BUILDING LGBTQ POWER AND COMMUNITY IN BROOKLYN AND BEYOND

The next City Council must tangibly fight for LGBTQ New Yorkers - showing up for Pride marches is meaningless when New York’s queer communities, particularly queer communities of color, still face rising rates of police harassment, job loss, and predatory harassment from landlords. LGBTQ New Yorkers have also been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, as LGBTQ-owned small businesses continue to close, and queer nightlife workers and performing artists remain without work or real support from the City. True justice means guaranteeing queer New Yorkers have access to permanently affordable housing, affirming healthcare, and workplace protections.

Shahana’s community engagement background includes organizing alongside LGBTQ youth in the district, focusing on those who are less likely to seek out public services. She has uplifted youth-led initiatives for queer and trans affirming sexual and reproductive health education and provided language accessible resources for trans folks through her leadership in Participatory Budgeting and case management. Shahana’s vision for a feminist government centers queer communities, and she will continue to support queer organizers’ vision for the district and the city. 

As Councilmember, Shahana will work to: 

+ End LGBTQ homelessness

  • Fund programs that support homeless LGBTQ New Yorkers, such as NYC Unity Works, and expand outreach of these job-training programs through targeted outreach and advertising in LGBTQ centers and nonprofits.
  • Ensure youth aging out of LGBTQ shelters are prioritized for rental assistance, like CityFHEPS housing vouchers, and aren’t pushed into the City’s dangerous shelter system.
  • Expand resources to LGBTQ-centered senior community centers.

+ Expand affirming health and mental health services

  • Support LGBTQ centered community based health organizations, health clinics and practitioners in the City, including STI/STD testing, gender affirming surgery, hormone therapy, PrEP access, contraceptive access, and mental health services.
  • Work with public schools to develop comprehensive and trans-inclusive sex and sexuality education and history curricula. Shahana will also support statewide efforts to require affirming sex education (Senate Bill 2584).
  • Partner with community health clinics to host inclusive, destigmatizing, and culturally-informed language-accessible outreach and workshops around sexual and reproductive health, abortion, birth control, and STIs/STDs. Shahana will prioritize language access, hosting workshops in Bangla, Arabic, Spanish, Yiddish, and other languages as needed.
  • Advocate with State lawmakers to pass legislation requiring medical professionals be trained on sexuality, gender identity, and other elements of sexual health (Assembly Bill 10380).
  • Remove the NYPD from mental health emergencies. Shahana will push for community-driven responses to mental health crises, including mobile crisis teams of social workers, medics, and peers to support those in crisis.
  • Expand funding for syringe exchange programs, including peer-delivered exchange programs that allow people to distribute sterile needles to their friends, family, and social networks. Shahana will push for additional outreach and marketing of these services, including within her office’s constituent services, to make sure users know and trust these services are legal. Shahana will also join colleagues in Albany to push for the decriminalization of syringe possession.

+ Guarantee legal protections for all LGBTQ New Yorkers

  • Establish a District-wide hotline run by intersectional, inclusive social workers and mental health experts to respond to hate crimes, domestic violence, gender-based violence, and intimate partner violence without police intervention.
  • Advocate for the statewide decriminalization of sex work through the Stop Violence in the Sex Trades Act. Trans sex workers have higher rates of interactions with armed enforcement, including physical and sexual assault.
  • Expand Council Member Lander’s Int 1415-2019 and pass comprehensive legislation that protects all workers from termination without just cause. Currently, at-will employment allows employers to legally discriminate against LGBTQ employees.