ALEXA AVILES
NYC COUNCIL DISTRICT 38
Alexa Avilés
She/Her
Re-election to New York City Council District 38
alexaforcouncil.com
QUESTIONNAIRE:
Why do you want LID’s endorsement?
I have long been a champion of an inclusive and equitable New York. My work as a council member has centered on education equity and inclusive housing for all — areas in which we see members of the LGBTQ+ community suffer disproportionately year after year. I co-sponsored a bill that would require the Department of Social Services to create shelters for LGBTQ+ single adults in every borough (Int. 0356), as well as another bill that would require the Mayor’s office to create an office to address LGBTQIA+ homelessness, (Int. 0358). I’ve also fought against Mayor Adams’ harmful budget cuts to vital public services that play a key role in stabilizing and supporting LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers, and worked with tenants and colleagues in the Progressive Caucus to secure major investments in affordable housing.
Before elected to office, I was active in my community, and fought for investments in programs and services that support our queer and trans New Yorkers. As the Chair of the NYC Youth Board, I advocated for expanded services and support for LGBTQIA+ runaway and homeless youth. I was also the Program Director at the Scherman Foundation, where I managed and shaped our reproductive rights and justice grantmaking program, and funded organizations across the country fighting for bodily autonomy and equitable healthcare.
If you have previously held office, describe a time while elected that you advocated and acted for the LGBTQIA+ community. If you have not held office, describe a time you have advocated for the LGBTQIA+ community.
I’ve sponsored numerous bills that aim to bring equal access to housing, healthcare, education, and other vital services to the LGBTQIA+ community, including Int. 3093-A, Int. 0149-2024, Int. 3184-A, Int. 3179-A, and others. I’ve rallied in support of queer and trans rights, including at recent rallies and actions discussed further in this endorsement form. I’ve fought against budget cuts that would harm LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers. I’ll continue to fight for LGBTQIA+ rights in my next term.
Are you accepting campaign contributions from law enforcement or for profit real estate?
No
Has Mayor Eric Adams met the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community? Please include “yes” or “no” in your answer.
No, he has not met the needs of the LGBTQIA+ community. Compared with heterosexual and cis New Yorkers, LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers are more likely to face housing insecurity and homelessness, and struggle to access affordable and affirming healthcare. Yet, Eric Adams continued to propose cuts to vital social services that could address the affordability crises faced by queer New Yorkers — from proposals to cut to the Commission on Human Rights, to the city’s public health programs on HIV/AIDS. In a moment when New Yorkers are struggling with affordability and seeing rights eroded federally, we should expand funding for vital services that make sure New Yorkers can be housed and treated without discrimination, not propose cuts to them.
Are you committed to continuing and expanding city support for the Summer Youth Employment Program Pride initiative (SYEP Pride)?
Yes
How will you support and empower the LGBTQIA+ community, particularly at this time when LGBTQIA+ rights, and transgender rights in particular, are under attack nationwide?
We must do everything in our power to resist and protect our people. The Trump-Musk administration thrives on chaos, and we need experienced electeds to push back on their cruel policies by using every tool we have in our toolbox — from local legislation, to organizing for critical funding in the city budget, to joining the tens of thousands of New Yorkers taking to the streets to resist the erosion of our rights. One example where I’ve employed this strategy is the fight for gender-affirming healthcare. Inside the council, I’ve sponsored legislation that strengthens our city’s support of gender-affirming care, and prohibits our city’s health facilities from allowing discrimination in our institutions and prohibiting access to gender-affirming care (Int. 3093-A). Outside the council, I joined New Yorkers who took to the streets in April 2025 on International Trans Day of Visibility, and marched to NYU Langone to demand our institutions comply with state law and resume gender-affirming care. Our rally delivered more than 200,000 letters to NYU Langone, and was a part of a campaign that brought visibility to institutions quickly capitulating to Trump without regard to the equal treatment of New Yorkers. My work as a movement legislator means focusing on not just passing legislation, but building collective power to withstand challenges ahead. This means building awareness, empowering folks, using the bully pulpit, and strengthening local laws.How will you support and empower marginalized Brooklynites?
Since taking office, I’ve fought for a New York City that works for the many, not just the wealthy few. I’ve fought for fully funding our schools and educators in the New York City budget — from early childhood through CUNY. I’ve stood up to dangerous budget cuts that slash vital public services that make New York City work for the multiracial working class. As chair of the immigration committee, I’ve fought to keep families together and stood strong against cruel policies of mass deportation and incarceration. I’ve stood beside striking workers who fight for livable wages and fair workplaces for all — from NYSNA nurses to Starbucks workers to Amazon Teamsters. I’ve supported legislation that seeks to eliminate discrimination in senior care and other critical services across the city. I will continue to fight for these issues in my next term in office. While our city faces consistent attack from the federal government, it will be important to have seasoned, steady leadership that can defend our people and build for more.
