PUBLIC ADVOCATE FOR THE CITY OF NEW YORK

Letitia James



June 26, 2014
VIA EMAIL
Commissioner Mary Travis Bassett, M.D. MPH
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
125 Worth Street
New York, NY 10013

Commissioner Bassett:
As you likely know, Governor Cuomo announced that the New York State Department of
Health, which issues all birth certificates in the state, except those in New York City, will no
longer require proof of gender reassignment surgery or hormonal treatments in order to
change a persons gender marker on a birth certificate. This is a long-awaited and
welcomed change in state law. My office was approached by community organizations
seeking a similar change to City regulations. To that end, I am writing to request a meeting
to discuss how we can amend Citys Health Code to reflect this positive change in state law
and to offer our offices assistance in making any such changes.
Currently, Title 24 of the Rules of the City of New York requires that proof satisfactory to
the Department [be] submitted that such person has undergone convertive surgery. 24
RCNY 207.05(a)(5). We would like to work with your agency to change this rule to
remove the surgical requirement because currently residents are left vulnerable without
matching identification documents. A study by the National Transgender Discrimination
Survey found 40% of transgender people have faced harassment when presenting identity
documents that did not match their gender identity/expression. 15% reported being
denied entry or asked to leave because of gender mismatches, and 3% report facing
physical assault due to mismatched ID. To ensure that our city remains a safe haven for the
LGBT community, this step forward must be implemented.
My office, along with our community partners, is happy to assist in any way possible to
make this change a reality.
I thank you for your immediate attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please
do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

Letitia James
Public Advocate for the City of New York

Cc: Council Member Corey Johnson