New York City Mayor Eric Adams is in an uphill battle with Education Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos over bathroom policies that protect transgender students after saying he’s “just not going to support that” in an interview, the New York Post reports.
Adams has suggested that the policies permitting transgender students to use bathrooms aligned with their gender identities should be changed. Aviles-Ramos says they will stay put, as they align with the department’s values. “To date, those policies remain in place and we’re going to continue to uphold them as part of our values in New York City public schools,” Aviles-Ramos said during a segment of the Max Politics podcast.
However, Adams feels differently. “I don’t know what parent of a little girl would be comfortable with a boy walking into the shower where their baby is,” Adams said during an interview on PIX11.
During a Sept. 25 news conference in front of the United Nations’ headquarters, Adams seemed to indicate his support for the policies, stating, “We are going to always respect how one
identifies themselves,” but continued to push the narrative that it creates safety issues for young students. “I do not believe a safe environment is allowing boys and girls to use the same facility at the same time,” Adams continued, according to the New York Times, adding he will explore his executive rights to have the policies changed.Trans rights have been under the microscope for years, but since the Trump administration took over the White House for a second time, things have turned up a notch. In
August 2025, attorneys general from 15 states, in addition to the District of Columbia, and the governor of Pennsylvania, issued a lawsuit against the administration over the ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.While New York Attorney General Letitia James labeled the action as “a cruel and targeted harassment campaign,” under the state’s Human Rights Law, denying facility usage due to a person’s gender identity is considered unlawful discrimination. City guidelines also support trans kids, stating students can’t be forced to use restrooms that conflict with their gender identity. The guideline supports Aviles-Ramos, saying school policy is in accordance with state law.
The conversation comes as the Trump administration threatened to withhold $24 million in funding after sending a letter expressing being “deeply concerned” about the city’s transgender policies.
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