Meet NYC Mayor Mamdani’s LGBTQ+ avengers

Zohran Mamdani made history last year as a Democratic Socialist who won New York City’s mayoral election. The now-mayor’s win wasn’t just a victory for progressives; his campaign promised to allocate resources for queer and transgender New Yorkers as well as incorporate policy guidance by high-profile LGBTQ+ organizers.

Now halfway through his first year in office, Mamdani is attempting to live up to the lofty LGBTQ+ policy agenda that endeared him to trans New Yorkers. In that time, he’s already established the city’s first-ever office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs and appointed trans civil rights attorney Taylor Brown as its inaugural director.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani announcing Taylor Brown as head of NYC’s new office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.CBS New York

“This role and, especially being housed in the Mayor’s Office of Equity and Racial Justice, where my office sits, really does feel like the perfect intersection of everything I’ve been working on in my professional career, and just based on my personal experience,” Brown tells The Advocate.

As a trans woman who grew up in a rural town in North Carolina, Brown says her fight for trans rights has always been personal. Previously working for the ACLU, Lambda Legal, and the New York State Office of the Attorney General under Letitia James, Brown has spent her life fighting for equal protections for trans people.

“I’m well aware of the disparities that have existed for my communities in this office, diversity of intersectionality, as well as the contemporary challenges that we face with ongoing hostilities from the federal government,” Brown says.

Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, commissioner of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services.courtesy Smith-Cruz

Among Mamdani’s other historic LGBTQ+ appointees are Shawn(ta) Smith-Cruz, a Black lesbian archivist, librarian, and dean of the Barnard Library, as commissioner of the New York City Department of Records and Information Services, and Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, a lesbian with over 30 years of service in the FDNY.

“To know that young LGBTQ+ people — and particularly young women considering a career in public safety — can look at the fire commissioner and see themselves is profoundly moving,” Bonsignore says.

Lillian Bonsignore getting sworn in as the new FDNY Fire Commissioner.courtesy FDNY

But representation isn’t just about making history, it’s about making progress,” she continues. “My goal is to ensure that our department reflects every corner of the beautiful city we serve, and that every single member feels safe, respected, and supported when they put on their uniform.”

The historic appointments mark a distinct shift in New York City’s leadership as well as a codification of years of efforts by LGBTQ+ organizers.

This article is part of The Advocate's July-Aug 2026 print issue, on newsstands July 7. Support queer media and subscribe — or download the issue through Apple News+, Zinio, Nook, or PressReader starting June 18.