July 2, 2020

On Monday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the City’s plan to end solitary confinement for those with serious medical conditions effective immediately, and an end to solitary confinement for all in New York City by October. During his announcement he acknowledged that Layleen Polanco should not have been in solitary confinement. This step is necessary but does not go nearly far enough. AVP calls for an immediate end to solitary con[...]

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July 1, 2020

Defunding the Hate Violence Prevention Initiative and Cutting Social Services by 20% Without Cutting the NYPD Budget is a Disgrace. At the close of Pride month, amid protests against anti-Black police violence, an ongoing global pandemic, and a financial crisis; the New York City Council passed an austerity budget that cut essential funding from many progams serving LGBTQ Black and other people of color and failed to meaningfully divest from t[...]

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June 30, 2020

This Sunday, June 28, 2020, protesters marching in the Queer Liberation March for Black Lives were attacked by police, who pushed them, beat them, and used pepper spray against them toward the end of the march in Washington Square Park. The New York City Anti-Violence Project strongly condemns this violence. Especially in light of all the actions taken over the past month, led by Black and brown New Yorkers to highlight and resist police violence[...]

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June 28, 2020

A safety plan is a way to think through what you need to keep yourself and others safe, connect with people and resources to keep yourself and others safe, and it helps to prepare you for action if confronted with violence or attempted acts of violence. In the context of protests, safety planning is about thinking through potential risks, making a communication plan, and connecting with peers. While a safety plan cannot prevent all acts of violen[...]

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Safety for LGBTQ Survivors of Violence During COVID-19 Requires Shrinking the NYPD What Budget Justice for LGBTQ Survivors Looks Like and How to Get There The combination of the COVID-19 health crisis and police violence against Black people has put many LGBTQ and HIV-affected people, especially Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, at greater risk for infection than the general population, and in even greater financial precarity th[...]

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June 18, 2020

Dear Supporter, I’m proud to announce that the New York City Anti-Violence Project has received its largest-ever gift -- $1.75 million from the #StartSmall initiative. This fund was created by Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of Twitter and Square, in response to the global pandemic and economic downturn. This gift comes at a time when funding was uncertain for AVP. I’m humbled that we will not only be able to continue our 40-year legac[...]

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June 15, 2020

Media Contact: Eliel Cruz, Director of Communications ecruz@avp.org, 917-727-2107 City and State Lawmakers Must Commit to #JusticeForLayleen The NYC Anti-Violence Project is calling on city and state officials to take concrete steps towards ending the criminalization and abuse of transgender women of color in New York's carceral system. Last week, the Bronx District Attorney released the results of their investigation into the death of Layle[...]

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June 13, 2020

Media Contact: Eliel Cruz, Director of Communications at AVP ecruz@avp.org, 917-727-2107 David Shanies, Attorney representing Polanco family david@shanieslaw.com 212-951-1710 The following is a statement from Layleen’s mother, sister, and brother, Aracelis Polanco and Melania Brown, Salomon Polanco respectively:  “The Rikers video shows the world just how little these officers cared whether Layleen lived or died. Layleen’s su[...]

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June 11, 2020

One year ago our community lost Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old Afro-Latinx trans woman, who was pronounced dead in a solitary confinement cell at Rikers. We mourn the loss of Layleen, a sister, daughter, mother, friend, and community advocate. We are angry and stand with her family as they seek justice for her death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpuO84pnODc AVP demands #JusticeForLayleen. We demand that: The State Legislature pass[...]

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June 4, 2020

Contact: Ericka Dixon, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs edixon@avp.org Audacia Ray, New York City Anti-Violence Project aray@avp.org  As anti-violence organizations that provide direct services for and advocacy with LGBTQ and HIV-affected survivors of hate, intimate partner, and sexual violence, we affirm that #BlackLivesMatter and demand that city, county, and state governments commit to reallocating funding from police depar[...]

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June 1, 2020

As Pride month begins in New York City with protests against anti-Black police violence and an ongoing global pandemic, the New York City Anti-Violence Project demands divestment from policing and investment in social services and resources for low-income New Yorkers of color. The last fifty years of LGBTQ lives in NYC were marked by protest: the Stonewall Riots, civil disobedience around the AIDS crisis, and vigils and rallies supporting the liv[...]

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April 10, 2020

AVP opposes New York State’s recently passed bail rollbacks which will put thousands more in jail, including marginalized and criminalized LGBTQ survivors of violence.  New York City, NY – The New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) opposes the actions of Governor Cuomo and the New York State legislature to rollback 2019 bail laws, which will put thousands more in jail, including marginalized LGBTQ survivors like Layleen Polanco, a Black [...]

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