New York City Health Department Celebrates Pride Month and Encourages New Yorkers To Celebrate Safely

New York City Health Department Celebrates Pride Month and Encourages New Yorkers To Celebrate Safely

NYC Health Department Will Join a Variety of Pride Events This Month to Celebrate LGBTQ+ New Yorkers and Distribute Free Safer Sex Products and Other Materials

June 3, 2026 - Today, the NYC Health Department kicks off Pride Month by reaffirming its commitment to protect and promote the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, queer, and intersex (LGBTQ+) New Yorkers. To celebrate Pride, NYC Health Department staff will walk in this year's Pride March on June 28 and other events throughout the month. To keep New Yorkers safe this Pride Month, the NYC Health Department is distributing free safer sex products and health promotional materials and connecting New Yorkers to services that meet their needs.

"New York City would not be the greatest city in the world without the contributions of countless LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. We are honored to celebrate Pride all month long and distribute free safer sex products and other materials at events across the city," said NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Alister Martin. "We're proud of the many strides in access to health care and human rights for New York City's queer communities, but our work is not done. We are committed to ensuring that all New Yorkers have access to the care they need and deserve."

In addition to walking in this year's Pride March, NYC Health Department staff will join celebrations across the city throughout June, including:

• Saturday, May 30: Staten Island Pride
• Sunday, June 7: Queens Pride
• Saturday, June 13: Brooklyn Pride
• Saturday, June 20: Bronx Pride
• Sunday, June 21: Folsom Street East
• Tuesday, June 23: National HIV Testing Day (Union Square Park)
• Saturday, June 27: Harlem Pride
• Saturday, June 27: Youth Pride Fest
• Sunday, June 28: PrideFest (Manhattan)

On May 21, the NYC Health Department hosted the third annual Transgender, Gender-Nonconforming, and Nonbinary (TGNCNB) Health Summit at the LGBT Community Center, in partnership with Sylvia Rivera Law Project. The summit was attended by over 160 people and provided TGNCNB New Yorkers with education, tools, and resources to navigate NYC's health and social service systems.

Tips For Celebrating Pride Safely

Spend time with community and take care of your mental health. Being around others with shared identities can be affirming and mitigate feelings of loneliness, anxiety, and depression, and can help break down stigma. For free, confidential crisis counseling and substance-use support, call or text 988 or chat online at 988lifeline.org, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Text and chat services are available in English and Spanish, and interpretation is available by phone in more than 200 languages.

Stay home if you are feeling sick. Help prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, mpox, and other illnesses by seeking out medical care if you do not feel well. Wearing high-quality masks and frequently washing your hands can also prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria. To find vaccination sites, visit the NYC Health Map.

If you have sex, use safer sex strategies that work for you, such as condoms; PrEP and emergency PEP to prevent HIV; doxy PEP to prevent certain STIs; regular testing for HIV and STIs; HIV and STI treatment; hepatitis A and B, meningitis, and mpox vaccination; and birth control to prevent pregnancy. Use water-based or silicone lubricant to reduce the risk of skin tears and bleeding or a condom breaking during sex. For more information, visit nyc.gov/sexualhealth.

Discuss your and your partners' sexual history and ensure consent. Sexual consent means that all people involved in a sexual activity clearly and freely agree to participate. Learn more about sexual consent.

If you use drugs or alcohol, plan ahead to protect yourself and others from overdose and other harms. To reduce the risk of overdose, test your drugs using fentanyl and xylazine test strips or at an NYC drug checking site. Avoid using alone or mixing drugs and always have naloxone on hand. For more information call 311 or visit nyc.gov/alcoholanddrugs. Drug use can increase the risk of heat-related illness and make symptoms worse. Alcohol, opioids, and stimulants can make you dangerously dehydrated and increase your risk of heatstroke. To protect yourself from these effects, stay hydrated and rest.

Check out the NYC Health Department's LGBTQ+ health resources. To find an LGBTQ-knowledgeable health care provider, visit the NYC Health Map. To learn about health care protections for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, check out the LGBTQ Health Care Bill of Rights. Reach out to [email protected] if you'd like to order copies of the LGBTQ Health Care Bill of Rights.

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MEDIA CONTACT: Chantal Gomez [email protected]