New York City's mayor has found himself at odds with prominent LGBTQ groups at the start of Pride Month after a call to boycott Eric Adams' pride reception next week.
Four of the city's political LGBTQ groups issued the call Thursday, with demands that the mayor make changes to his administration in addition a number of city policies the groups call harmful to LGBTQ+ individuals.
The Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn, the Stonewall Democrats of New York City, the Lesbian and Gay Democractic Club of Queens and Equity New York signed the statement on the second day of Pride Month.
"Mayor Adams has tested the boundaries of the LGBTQ community to see where he can overstep - including who he can afford to disregard for the sake of his own interests," part of the statement read.
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The first of five demands by the groups calls for the firing of Fernando Cabrera and Erick Salgado, two pastors with histories of anti-gay views the mayor hired since taking office. Additional demands include ending sweeps of homeless encampments and the use of solitary confinement in city jails.
The statement calls attention to the death of Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old transgender woman who died of a seizure while in solitary confinement on Rikers Island in 2019.
Adams' spokesperson, Fabien Levy, gave a statement to the New York Daily News explaining the mayor's commitment to equality.
"We're excited to have already taken action to support priorities of the community and look forward to making additional announcement during Pride and in the months ahead. Our team is committed to serving all New Yorkers equally and fairly, regardless of who they love and how they identify, and is exited to host a Pride celebration at Grace Mansion next week," Levy said.
Adams recently denounced New York City Pride March's continued ban on uniformed cops marching in the annual parade. Organizers banned cops from marching in uniform last year following police violence at events the previous year.
