Oversight Hearing on Housing Instability Among LGBTQ+ Individuals in NYC - June 24, 2026
Oversight Hearing on Housing Instability Among LGBTQ+ Individuals in NYC - June 24, 2026
This joint oversight hearing of the Committees on Women and Gender Equity and General Welfare examined housing instability among LGBTQ+ individuals in New York City. The hearing featured testimony from the Mayor's Office of LGBTQI Affairs, the Department of Social Services (DSS), the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD), and multiple public witnesses. Key topics included data collection barriers, dedicated shelter beds, staff training, discrimination complaints, and funding needs for youth and older adults.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Alex Guevara (Ali Forney Center) – Shared personal experience of family rejection and shelter conditions at Marsha's House, including deadnaming and staff hostility. Stressed need for LGBTQ+ staff and housing vouchers.
- Chaitanya Gudrati (Youth Action Board) – Noted that LGBTQ+ youth make up 40% of homeless youth despite being 5-10% of the overall youth population. Called for expanding housing options and creating a $15 million LGBTQI+ immigration fund.
- Nedelyn Helena Diaz (Housing Works) – Cited Trevor Project data: 28% of LGBTQ youth experienced homelessness; among those kicked out, 40% cited LGBTQ identity. Supported $15M immigration fund and $10M for persons in sex trade.
- Brian Ellicott Cook (Sage) – Reported that 40% of LGBTQ+ older adults live below poverty; 49% own homes vs. 65% of general population. Urged more affirming housing and better safety signals for self-identification.
- Nadia Swanson (Ali Forney Center) – Stated 400 youth on waitlist for crisis beds; vouchers reduced waitlist from 300 to under 100. Called for raising RHY bed funding to $80K/year, additional crisis beds, and $5M baseline for speaker initiative.
- Ava Jacru (Safe Haven case manager) – Described IDNYC photo ID barrier for clients without documents; proposed adding DHS to caretaker list to waive photo requirement.
- Ethan Lowe (Legal Aid Society) – Recommended expanding affirming shelter capacity across all boroughs, proactive outreach about rights, and expanding DSS LGBTQ Affairs capacity.
- Timothy Pena (Navy veteran) – Described unsafe conditions at Borden Avenue Veterans Residence, including frequent emergency calls (1,365 in 16 months) and high costs.
- Dr. Henry Love (Point Source Youth) – Advocated for Targeted Housing Assistance Program (TAP) providing $3,700 cash assistance; 98% of recipients had no shelter contact within 6 months. Requested $4.7M city council funding.
- David Miranda (Manhattan Legal Services) – Highlighted HASA administrative delays causing homelessness (example: 5-year wait for voucher). Called for better data collection on hidden homelessness.
- Mateo Guerrero (Make the Road NY) – Shared stories of trans migrants facing shelter violence, police harassment, and immigration complications. Urged ending lawsuit against CityFEPS expansion and increasing housing voucher funding.
- Erica Larshbaugh (Interact) – Reported intersex people face 4x the housing discrimination of other LGBTQ+ individuals; urged passage of Intro 131 to make anti-discrimination protections explicit.
Discussion Items
- Mayor's Office of LGBTQI Affairs (Taylor Brown) – Outlined plans for agency audits, stakeholder convenings, and policy innovation. Office is two months old; budget negotiations ongoing. Will absorb Unity Project and maintain resource guides.
- DSS (Commissioner Aaron Dalton) – Described required LGBTQIA+ training for all staff (initial within 90 days, refresher every 2 years). Noted voluntary gender identity screening at shelter intake leads to low data – only 1% of shelter population identified as LGBTQ+ in Local Law 95 report. Reported 192 dedicated TGNC shelter beds across 4 boroughs (Queens: 159, Bronx: 21, Brooklyn: 5, Manhattan: 7). ACES Place has 150 beds (109 occupied as of last week). Marsha's House has 80 beds. DSS tracks discrimination complaints: 92 total (FY26 to date), including 61 gender discrimination, 24 TGNC discrimination, 5 TGNC harassment, 2 TGNC retaliation. Commissioner noted forthcoming TGNC advisory group.
- DYCD (Associate Commissioner Wanda Asherill) – Serves 40,000 young people annually. 38% of residential program youth and 35% of drop-in center youth identify as LGBTQ+. 700 LGBTQ+ youth in residential programs, 564 in drop-in centers. Housing outcomes: 15% returned home, 20% with friends/family, 12% independent living, 42% other services. Noted 500 youth not placed due to bed unavailability (36% of those were LGBTQ+).
- Councilmember Questions – Farías and Hudson probed data collection, training effectiveness, coordination with other agencies (Veterans Services, Aging), complaint response, and proactive outreach for self-identification. Hudson emphasized need for staff accountability over resident transfers.
- Public Advocate Williams – Highlighted disparities: 40% of homeless youth are LGBTQ+, higher suicide risk, discrimination in senior housing. Called for more affordable housing.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; hearing was informational oversight.
- Funding requests from advocates: $15M for LGBTQI+ immigration fund, $10M for sex trade support, $5M baseline for speaker initiative, $4.7M for Targeted Housing Assistance Program (TAP), and increased RHY bed funding from $50K to $80K/year.
- Data improvement acknowledged as critical; DSS will explore better methods to encourage self-identification while protecting privacy.
- Future steps: Mayor's Office of LGBTQI Affairs to continue agency audits, conduct site visits to all TGNC shelters, and report on rights and resources for migrant LGBTQ+ New Yorkers by November 2026. DSS to launch TGNC advisory group later in 2026.
