LGBTQ New Yorkers Protest 'Unholy Trinity' Appointed By Mayor

NEW YORK, NY — Apologies and promises of evolving views from controversial pastors Mayor Eric Adams appointed to his administration were little solace to the LGBTQ New Yorkers who rallied Thursday against their history of anti-abortion and anti-gay views.

"Actions speak louder than words and [their] actions against queer people and women's healthcare options have spoken volumes," said Rev. Pat Bumgardner, leader of Metropolitan Community Church of New York, which is known as Manhattan's LGBTQ+ church.

Bumgardner was among several speakers at the City Hall rally, the latest effort in mounting calls for Adams to rescind the appointment of the three pastors.

The "unholy trinity" — as Bumgardner called it — includes Adams' senior faith advisor Fernando Cabrera, who has particularly come under fire for a video statement made in Uganda in 2014 during which he praised law that imposed life sentences for homosexuality.

The appointments also include the head of the mayor's immigrant affairs office, Erick Salgado, who marched with state Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr. against marriage equality in 2011 and Gilford Monrose, who is leading the mayor's new faith-based office. Monrose has called homosexuality a "lifestyle I don't agree with" and attacked marriage equality and LGBTQ adoption, according to Gay City News.

For his part, Adams has pointed to a Facebook apology Cabrera made and a statement from Salgado, in claiming that the men's views have "evolved."

“I appreciate and respect the concerns of those who are protesting today and not only hear those concerns, but feel them," Adams said in a statement Thursday.

"At the same time, I believe that banishing people who hold views that I personally disagreed with sends the wrong message and in the long run is counterproductive when the real goal is to help people grow and evolve. If we want to make progress, we have to be willing to meet people where they are and take them where we want them to be."

But the organizers, faith leaders and elected officials who gathered Thursday stood firm that the purported evolution is not enough to justify the pastors' place in the administration.

"This is beyond a few appointments — men like this taking positions of public authority are reflective of a broader disregard, and even disdain, for the LGBTQ community," said Councilmember Chi Ossé, a member of the LGBTQ caucus that condemned the appointments earlier this week.

Ossé is among several city and state elected officials who have spoken out about the appointments, including most recently Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Comptroller Brad Lander.

The Brooklyn city council member and others said Thursday that the appointments spur worries that broader policies they hope to push for will be compromised, including protecting transgender inmates at Rikers Island, decriminalizing sex work and addressing homeless LGBTQ youth.

The apology from Cabrera rang especially hollow for Bumgardner, who said Thursday one of her congregation members had to flee his native Uganda under the very 2014 law that Cabrera praised in a trip to the country.

"Are you going to apologize to him, Mr. Cabrera? To his family? To his elderly mother?" Bumgardner asked the crowd. "An apology after that hardly seems adequate."