Advocates and providers ask NYC Council for $35M–$50M to shore up gender-affirming care as federal funding wanes

Multiple community groups and health providers used the public testimony portion of the hearing to press the City Council to make substantial, near-term investments to protect transgender and gender-diverse New Yorkers as federal support for gender-affirming care comes under threat.

Speakers from Make the Road NY, the Trans Justice Leadership Program, Collective Public Affairs, Callen-Lorde and other coalitions asked the council to act quickly. Matteo Guerrero of Make the Road NY urged the council to increase the Trans Equity Fund to $10 million, allocate $15 million to protect gender-affirming providers that may lose federal support, and dedicate $10 million for shelter services for runaway and unhoused trans and queer youth. Guerrero said “the budget is a moral document” and urged funding be prioritized for Black and brown, migrant, low-income and young people who he said face the brunt of federal attacks.

Kate Tiscus and coalition witnesses asked the council to heed a $15 million request to shore up providers delivering gender-affirming care. Dr. Anabelle Ruggiero and other speakers framed the federal actions as existential for trans people and argued for both direct service support and unconditional cash-transfer ideas for broader economic security; Dr. Ruggiero’s coalition proposed a larger, citywide equity investment (her coalition cited a $35 million ask as a baseline and argued for even larger measures). Callen-Lorde's interim manager of policy, Alexander (Ali) Harris, described the center's loss of research and prevention grant funding and urged a $50 million city investment to protect gender-affirming services across primary care and specialty clinics; he also asked for $10 million for housing targeted to LGBTQ youth and $10 million to revitalize the trans equity fund.

Multiple witnesses gave personal testimony about lifesaving effects of gender-affirming care and said cuts to Medicaid and other federal programs would disproportionately harm trans people who rely on public funding and community-based clinics. The council did not adopt budget changes during the hearing but received formal testimony and was urged to include these investments in the city’s adopted budget.

Ending: Advocates asked the council to include or expand these allocations in the final adopted budget and to prioritize trans-led groups for direct funding and decision-making.