City Council condemns homophobic, transphobic actions

In response to continued anti-LGBTQIA+ actions targeted at Council members and Drag Story Hour events, including one on Thursday at the Queens Public Library in Jackson Heights, Speaker Adrienne Adams and Council Members Shekar Krishnan, Erik Bottcher and Crystal Hudson strongly condemned the actions.  

Drag Story Hour organizes free events, accessible to families, that engage children in arts and crafts, and imaginative storytelling. 

The Council Members said that, in recent months, anti-LGBTQIA+ protesters have descended on these family events, attempting to get into libraries to disrupt them while shouting homophobic and transphobic slurs at performers and attendees. 

The legislators said the protesters have also vandalized the homes of three members of the City Council who support Drag Story Hour. 

“It is particularly disturbing that these anti-LGBTQIA+ protesters have focused their harassment in Jackson Heights and Chelsea, two neighborhoods with historical importance as safe communities and centers of organizing for the LGBTQIA+ movement in New York City,” said the Council Members in a joint statement. 

“Hate in all its pernicious forms, including attacks on our LGBTQIA+ communities, have no place in our city and must be unequivocally condemned,” they added. “We stand with New Yorkers gathering today in Jackson Heights to confront hate and defend families reading with their children. 

“The harmful, homophobic, and transphobic extremism targeting Drag Story Hour events and the New Yorkers who support them, including Council members, is vile and dangerous,” the Council Members continued. “We will not stay silent or accept these shameful attempts to intimidate and spread hate, especially after recent incidents that have devolved into violence and put New Yorkers in harm’s way. 

“This City Council is proud to support children’s programs that promote inclusivity, literacy and joy,” they said.