NYC Pride

History

Originally named Heritage of Pride, NYC Pride was founded in 1984 to help plan and organize LGBT and pride events within New York City, a role originally held by the Christopher Street Liberation Day Committee. The group’s first event was held in June 1970 to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, a demonstration in response to police raiding a popular gay bar in New York City. Since its founding, NYC Pride has planned local events meant to advocate for LGBT rights, opposing the designation of homosexuality as a mental illness, seeking support and treatment for HIV-infected individuals, and opposing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the U.S. military that barred openly homosexual persons from service. ¹

In 1993, Heritage of Pride renamed the Christopher Street Festival to PrideFest. In 1997, Heritage of Pride hosted the 16th annual International Association of Lesbian and Gay Pride Coordinators conference to coordinate LGBT advocacy by organizations globally. ¹

Activities

In May 2023, NYC Pride published a press release criticizing Target for removing LGBT and transgender “affirming” childrens clothing and other merchandise, claiming that it conceded to “bad actors” following boycotts against the retailer. ² The press release also revealed that Target had previously supported NYC Pride, being categorized as a “Platinum sponsor,” while also being a founding sponsor of the group’s annual Youth Pride event. ³

In May 2025, NYC Pride published a press release reporting that in the month leading up to its annual order of events, it was experiencing a $750,000 loss due to a reduction in revenue from previous sponsors. ⁴ The New York Times reported that four out of five of NYC Pride’s largest sponsors from 2024 had either reduced their sponsorship, backed out altogether, or declined to publicize their contributions. It also reported that in 2022, NYC Pride operated at a $2.7 million loss; in 2023, it had operated at a $1.2 million loss, and had been operating at a loss since 2019, according to its tax returns. ⁵ The press release stated that because of the shortfall, NYC Pride would cease making grants to local LGBT nonprofit organizations and funding its campaigns targeting local businesses. ⁴

In June 2024, NYC Pride’s events drew attention for the presence of both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activist participants. Pro-Palestinian protestors promoted messaging such as “No pride in genocide,” which received criticism from participants of the event from the Israeli Consulate. According to an interview with the Associated Press (AP), NYC Pride executive director Sandra Perez claimed the group was in favor of a “free speech mindset.” ⁶

Partner Organizations

NYC Pride partner organizations include The State University of New York, Equality New York, the Human Rights Campaign, Immigration Equality, the National Center for Transgender Equality, the National LGBTQ Taskforce, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian. ⁷

Leadership

Kazz Alexander is a board co-chair of NYC Pride. He is also the founding executive director of Hit The Books, a martial arts youth program in New York City, and the founder of Teachable NYC, a nonprofit organization in New York that provides community programs for children. ⁸

Michele Irimia is a board co-chair of NYC Pride. She has also worked as regional director for InterPride and is a member of the Capital Pride Alliance. ⁹

Financials

In 2023, NYC Pride reported $5.6 million in total revenue, including $193,944 in government grants or 3.4 percent of its total revenue. It also reported $1.5 million in “event revenue” and $3.8 million in direct contributions. ¹⁰ NYC Pride also reported $6.8 million in total expenses, including $1.8 million in “event production” expenses and $1.9 million in consulting fees. ^{11 12}