Mayor Adams Announces City Hall, Multiple Municipal Buildings to Be Lit Blue, Pink, and White in Honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance

November 20, 2023

NEW YORK – New York City Mayor Eric Adams today announced that City Hall and other municipal buildings will be lit blue, pink, and white in recognition of Transgender Day of Remembrance — a worldwide observance that honors the memory of transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

“As the mayor of the city with the largest LGBTQ+ community in the nation, I will always stand alongside our LGBTQ+ New Yorkers — and our administration has done that with critical investments in social services and protections for gender-affirming care,” said Mayor Adams. “Transgender, gender non-confirming, and non-binary people show our city what it means to be strong, courageous, and brave. They show us what it means to turn pain into purpose, fighting to create a more equal and just society. Today, we remember all those who lost their lives and remind all that New York City is and will always be a safe haven for all, regardless of their gender.” 

“Too many transgender, gender non-confirming, and non-binary people have been tragically taken by hate and violence,” Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit Commissioner Fred Kreizman. “In remembrance of those lost to anti-transgender bigotry, we illuminate the city against this darkness. New York City remains steadfast in its commitment to stand alongside the transgender, gender non-confirming, and non-binary community, and to ensure everyone can feel safe and be their authentic self.”

In addition to City Hall, the following city buildings will be lit up green tonight:

• Bronx County Courthouse: 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, NY 10451
• The David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building: 1 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007

Mayor Adams has consistently stood with the LGBTQ+ community — delivering a $6.7 million investment in new and expanded social services for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, signing an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming health care in the five boroughs with the support of communities across the city, creating a new process for New Yorkers to contact the New York City Police Department to re-examine cases involving LGBTQ+ victims, and standing with the LGBTQ+ community in times of crisis.

Transgender Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith as a vigil to honor the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998. The vigil commemorated all of the transgender people lost to violence since Hester’s death and began an important tradition that has become the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance.

For more information on New York City’s protections against discrimination based on gender identity and expression, visit the NYC Human Rights website.