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Groups boycotting mayor's Pride reception
Four LGBTQ political groups are boycotting Mayor Eric Adams' Gracie Mansion reception in honor of Pride month Tuesday evening and are instead hosting a counter reception.
NEW YORK - Four LGBTQ political groups are boycotting Mayor Eric Adams' Gracie Mansion reception in honor of Pride Month Tuesday evening and are instead hosting a counter reception. It is all because of the mayor's controversial hiring of two people with a history of anti-LGBTQ views and comments.
"This mayor has not been very supportive of the LGBTQ community since he was elected," said Cathy Marino-Thomas, chair of Equality NY, a group boycotting Tuesday's event. "First thing he did was hire some notorious homophobes and give them prominent places in his administration."
Adams took heat in February for giving prominent positions to Fernando Cabrera, who as a City Council member praised Uganda when the nation's government was working to make homosexuality a crime, and to Erick Salgado, who has criticized same-sex marriage.
"We've been fighting against these people for decades," Marino-Thomas said. "They have horrible records for our community."
But still attending Tuesday's event is Sandra Perez, the executive director of NYC Pride, which hosts the city's annual pride march, one of the largest in the world.
"We think it's important to be in the room and hear what he has to say and see what this administration does as a result of all this commentary," Perez said. She said NYC Pride found the mayor's appointments "disappointing" but ultimately believes they should attend in order to foster what they call a dialogue.
"It is important to be able to report firsthand back to the community that we serve," Perez said.
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Equality New York's boycott
Equality New York co-founder Gabriel Blau tell FOX 5 NY why several LGBTQ+ groups are boycotting Mayor Eric Adams' Gracie Mansion reception in honor of Pride month.
NYC Pride has previously announced that it will not allow uniformed police officers to march in Pride events through 2025, a position Adams has sharply criticized. But NYC Pride said that position will remain.
"That has not changed," Perez said.
FOX 5 NY asked the mayor's office if he may decide not to march this year if officers can't wear uniforms in the NYC Pride March. A spokesman said only that the mayor hopes NYC Pride officials will change their minds. And in response to the boycott from the four LGBTQ groups, that spokesman said the mayor is committed to "serving all New Yorkers equally and fairly," adding that Adams has a history of standing with LGBTQ New Yorkers.