Press Room

"Chag Hanukkah Sameach, Happy Hanukkah, to all in the Jewish community who begin celebrating this evening.

"Amid the challenges our city faces, unsure about the future, and as we confront rises in hate crimes and anti-Semitism, this holiday is a moment to recall and embody the message of Hanukkah, one of light over darkness, liberty over persecution, and the power of miracles. In finding the light – in ourselves, in our world, in the illumination of the menorah – we can overcome the greatest of challenges, the most daunting of obstacles."

"Hanukkah shows the power of perseverance, faith, and the miracles that those values make possible in our lives. As reflected in the letters on the dreidel, great miracles can happen here – and through our good works, we can make miracles happen in our lives and in our world."

" I want to wish a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to all New Yorkers. In a time of so many challenges, so much uncertainty, today is a day to reflect on the gifts we have been given, all we have to be grateful for which give us strength and solace in difficulty and turmoil.

"I am thankful for the support of my friends, the love of my family. I am thankful for the honor of serving the city as its Public Advocate, and for my incredible team that makes that service possible. I am thankful for New Yorkers who continue to show their resilience and compassion in equal measure.

"It is important to acknowledge Thanksgiving's origins of injustice perpetrated against Indigenous peoples, horrors whose impact is still felt today. At the same time, it is essential to take time to feel and express gratitude, to give humble thanks for our blessings and the people we are privileged to have in our lives. I have been and continue to be profoundly blessed, and for that, I am profoundly thankful."

"I still haven’t watched the footage of Ahmaud Arbery’s murder. I still can’t. But today I watched a semblance of justice. Ahmaud Arbery was killed, his life stolen, in a racist act of gun violence. That doesn’t change. But with some measure of accountability today, I pray for some measure of comfort for his family, and some measure of change for the country that saw him killed for the crime of being a Black man in America.

"Being a Black man in America is also reflected in the absurd dread of waiting for this verdict and being in doubt of its outcome even in the face of overwhelming evidence, hoping for justice but not expecting it. Because we’ve been here before, so many times, and seen justice denied – seen our humanity denied. We must continue the work of uprooting old systems until the expectation is not justice denied but justice delivered, until we can truly be okay."

New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams today released a short-form documentary piece highlighting the obstacles that transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers face in accessing quality, gender-affirming health care. The piece, entitled Our Healthcare, features a roundtable discussion between members of the Office of the Public Advocate and a panel of transgender activists– watch it here.

“I’m grateful to everyone who contributed to the dialogue featured in this piece for sharing their stories, and for joining us in the work ahead,” said Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams about the discussion. “Transgender individuals deserve equitable access to healthcare services, and to be able to receive that treatment without fear of discrimination or the burden of education and explanation of gender issues to to their healthcare providers. These barriers lead to a lack of access to critical care, and on the city, state, and federal level we must do more to confront the inadequacies that stem from implicit bias and explicit lack of training on transgender issues.”

Featured in the video are Bryan Ellicott, Chanel Lopez, Tahtianna Fermin, Grace Detrevarah, Octavia Lewis and Victoria Bell, as well as Kadeem Robinson and Kim Watson-Benjamin from the Office of the Public Advocate, and the Public Advocate himself. Their conversation centers on combating and correcting implicit bias; the need to provide education on these issues for medical professionals; and the importance of defining and providing adequate, trans-affirming healthcare services.

As the video notes, 1 in 3 transgender individuals report having to educate their doctors about basic transgender issues in order to receive appropriate care. About the same proportion of trans individuals who have seen a healthcare provider in the last year report having had at least one negative experience related to being transgender. As a result, 27% of transgender people report having not seen a doctor in the past year for fear of being mistreated.

As part of the conversation, the Public Advocate discussed his legislative package aimed at addressing these inequities on a city level through education and information. The first of two bills, Intro 2119, would require the city to report on training for medical care for transgender and gender non-conforming persons-- including the scope of the training both in content and in number of personnel trained. The second, Intro 2120, would require that signage on transgender patient rights and available services be distributed to and displayed at every hospital in the City.

View and download the full piece here.

"This report is damning, if delayed. It documents both specific instances of harm and a clear overarching pattern of abuse of power within the Cuomo administration – one which many of us saw and challenged long before the pandemic. The former Governor engaged in repeated incidents of sexual misconduct, mishandled the COVID crisis, and focused time and resources on a book deal rather than combatting that crisis. He was clearly only ever interested in his own interests.

"Again and again throughout the report, we see how Andrew Cuomo abused his power and position to both commit egregious actions and coerce the people under his control to support both the actions themselves and the coverup. With the former Governor exerting such influence, it was and has always been important for those outside of it to use the power they have to stand independently and speak out about these instances of abuse – or to preemptively stand against the culture that enabled them. This impeachment report documents a series of terrible, preventable actions, and in holding Andrew Cuomo accountable, we must also account for how he was enabled and empowered.

"The former Governor’s conduct was clearly impeachable, and the legislature should explore how it can move forward to help ensure the full legal accountability– as a condemnation of the conduct displayed, the Cuomo administration that perpetrated it, and the systems in Albany that perpetuate these abuses."

"The federal approval of a 988 number for suicide prevention and mental health crises is a welcome and potentially lifesaving measure. New York and the nation are experiencing a mental health crisis compounded – but not caused – by the pandemic, and easing access to support services is vital. At the same time, it is not intended as a comprehensive outlet for mental health emergencies, and it is not a replacement or substitute for a 3 digit number that dispatches rapid, non-police emergency response teams to respond to these crises, a tool that my office has repeatedly called for and pursued legislatively, and which the de Blasio administration has not supported.

“If the Mayor wants to celebrate federal action on this issue, he should embrace fundamental reforms on a city level, where he has prevented the very progress we have been pushing. I have appreciated this administration’s focus on mental health and wellness, as this issue is personal to me and so many New Yorkers, but the execution of that focus has often been ineffective or inadequate. As I’ve previously discussed, we need a robust approach to mental health crises that centers a healthcare approach, not a criminal one, in addition to broad wraparound services that help preempt and prevent emergencies. In his last weeks in office, the Mayor should focus on finally laying that foundation here in the city.”