February 3, 2021
A draconian piece of legislation that has for decades been wielded to harm trans and gender nonconforming communities has finally been repealed. Since the 1970s, New York State has enabled policing of trans and gender non-conforming people based on a discriminatory and highly variable set of standards relating to “loitering for the purpose of prostitution,” whose enforcement was entirely up to the discretion of police officers. TGNC people ha[...]
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January 19, 2021
As we prepare for tomorrow’s inauguration, AVP is inspired and hopeful for a shift towards healing, justice, and accountability for our nation. We are optimistic about the intentions of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to repair many of the harms President Trump inflicted on the most marginalized in our communities. In his first ten days in office, President-elect Biden has already committed to begin addressing the multiple crises of the COVID-19 pa[...]
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January 6, 2021
AVP condemns the violence occurring in our nation’s capital, and any and all attempts to overturn a free and fair election. In failing to recognize the results of the election and commit to a peaceful transfer of power, the administration and the president have undermined faith in our democratic process, sowing doubt that now threatens our democracy. The mob laying siege to the capitol building is a direct culmination of escalating violent rhet[...]
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December 17, 2020
This interview has been shortened and condensed for clarity.
In 1978, Andy Austin moved to New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood and found community in the Chelsea Gay Association (CGA), a social group for gay men. He invited his long-time partner, Michael Sonberg, to join and together, they became founding members of the NYC Anti-Violence Project.
When queer men began to face violent attacks coming to and from the gay bars on the west sid[...]
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November 20, 2020
Today on Trans Day of Remembrance, AVP joins our trans, gender nonconfirming, and non-binary community in rage and resistance as we remember and honor the TGNC lives lost this year. AVP stands alongside and in solidarity with the trans community, its leaders and trans-led organizations, today and everyday, as allies in the fight to end anti-trans violence.
2020 has been a year of immense grief for our community. It is a year marked by a glob[...]
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November 2, 2020
These days, we are all feeling the impact of upheaval, violence, fear, pain, and rage, carrying the weight of it in our spirit, as we work to meet the challenges coming at us each and every day. We all know the challenges — pandemic, uprising, election, violence — even if they affect us differently.
In the midst of all this, we must show up — for ourselves, and for one another.
During these times, it is especially important to lea[...]
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August 31, 2020
Media Contact:
Eliel Cruz, Director of Communications,
New York City Anti-Violence Project
ecruz@avp.org,
917-727-2107
David Shanies, Attorney representing Polanco family
david@shanieslaw.com
212-951-1710
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Family of Layleen Polanco Settles Civil Suit With New York City, Continues Advocacy #JusticeForLayleen
August 31, NEW YORK, NY — The family of Layleen Polanco, a 27-year-old Afro-Latinx trans woman who di[...]
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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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