- Commitment to collaboration across agencies and with City Council on budget and policy solutions.
Meeting Transcript
Good morning and welcome to today's New York City Council hearing for the committees on women and gender equity joint with general welfare. At this time, we ask that you please silence all cell phones and electronic devices to minimize disruptions throughout the hearing. If you wish to testify, please see a sergeant arms for assistance. At any time throughout today's proceeding, please do not approach the dais. We thank you for your kind cooperation. Chairs, we are ready to begin. Good morning, everyone. I'm Councilmember Amanda Fadias, Chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity. I'm excited to be joined by the Chair of the Committee on General Welfare, Councilmember Crystal Hudson for today's hearing on housing instability among LGBTQ plus individuals in New York City. As we celebrate Pride Month here in New York, it is important to recognize the reality of the LGBT plus community's ongoing struggles, one of them being that in the United States, LGBTQ plus individuals are more likely to face housing insecurity than non-LGBTQ people. When we look back at the origins of Pride at the 1969 Stonewall riots, we are reminded that the modern LGBTQ plus liberation movement was largely formed by housing insecure people. The Stonewall Bar was a haven for young LGBTQ plus individuals who had nowhere else to go. Housing injustice and LGBTQ plus rights have been the in have been intertwined since the beginning. Today, LGBTQ plus individuals continue to face challenges in accessing safe, stable, and affordable housing. Often this begins tragically early when many young people are forced to leave their homes due to family rejection or unsupportive environments. Almost half of all homeless youth in New York City identified as LGBTQ plus, and one in four have experienced homelessness or housing insecurity at one point in their lives. But these challenges often persist throughout an LGBTQ plus person's life with LGBTQ plus elders facing high risks of being turned away from or being charged or being charges higher charged with higher rents at independent or assisted living centers. As nationwide, 48% of LGBTQ plus seniors experience discrimination when applying for housing. For LGBTQ plus individuals, the challenges don't end when they gain access to shelter services. Many experience discrimination, harassment, and even violence when seeking support. Furthermore, if staff are not equipped to serve LGBTQ people, it can often lead to additional harm, especially when staff fails to honor a person's gender identity and houses a person based on their sex assigned at birth rather than where the person feels the safest. New York City has historically been a progressive leader and a safe haven for individuals of all gender and genders and sexual orientations, boasting the largest population of LGBTQ plus people of any U.S. metro area. Our city needs to bolster our support of housing services for LGBTQ people and the development of more affordable and supportive housing options for this community. So today we'll ask the administration how you are working to address housing instability among LGBTQ plus individuals in New York City. What specific housing resources are available to the LGBTQ plus community, and what trainings are available available for people working in shelters around engagement with LGBT plus individuals. Now I'd like to invite Chair Hudson to deliver her opening remarks. Thank you so much. Good morning, and welcome to today's oversight hearing. I'm Crystal Hudson, General Welfare Committee Chair, and my pronouns are she her. I would like to also thank Councilmember Fideas, who, from my own personal experience as well as my professional experience working with her, puts allyship into action. And I'd like to thank the Committee on Women and Gender Equity for joining the Committee on General Welfare and holding this hearing. Additionally, we are joined by Council members Viles, Ung, Morano on Zoom, Wilson, and El Deball. Despite New York City's reputation as a place of inclusion, LGBTQ plus individuals, particularly transgender and gender nonconforming people, LGBTQ plus youth, and LGBTQ plus people of color remain disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity. Many are forced from their homes due to family rejection. Many face barriers to accessing safe and affirming shelters, and many encounter discrimination when seeking permanent affordable housing. Compounded by rising rents, a shortage of affordable housing, and economic inequality that continues to affect our most vulnerable neighbors. The challenges can feel insurmountable. New York City's overall homelessness crisis continues to grow, with tens of thousands of people residing in shelters nightly. Within this broader crisis, LGBTQ plus individuals, particularly transgender people, youth, and people of color face unique barriers to obtaining and maintaining stable housing. In the LGBTQ plus homeless youth provider survey, providers reported that being forced out by parents or they ran away because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression was a primary reason for homelessness in over 55% of their LGBTQ youth clients over and over 67% of their transgender clients, with general family issues underlying homelessness for an additional 16.5% of LGBTQ and 7.3% of transgender clients. Among respondents to the most recent US transgender survey, 70% of respondents who experienced homelessness and stayed in a shelter the previous year reported some form of mistreatment, including being harassed, assaulted, or kicked out because of being transgender. More than 36% of respondents who experienced homelessness in the previous year avoided staying in shelter because they feared being mistreated as a transgender person. We recognize that addressing housing instability among LGBTQ plus New Yorkers requires more than awareness. It requires tangible action. As lawmakers and governmental officials, we need to be thoughtfully and intentionally creating policies that not only respond to immediate needs, but also address the systemic inequities that place LGBTQ plus New Yorkers at greater risk of homelessness. We hope that today's hearing will inform an assessment of how we can reduce the barriers that LGBTQ plus people experience when it comes to achieving housing stability and financial sustainability more generally. Thank you for your commitment to this important issue, and I look forward to today's discussion. And I'd like to conclude by thanking the committee staff for their work on this hearing, Aminta Kilowan, Panina Rosenberg, Justin Campos, Farija Ramon, and Elizabeth Childers Garcia. And I'd also like to thank my staff, Andrew Wright, Alika Ruentan, and Demi Brown.
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