ affairs and appointing the first out trans person to lead a New York City office as director.
The newly established city office comes amid significant rollbacks on federal protections and resources for queer Americans since Donald Trump resumed office last year. Federal directives have routinely clashed with human rights law in New York, the birthplace of the modern Pride movement.
The city will create a central office solely focused on how agencies can benefit queer New Yorkers, who are disproportionately more likely to suffer higher rates of homelessness, job insecurity and issues accessing healthcare.
“This day was a long time coming. It took years of activism from community leaders who recognize how often queer New Yorkers fall through the cracks while attempting to access our city’s social services,” Mamdani said. The mayor declined to address the office’s budget.
Taylor Brown — who is currently working in the state Attorney General’s office in its civil rights bureau, and assisted in a lawsuit launched against Nassau County and its ban on transgender women and girls from playing sports in county facilities — will head the new office. She will be the highest-ranking trans person in New York City government.
Brown also worked for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, where she was a part of the legal team behind a landmark lawsuit for trans people looking to amend birth certificates in West Virginia.
“We want the same things as everyone else, and we deserve the same things as everyone else, and that’s what this administration is about,” Brown said Friday after Mamdani announced her appointment. “We’re all people.”
The newly established office comes as NYU Langone Health shutters gender-affirming care it previously offered to children and teens in the area. The state Attorney General’s Office ordered the medical center to reverse this decision.
During the announcement, Mamdani told reporters that he was “in opposition” to NYU Langone’s decision.
“ I think the city has a role in standing up for the rights of New Yorkers and ensuring the compliance with the law,” Mamdani said. “And that is regardless of who impedes upon it.”
NYU Langone did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Gothamist on Mamdani’s remarks.
Mamdani also said the new office would extend work done with the NYC Unity Project, which was established during the Bill de Blasio administration to coordinate citywide assistance for LGBTQ+ people. It will also seek to ensure other city agencies do not discriminate against people for their sexual orientation, gender or gender identity, he said.
The office will also be tasked with safeguarding sanctuary protections for queer New Yorkers and help LGBTQ+ people fleeing to the city because of oppression elsewhere.
The new office’s announcement comes amid ongoing discussions on the city budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Mamdani declined to discuss how much funding would be allocated to the new office.
This story has been updated with more information.
Tagged
LGBTQ
Politics
new york city
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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