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In 2025, while running for office, Zohran Mamdani made a pledge to New Yorkers: If elected, he would "immediately" commit $65 million in his budget to support and expand access to gender-affirming care in New York City, and promised to stand up for transgender New Yorkers in the face of the Trump administration's anti-trans policies.
Specifically, Mamdani promised he would provide an extra $57 million to public healthcare providers to deliver gender-affirming care, and another $8 million to services that support that care, including founding a hub to connect New Yorkers with providers. He hit queer parties in Brooklyn—including Papi Juice, which celebrates queer and trans people of color—to rally partygoers to support his campaign.
However, 152 days into his mayoralty, and three weeks since he issued his 2027 executive budget, advocates for trans New Yorkers who rallied and canvassed to help elect him to office say they're still waiting to see budget lines for this $65 million pledge, and a commitment from him or his new Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs that his administration plans to keep the promise.