Morano asks Dalton and Mata about transgender veteran count

I have one quick question before we go back to Councilmember Wong.

Going back to the grant issue, a lot of this seems to have to do with the federal government having a policy which was at odds with city and state policy regarding trans veterans and things of that nature.

And I understand that it's the city and the state's policy.

I am curious, though, how many...

trans veterans there are either in New York City or at Borden Avenue.

Just to, I understand it wouldn't affect the policy decision to reject the grant money, but I think the public is curious just about how many folks that would affect.

Ballpark, if you have.

Thanks.

And I don't...

My colleagues at DVS may want to also answer because your question was broader than the shelter system.

What I can tell you is that we do know of veterans who identify as transgender or gender nonconforming in our shelter system.

And I don't have the numbers, but we know that does exist.

Is there a ballpark number in the shelter system?

I don't know.

Okay.

Just to further elaborate, I'll pass that question to my chief of staff, Nicole.

Self-identification, as we have mentioned plenty of times in past hearings, has been an issue.

And at DBS, we are doing the best that we can when it comes to providing that outreach support to ensure that specifically when it comes to the LGBT community, they can self-identify.

And I'll let Nicole further.

Before you answer, Ms.

Orlando, I am having a tough time hearing all the witnesses at the witness table.

And I see that their mic is on, and I see they're speaking directly into it.

I don't know if that's an audio issue that we can resolve.

But fortunately, I know Ms.

Orlando can project.

Go ahead.

Thank you for the question and thank you to all committee that are here today.

For us, we don't have an exact number for transgender veterans that are here in New York City largely.

Looking back to our testimony that we provided in the LGBTQ plus hearing, we are working, as Commissioner mentioned, to make sure that a veteran feels comfortable enough to self-identify, as well as looking into what benefits are provided.

So we would be happy to keep you updated with the identification piece of this.

Okay.

Council Member Wong.