2026 Community Safety Results

This page summarizes some of the key findings and recommendations of the 2026 NYC LGBTQIA+ Community Safety Survey, a digital survey designed to capture perceptions of community safety, interactions with the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and experiences with hate crimes and harassment among LGBTQIA+ New Yorkers. The research initiative was undertaken by the LGBTQIA+ Advisory Committee to the New York City Police Commissioner and led by Dr. Chris Chevallier.

In late 2025, the Advisory Committee workshopped and piloted the survey instrument with members of the community and LGBTQIA+ organizations to ensure it was both inclusive and sensitive. After completing an Institutional Review Board (IRB) process in January 2026, the survey was actively promoted between February and March. The survey was kept open for approximately six weeks. It was open to any LGBTQIA+ adult (over the age of 18) that lives, works, studies, or frequents New York City (e.g., for gender-affirming care). 

To ensure absolute anonymity and confidentiality, the study deployed a defense-in-depth cybersecurity strategy. Digital tracking (e.g., including IP address collection, progress saving, and email sign-ins) was entirely disabled, and participants were provided multiple channels to communicate any potential concerns about the survey instrument and its content. 

Raw data was only accessible to the Research Lead and was not shared with the Department or any government agency. Python scripts were combined with manual scrubbing to ensure that any accidentally entered Personally Identifiable Information was promptly removed. 

The survey was distributed by members of the Advisory Committee, approximately 30 LGBTQIA+ community organizations, Community Boards, and the Manhattan Borough President’s Office. Notably, social media engagement was intentionally avoided in favor of direct email blasts to limit exposure to bad actors and ensure authentic responses were captured. Committee members also distributed palm cards and posters in historically LGBTQIA+ neighborhoods, as well as promoted the survey at local community events. This work ultimately secured 244 unique responses.

Responses regarding perceptions of safety in New York City generally trended positively, including at major events like Pride parades. However, these sentiments coexist with an alarming and persistent prevalence of victimization:

• Verbal Harassment: Nearly half of all respondents have experienced targeted verbal harassment within the last three years.

• Hate Crimes: Nearly 20% of all respondents have experienced a hate crime during the same timeframe.

• Vulnerable Demographics: Victimization rates (in terms of crimes) rose sharply to 27.62% for People of Color and 35.82% for Trans*, Gender-Nonconforming, and Non-Binary (TGNCNB) folx.

Qualitative responses further exposed deep-seated concerns regarding random attacks, the frequency of slurs in public, national political rhetoric, and broader public discourse perceived as explicitly demonizing community members (especially TGNCNB* folx).

Bias-motivated / hate crimes largely took the form of threats of violence (n = 49), sexual harassment (n = 31), physical assault (n = 25), and cybersecurity incidents or online harassment (n = 22). Additionally, nine respondents reported experiencing domestic violence, while eight more reported being victims of sexual assault. These sobering findings offer a poignant reminder of the ways in which a person’s LGBTQIA+ status can deeply intersect with, compound, or actively catalyze complex forms of violence.

Responses regarding the NYPD illustrate a profound divide, reflecting a wide and contrasting spectrum of interactions. On a Likert scale of 1 to 7, questions evaluating the trustworthiness, fairness, and approachability of the Department generally averaged just over the midpoint of 4.

However, metrics from People of Color and TGNCNB* folx trended significantly more negative. For example, the score measuring comfort when reporting a crime to the NYPD stood at 4.40 overall, but plummeted to 2.71 when filtered exclusively for TGNCNB respondents.*

Where community views found the most striking consensus was regarding oversight: nearly 60% of all respondents reported some degree of distrust that the NYPD holds itself accountable when misconduct occurs.

About 20% of general respondents reported feeling treated negatively by an officer due to their identity within the last three years. This rate rose to nearly 45% for TGNCNB* folx. Negative experiences primarily centered around identity-based slurs by a Member of Service (MOS), victim-blaming (having a crime blamed on their LGBTQIA+ status), or being refused help and discouraged from filing a report.

Conversely, positive interactions were almost exclusively tied to specialized commands (such as the LGBTQIA+ Outreach Unit under the Community Affairs Bureau and the Hate Crimes Task Force) the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL NY), and individual officers with whom community members could build a genuine rapport through sustained engagement.

To strengthen community relationships and improve safety, the Advisory Committee recommends shifting outreach toward sustained, year-round, non-transactional engagement. This includes expanding the visibility and footprint of specialized commands (like the Hate Crimes Task Force and the LGBTQIA+ Outreach Unit) by deploying dedicated teams directly to historically queer neighborhoods. 

The Advisory Committee also recommends launching a comprehensive public awareness campaign across subways and in station houses to direct greater attention to these specialized units and the Department's community initiatives. Only 35% of survey respondents, for example, knew about the Department's Hate Crimes Task Force.

It's also advised for the City government to form an interagency working group dedicated to the TGNCNB* community. This working group should be provided a fund to provide material assistance to economically marginalized members of this community. Additionally, this working group can lead the City's efforts to assist internally displaced persons coming to New York City in response to anti-TGNCNB* and anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation being aggressively passed in other states.

The Research Lead strongly advocates for creating an independent, multi-agency Misconduct Task Force to handle complaints involving officer bias. This body would combine the distinct capabilities of the NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB), the city’s five District Attorney’s Offices, the New York State Attorney General, and the NYC Commission on Human Rights. Transitioning to this joint-oversight has the potential to lower reporting barriers for victims of misconduct by removing exclusive internal jurisdiction from the NYPD.

The Advisory Committee hopes to iterate upon this survey every 18 to 24 months; helping to track progress on issues over time and identify new challenges to the community's safety with every iteration. 

As the Advisory Committee’s first major public project, this initial survey faced an initial trust barrier due to the Advisory Committee's limited exposure outside of the community organizations that it generally interfaces with. This issue was further compounded by the fact that many organizations were hesitant to collaborate with a seemingly police-adjacent entity or lacked the resources/bandwidth to assist due to the funding crisis that many LGBTQIA+ groups are facing. As an independent volunteer group, the Advisory Committee also faces financial and person-hours limitations. Because of these issues, the survey's responses were largely limited to Manhattan and Brooklyn, where the Advisory Committee had the strongest network. 

The Advisory Committee acknowledges this limitation and will make every effort to build greater rapport with the City's LGBTQIA+ community at large. It is hoped that this initial survey is a step forward to achieving that. It's imperative that the wide-breadth of backgrounds and experiences that define the community are effectively captured. 

A public research brief will be made available during the first half of July 2026. Please check back later this month to view or download it as a PDF. The brief will contain the full set of recommendations, as well as an appendix of graphics. Thank you for your time and interest in the project.