Two New York Democrats operating in a hotly contested congressional main pledged federal funding for “Drag Story Hour” — as information present metropolis and state taxpayers have paid almost $700,000 to spice up this system.
Incumbent Rep. Dan Goldman and his opponent, former metropolis Comptroller Brad Lander, each instructed an LGBTQ Democratic membership that they help allotting federal cash to subsidize this system, which invited drag queens into faculties to learn to younger kids.
“Sadly, the Majority doesn’t permit funding from Members of Congress to help LGBTQIA+ programming,” Goldman wrote in on a questionnaire from the Jim Owles LGBT Liberal Democratic Membership in response to a query about whether or not he had “hosted, funded or in any other case supported” a Drag Story Hour.
“Nonetheless, as soon as we take again the Home, I definitely can not wait to fund packages like Drag Story Hours and different packages,” added Goldman, who’s looking for a 3rd time period.
“I might most definitely welcome the prospect to host one.”
Lander, in his response, boasted that he had supported a narrative hour on the Brooklyn Public Library branches in his district when he served as a Metropolis Council member.
A Lander spokesman confirmed that if elected to the Home, the Democrat appears ahead “to funding inexpensive housing, well being care, baby care, USAID, libraries, and plenty of arts and tradition packages, most definitely together with Drag Story Hour.”
Drag Story Hour — run by Drag Artists for Expression NYC — companions with 128 private and non-private faculties and greater than 90 public libraries all through the town to have cross-dressing performers learn to kids, in keeping with its web site. The group was previously known as Drag Story Hour NYC.
Supporters say this system promotes “gender range” and tolerance amongst youths and discourages discrimination. The artists group says on its web site it supplies “storytelling and inventive arts for youth and adults.”
“By means of enjoyable and fabulous academic experiences, our packages rejoice gender range and all types of distinction to construct empathy and provides youngsters the arrogance to precise themselves nonetheless they really feel comfy,” the group’s web site states.
In 2025 alone, the Drag Artists mentioned that they had produced 165 readings serving greater than 5,000 youth throughout all 5 boroughs of the town — together with 48 packages in public faculties, serving 2,350 kids, 30 packages in public libraries, serving 810 kids and 43 bilingual packages serving 1,230 youths in addition to a number of readings for teens within the foster care system.
However even in LGBT-friendly New York, the readings have confronted protests, together with bomb threats. Dad and mom have complained they weren’t knowledgeable or requested for consent earlier than their baby participated in readings or different occasions.
Goldman and Lander’s statements come as information present the Huge Apple and state have pumped a number of hundred thousand {dollars} into this system inside the final decade: $367,000 through businesses together with the Division of Youth and Neighborhood Improvement and $204,500 administered by the New York State Council on the Arts.
Republican strategists mentioned GOP candidates would marketing campaign on utilizing tax cash for the polarizing program.
“The overwhelming majority of People don’t need taxpayer {dollars} used to indoctrinate kids with gender ideology,” Republican pollster John McLaughlin instructed The Submit.
McLaughlin, who conducts surveys for President Trump and New York Republican candidates, known as the push by the Dem candidate “outrageous” and “weird” — an instance of the intense agenda that can be pushed if their get together wins again Congress within the November midterms.
In the course of the 2024 presidential marketing campaign, the Trump marketing campaign ran a business hammering Democratic nominee and then-Vice President Kamala Harris for supporting funding gender reassignment surgical procedures for jail inmates.
Final week, Home Democrats voted en masse in opposition to laws sponsored by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) to construct a museum to honor girls as a result of Republicans inserted language barring transgender folks or “organic males” from showing in reveals. The invoice was defeated.
New York State Conservative Get together chairman Gerard Kassar warned that what sells in probably the most liberal precincts of New York received’t fly throughout the nation.
“It’s a really inappropriate use of taxpayer {dollars}. It’s pushing extremism,” Kassar mentioned.
