NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York City, regarded as the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, is marking another Pride Month while still dealing with hate crimes against the LGTBQ+ community.
According to department statistics, "sexual orientation" hate crimes — defined by the NYPD as crimes targeting the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities — have decreased by 10% year to date as of June 4, while in the same period, hate crimes against gender identities — such as transgender or nonbinary — have increased by more than 85%.
Notably, there are inconsistencies between the NYPD's definition and the definition in the department's monthly data.
This disparity in hate crimes in the LGBTQ+ community comes as the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest organization devoted to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans, declared a "state of emergency" for LGBTQ+ people in the United States on Tuesday for the first time in its more than 40-year history.
"LGBTQ+ Americans are living in a state of emergency," HRC president Kelley Robinson said in a statement. "The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived — they are real, tangible and dangerous."
Just a few days into Pride Month, the campaign said it's taking action in response to an "unprecedented and dangerous" spike in discriminatory legislation sweeping state houses this year, with more than 525 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced and more than 70 signed into law so far in 2023 — more than double last year's number.
While many in the LGBTQ+ community regard New York City as a safe haven, the NYPD has documented a number of blatant hate crimes, attacks where the victims are part of the group but the motive is unclear and other newsworthy incidents that have shaken the community.
In January, the NYPD said a 25-year-old woman was punched in the mouth and called an anti-gay slur inside a Bronx bodega. Then, in April, a group stabbed a 44-year-old man in Hell's Kitchen after hurling anti-gay insults.
Last month in Chelsea, a 14-year-old boy was beaten and peppered with anti-gay remarks in another attack under investigation by the Hate Crimes Task Force.
When New York Attorney General Letitia James hosted a Drag Story Hour event in March, several right-wing protesters showed up at Manhattan's LGBTQ+ community center in the West Village. During the protest, one demonstrator was arrested, while another was left bloodied.
Some of the protesters appeared to be members of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist organization.
Attacks have also been levied against the LGBTQ+ pride flag.
Fred Innocent, 45, is facing hate crime charges for defecating on an LGBTQ+ pride flag and wiping his buttocks with another at an Upper West Side restaurant in April, while Angelina Cando avoided jail time for setting fire to a "Make America Gay Again" pride flag outside a SoHo restaurant in February.
Cando, 30, was placed in the custody of the Department of Health.
Though a series of high-profile fatal drugging robberies that primarily targeted men at Manhattan gay bars and killed at least two gay men — John Umberger, 33, and Julio Ramirez, 25 — rattled many in the LGBTQ community, authorities believe the victims were targeted for money, not their sexual orientation.
Prosecutors said the five men, who have been indicted, sedated their victims between September 2021 and August 2022 in order to gain access to their cellphones and rob them, frequently using facial recognition technology. Last month, police said they were investigating another robbery in connection with the scheme.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force has said it continues to investigate these attacks.
An NYPD spokesperson told 1010 WINS that the task force "regularly participates in community outreach forums in order to educate the public on what is a hate crime, how to report a hate crime, and crime prevention and safety tips."
"Just recently the NYPD Hate Crime Task Force participated in a forum with the Community Affairs Bureau to address concerns of the LGBTQIA+ community," the spokesperson added. "The NYPD encourages anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a hate crime to report it so that a full and comprehensible investigation can be conducted in order to bring justice to the victims."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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