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Last week, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the creation of the Office of LGBTQIA Affairs, fulfilling a key promise he made to queer and trans New Yorkers on the campaign trail. The office’s appointed director, Taylor Brown, who worked in the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York Attorney General’s Office, becomes the first openly transgender person to lead a New York City office or agency.

As queer and trans New Yorkers celebrated the announcement, some advocates were left wondering about another major campaign pledge Mamdani made to the community: investing $65 million to protect and expand gender-affirming care.

On Feb. 17, the Mamdani administration released its $127 billion preliminary budget for fiscal year 2027, but, according to an analysis by Prism, the $65 million funding increase has not been explicitly allocated.

The mayor’s office did not respond to multiple emails about where the funds are in the budget and how Mamdani planned to fulfill his campaign promise.

Concerns about whether trans health services would be bolstered in New York come as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) seeks to eliminate all federal funding for youth gender-affirming care. The department has proposed rules that would prevent hospitals that provide treatments such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy for trans youth from receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding, and restrict payments to outpatient providers. While the rules have yet to go into effect, two major hospitals in New York, NYU Langone Health and Mount Sinai, preemptively ended their transgender youth health care programs, leaving many young people and their parents scrambling to continue care.

Mamdani Vows to Make NYC a “Sanctuary City” for Trans People in New Campaign Ad

Budget experts and sources within city government acknowledged the lack of clarity around whether Mamdani’s budget would increase funding for gender-affirming care. Some said the money could be apportioned under other budget items, or the administration could be waiting to determine the amount after the state budget is finalized.

Amid the Trump administration’s threats to trans health care, trans advocates told Prism that it’s more important than ever that Mamdani live up to his promises.

“You are in office because this community showed the hell up to get you in office,” said Ceyenne Doroshow, founder and executive director of GLITS, a Black-led trans advocacy organization, and one of New York’s most prominent trans activists. “Our babies were up at 6 o’clock in the morning getting people to vote, canvassing, fighting to make you mayor. Now we need you to fight to keep us alive.’”

The $65 Million Pledge

Amid a busy mayoral primary season last spring, Mamdani held a Trans Community Town Hall to share his platform for LGBTQIA New Yorkers.

His platform focused on three pledges: to make New York a “sanctuary city” for queer and trans people, including by expanding protections against the criminalization of gender-affirming care; to create the........

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