NYC touts first-ever taxpayer-funded homeless shelter for transgender people only

Democrat-run New York City (NYC) has opened the country’s first-ever taxpayer-funded homeless shelter for transgender people only.

Known as Ace’s Place, the Queens shelter will provide shelter to 150 homeless transgender people until at least 2030 at a cost of $65 million.

“The shelter will provide a psychiatrist on site, culinary classes, GED classes, and help with job placement and job training,” according to Gothamist.

BREAKING: NYC opens $65M taxpayer-funded shelter, Ace’s Place, exclusively for LGBTQ. Is this legal under Fair Housing Act, or discriminatory? Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/PnFRArP8Cc

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) August 6, 2025

City officials celebrated the move.

“We couldn’t be prouder to make this historic announcement that strongly affirms our values and commitment to strengthening the safety net for transgender New Yorkers at a time when their rights are roundly under attack,” NYC Department of Social Services (DSS) commissioner Molly Wasow Park said in a statement.

“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,” she continued.

“New York City has long been a leader in advancing LGBTQ+ rights and protections, and we’re proud to continue that tradition with the opening of the nation’s first city-funded shelter dedicated to supporting transgender individuals,” NYC Department of Social Services (DHS) administrator Joslyn Carter added.

Critics, however, have not been particularly thrilled by this development, including critics on social media:

Amazing. They want to take away women’s protected spaces but they need their own safe space so THEY feel safe and comfortable.

— François Noir (@JPScmeckles) August 6, 2025

By all means this should be allowed if it was privately funded but NOT with public funds! What delusional person thought this was a good idea?

— Charlton Blake (@CharltonBlake1) August 6, 2025

It’s garbage like this that makes my blood boil! You don’t see them opening a shelter for homeless veterans! No, instead they pander to the freaks! God will judge them!

— Rob Lantz (@lantz_rev) August 6, 2025

This is the type of thing @ZohranKMamdani wants for the city instead of putting the majority of struggling city residents first. He would rather cater to the woke, mentally ill crowd then help young Americans afford homes or see wages increase in city workers across the board

— Mr Ki (@__MrKi__) August 6, 2025

American Taxes should only go to 4 types of American citizens: those who physically cannot work, those who legitimately mentally cannot work, those who pay taxes, and soldiers. No one else. Not illegals, not ShaquEBTas, and not commies who think their fetish is stunning & brave.

— Tar_&_Feather_Enthusiast (@RefuseWokeness) August 7, 2025

“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,” another critic, minority NYC 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.

The Post notes that NYC was “already required to provide at least 30 homeless shelter beds specifically for trans people” as per a legal settlement reached in 2021.

The settlement came about after homeless trans people sued, claiming that the city was failing to protect them from alleged harassment and discrimination.

Though Ace’s Place is being funded by taxpayers, the city will not be managing the shelter. Instead, it’ll be managed by a nonprofit known as Destination Tomorrow.

“ We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community, and the city didn’t do it,” Sean Ebony Coleman, the founder of the nonprofit, said in a statement.

“The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights,” Coleman continued.

Sean Ebony Coleman CEO of Destination Tomorrow. Google Him pic.twitter.com/NNoFv8YAXv

— JEFF (@JeffBlaak68) February 11, 2025

Coleman, who is also reportedly transgender, is especially happy about the shelter because trans people will be “in an environment that completely affirms who they are and how they see themselves.”

“ 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?” he said. “How do you thrive in that environment? It’s almost impossible.”

Senior Staff Writer
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V. Saxena is a staff writer for BizPac Review with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University.

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