New York City Councilwoman Joann Ariola, a Republican, told Newsmax on Monday that the city is “segregating people” by establishing a homeless shelter specifically for transgender people.
The city last week opened the first publicly funded shelter for transgender and gender-nonconforming people who lack housing in the country. The 150-bed facility, Ace’s Place, opened in Queens as a joint effort operated by the NYC Department of Social Services and the LGBTQ nonprofit Destination Tomorrow. In addition to shelter, Ace’s Place offers counseling, financial literacy workshops, and other services.
Ariola, in the interview with “National Report,” criticized the reported amount being spent on the facility, which, according to Gothamist, will cost about $63 million over the next five years.
“I think that $63 million is an awful lot of money,” the councilwoman said, “and I think that why are we segregating people in homeless shelters? Homelessness is homelessness no matter what it is, and $63 million can be used across the board in the homeless services to make sure that we’re working toward staffing to get people who already have section eight vouchers into permanent housing. This is $63 million to further segregate New York City.”
The city in 2021 settled a lawsuit filed by a transgender woman who alleged discrimination while staying at a Department of Homeless Services shelter. As part of that settlement, the city agreed to set aside at least 30 beds in shelters located throughout four of the city’s five Burroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.
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