MAYOR MAMDANI SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER ESTABLISHING THE MAYOR’S OFFICE OF LGBTQIA+ AFFAIRS; APPOINTS TAYLOR BROWN AS DIRECTOR

 

Brown, a nationally-recognized civil rights attorney, is the first transgender person to lead a New York City office or agency

  

Office will oversee and implement LGBTQIA+ initiatives, including developing legal resources to uphold sanctuary protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani signed an executive order establishing the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs and appointed Taylor Brown, currently an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General, as its director.

With this appointment, Brown becomes the first transgender person to lead a City office or agency and the highest-ranking transgender person in the history of New York City government.

“New York City is proud of its LGBTQIA+ community and will refuse to deny healthcare, safety or dignity to anyone on the basis of their identity,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “With Taylor Brown as Director of the new Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, the city’s queer community will not only be celebrated, but protected at every turn.”

"New York has given me everything -- life-saving health care, education, a home, a career, my chosen family, and a life of purpose. I am so proud to serve this city as the inaugural Director of the Mayor's Office for LGBTQIA+ Affairs. I will work every day to ensure that the doors of New York City remain open to all and to continue New York City's legacy as a beacon of opportunity and hope for those who have been ignored, discriminated against, and intentionally excluded," said Director Taylor Brown. "I look forward to working across agencies to ensure that we are protecting the LGBTQIA+ community from hostile actors that do not share New York City's values. Thank you to Mayor Mamdani, Deputy Mayor Su, and Commissioner Attah-Mensah, whom I look forward to working alongside, for this extraordinary opportunity to serve the people of New York."

“From housing insecurity to workplace discrimination to a lack of access to healthcare, the problems that LGBTQ+ New Yorkers face are not unique to their community, but they are felt disproportionately. Through an economic justice framework, we can ensure that LGBTQ+ New Yorkers can afford to stay in our city and enjoy all that it has to offer without having to hide any part of themselves. Taylor is an exceptional leader to take on this charge and I look forward to working closely with her to advance policies that support and defend the diverse queer communities in our city,” said Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su.

About the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs

The Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs will oversee and coordinate implementation of initiatives across city agencies that serve LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers. These initiatives include: 

• Assisting agencies in developing and supporting liaisons to the LGBTQIA+ community 

• Advancing measures to ensure agencies do not engage in discrimination based on gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation 

• Developing legal resources to ensure the City’s sanctuary protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals are upheld 

• Providing support for LGBTQIA+ people and their families fleeing anti-LGBTQIA+ oppression

The Office will absorb and expand upon the NYC Unity Project, which launched in September 2017 as the City’s first initiative focused on delivering and coordinating affirming services for LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers.

About Director Taylor Brown

Taylor Brown serves as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Bureau at the Office of the New York State Attorney General. Brown’s work includes cases addressing unlawful discrimination against transgender people in public accommodations and housing, disparities in race- and disability-based discipline in public schools, and challenges to federal actions undermining civil rights protections.

Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Brown spent nearly seven years at Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund and the national office of the American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBTQ+ & HIV Project. There, Brown led impact litigation across the country advancing constitutional and statutory protections for transgender people, focusing on health care access, education and employment.

Brown is a first-generation graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.