Nonprofit organizations play a vital role in safeguarding the social safety net for millions of New Yorkers. Nonprofit organizations, including LGBTQIA+ community centers, are more than contractors; they are essential partners in addressing homelessness, hunger, healthcare, education, and more. However, chronic delays in city payments have left these organizations on the brink of collapse, threatening the services our most vulnerable residents rely on every day.
Will you commit to prioritizing timely payments to nonprofits, working to break down bureaucratic barriers that prevent timely payments, supporting financial stability for nonprofits, and working to uphold our critical NYC safety net?
Yes
The city is currently behind the legally mandated timeline to close the jails on Rikers Island by 2027? Are you committed to this deadline and if so, what will you do to ensure the City meets it? If not, what steps do you propose taking to reduce incarceration and uphold the civil rights and human dignity of individuals confined in our City jails, particularly transgender, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary people?
The council must use its voice to pressure the city to continue with its plans to close Rikers as quickly and as efficiently as possible and expand services to those who come into contact with it. We know that LQBTQIA+ New Yorkers, and especially those of color, find themselves behind bars at a disproportionately higher rate and we need to build services to meet their needs. I will fight to also demand an aggressive and actionable plan for decarceration, release and rehabilitation.
Do you support the proposed Haven Green development in the Lower East Side, which would create much-needed housing for LGBTQ+ seniors, among others? What other steps will you take to address the affordability crisis and increase housing available to New Yorkers, particularly individuals moving here to escape harmful red-state policies?
Yes, I support expanding senior housing, including for LGBTQ+ seniors. I strongly support strengthening the rights of tenants, and expanding truly affordable housing for all New Yorkers. As part of the Progressive Caucus, we fought and won significant investments through our Homes Now Homes for Generations campaign in the city budget for affordable housing, including $2 billion for capital funding for affordable housing and an additional $140 million for vital affordable housing programs. I also organized against Mayor Adams’ rent hikes on rent-stabilized tenants via a citywide rent freeze, and support giving tenants a stronger voice on the Rent Guidelines Board, the body that sets rents for the millions of New Yorkers in rent-stabilized housing. I’ve also advanced tenant protections that keep New Yorkers in stable, safe housing. In 2024, I introduced and passed legislation that requires tenant education and outreach on residential vacate orders due to damage caused by devastating fires (Int. 0006). I’ve also endorsed expanding the Right to Counsel to cover all renters citywide, giving everyone fighting eviction the same legal representation at no cost, and preventing further rises in housing instability and homelessness.
What steps are you prepared to take to combat Trump Administration policies that harm New Yorkers?
In a moment when our rights are under attack, we need local leaders who will fight back on the Trump-Musk agenda, not play dead. Since winning election in 2022, I’ve proven myself as a fighter who delivers for the working-class and marginalized communities. As our corrupt mayor capitulates to Trump to get out of jail, I’ve fought to maintain our city’s long-standing sanctuary city laws, and organized more than 40 New York elected officials to stand against ICE abducting and deporting students. I was one of few council members to reject Eric Adams’ cuts to schools, libraries and parks. Meanwhile, I’ve passed legislation that centers equity for working-class communities in Southern Brooklyn, from combatting cruise ship pollution and truck congestion in Red Hook to requiring greater transparency surrounding NYCHA management practices and NYPD stops of civilians. My time in office has proved you can fight against corporate powers, while advancing meaningful legislation that brings tangible benefits to working New Yorkers.
Please answer YES or NO to indicate support for, or opposition to, the following following city council initiatives:
Int. 3093-A: Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to access to gender-affirming care facilities and a cause of action related to interference with gender-affirming care.
YES, I am a sponsor.
Int. 3184-A: Local Law in relation to requiring the chair of the commission on gender equity to develop a plan to support newly arrived migrants 24-years-old and younger and transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and intersex newly arrived migrants.
YES, I am a sponsor.
Int. 3183-A: Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the commissioner of health and mental hygiene to develop a health agenda to promote the health and wellbeing of transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and intersex New Yorkers.
YES, I am a sponsor.
Int. 3179-A: Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a public information and outreach campaign regarding legal rights and resources available to Transgender, Gender Non-conforming, and Nonbinary (TGNCNB) individuals.
YES, I am a sponsor.
Int. 3105-Oversight: Ensuring Access to Supports for TGNCNB People in New York City.
YES
Int. 0149-2024: The Sex Worker Protection Act, championed by LGBTQIA+ Caucus Co-Chair Council Member Tiffany Cabán, Council Member Crystal Hudson.
YES, I am a sponsor.
COMMITMENTS:
If endorsed, do you commit to using LID’s full logo and full name on all materials and other places where you list endorsees (with the exception of lists of specific organizations (unions, etc) or elected officials)?
We will definitely display the endorsement on our campaign website, however, we have limited space on campaign literature (palmcards and mailers that have already been designed), which include our local reps, major unions in the district and organizations that have been with us since the beginning.
Do you commit to using inclusive and gender-neutral language in press releases and other announcements (e.g., “the people of the..” instead of “the men and women of the…”
YES