Celebrating Pride and Protecting Human Rights
In honor of Pride Month, NYCHA’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer/Questioning (LGBTQ) Employee Association held its first annual Pride and Diversity Celebration on June 22 in the Ceremonial Room.
In her remarks, Chair and CEO Shola Olatoye commemorated the more than 100 members of the LGBTQ community who lost their lives or were injured in the recent tragedy in Orlando, including Enrique Rios, a Brooklyn social worker and former Marcy Houses resident. “Mayor de Blasio declared the attack in Orlando an attack on our New York values of tolerance and freedom, and I want to be clear that those are NYCHA values too,” she said. “We are taking a public stand with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters at NYCHA; this is a place where it’s safe for you to be you.”
The Chair noted that NYCHA’s commitment to LGBTQ people is also reflected in the Authority’s collaboration with SAGE (Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders), who will provide services at the new 100 percent affordable senior housing slated for development at Ingersoll Houses.
Special guest City Council Public Housing Committee Chair Ritchie Torres, Bronx’s first openly gay elected official, movingly described the difficulties of growing up gay at Throggs Neck Houses, and the critical importance of the services that NYCHA and SAGE provide.
Earlier that day, NYCHA continued its partnership with the NYC Human Rights Commission to train all management and supervisory staff in the coming year on the City’s new policy requiring that all City employees and all members of the public be allowed to use single-sex facilities that correspond to their gender identity or expression in Cityowned or operated buildings.
