NY raises flags, lights landmarks for LGBTQ+ Pride Month

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- New York kicked off LGBTQ+ Pride Month on Thursday with plans to raise flags and illuminate buildings as Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed the state will be a stalwart ally of the community as other states "instigate intolerance and violence" with new laws and bans.

To mark the month-long celebration and commemoration, LGBTQ+ progress flags will be raised statewide, including at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building in Harlem. Progress Pride flags will also be flown at state parks across New York and outside the State Capitol and Executive Mansion.

State landmarks will be lit in the colors of the LGBTQ+ Pride flag on June 1 and then again from June 23 to June 30. Among the landmarks in New York City are One World Trade Center, the Kosciuszko Bridge, Moynihan Train Hall and the LIRR East End Gateway at Penn Station. Further up the Hudson, the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will be illuminated.

Hochul issued a proclamation designating June 2023 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month and delivered a video message to celebrate the progress LGBTQ+ people have made and warn that hard-fought rights are under attack.

"New York is so proud to be the birthplace of the modern movement of LGBTQ+ rights, from Stonewall to marriage equality," the governor said.

"But progress isn't permanent," she added. "And right now, there is a movement attempting to undo that progress and take us backwards. The disturbing truth is that LGBTQ+ rights, and especially trans rights, are under attack."

The governor pointed to a rise in hate crimes as she denounced states that are "enshrining discrimination and bigotry into law" by criminalizing drag queen performances and banning LGBTQ+-themed books.

"Drag performers are treated like they're more dangerous than guns, and books spreading love are being banned in schools and libraries across the country," the governor said. "But here in New York, we're fighting against this hate."

Hochul said New Yorkers who travel to Albany can visit a new exhibition at the State Capitol called "In the Footsteps of Heroes," which highlights the LGBTQ+ rights movement in New York from past to present by spotlighting the activists and their legacies.