New York City has opened what officials claim is the nation’s first homeless shelter exclusively for transgender people and it will cost taxpayers around $65 million over the next five years.
The newly launched Ace’s Place, located in Long Island City, offers 150 beds specifically reserved for transgender New Yorkers experiencing homelessness.
The shelter’s management falls under Destination Tomorrow, a Bronx-based LGBTQ+ organization.
Sean Ebony Coleman, the group’s CEO, explained that the shelter’s name honors his mother, nicknamed Ace.
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Coleman celebrated the facility as a “hard-fought declaration” aimed at preventing transgender and gender nonconforming people from being marginalized.
“Can you imagine going into an environment and you’re asking for help and they’re constantly misgendering you and constantly telling you you’re not who you say you are, how do you learn in that environment?” Coleman said in an interview with the Gothamist.
“How do you thrive in that environment? It’s almost impossible.”
Despite being run by a nonprofit, the shelter is entirely funded by the city.
According to budget projections, the $65 million allocated through 2030 equates to roughly $86,700 per bed annually, a substantial taxpayer burden.
Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park touted the shelter’s trauma-informed care model, highlighting its psychiatric nurse and social workers dedicated to supporting residents’ mental and emotional wellbeing.
“Ace’s Place will offer Transgender New Yorkers a safe place to heal and stabilize in trauma-informed settings with the support of staff who are deeply invested in their growth and wellbeing,” Park said.
She also noted that New York City shelters assign residents based on their gender identity, and the city mandates 30 beds for transgender or gender non-conforming individuals citywide.
With Ace’s Place now operational, these individuals can transfer from traditional shelters to this exclusive facility.
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Park framed the opening as a victory amid what she described as attacks on transgender rights, but critics say the facility is exclusionary.
“Every New Yorker should feel safe in our shelter system. But instead of fixing the system for everyone, the city is spending $63 million to build a separate facility based on gender identity,” minority council leader Joann Ariola told The New York Post.
“That money should’ve gone to hiring more [Department of Homeless Services] police officers and social workers to make all of our facilities safer.”
“Instead, we are just further segregating the homeless system and ignoring the very real problems in favor of progressive political theater,” he added.
Meanwhile, across the country in California, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi doubled down on her support for gender-transition procedures for minors.
Speaking to reporters Thursday, Pelosi said she is actively pushing for federal protections to preserve access to such treatments.
Pelosi spoke critically about recent restrictions on gender transition surgeries for patients under 19, particularly Kaiser Permanente’s announcement that it would halt such procedures starting August 29.
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Kaiser cited the Trump administration’s Executive Order 14187 — “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” — which directs federal agencies to stop funding or supporting sex change surgeries for minors.
Kaiser did note that other gender-affirming care would continue.
“That is something that I’m working for at the national level,” Pelosi said. “And we have, can I say, are hoping that we can have gender affirming here for our trans kids.”
She lamented the political climate in Washington, blaming the White House and Congress for making progress difficult, calling the situation “really very sad.”
Pelosi also highlighted the display of a transgender pride flag outside her congressional office, noting some colleagues do the same, though “that view is not necessarily shared by people on the other side of the aisle.”
Federal enforcement efforts against pediatric gender transition have also intensified under President Trump.
The FBI recently initiated investigations into Boston Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for allegedly violating a federal law that bans genital mutilation on minors.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has urged other state attorneys general to pursue similar legal action under 18 U.S.C. § 116, which carries penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment per offense.
This coordinated crackdown stems from Trump’s Executive Order 14187, which not only halts federal support for sex change procedures on minors but also orders federal agencies to rescind policies based on the World Professional Association for Transgender Health’s guidelines.
The Department of Health and Human Services has been tasked with revising care standards for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
