On October 6, 2026, the New York Post reported that Mayor Zohran Mamdani's administration is entering two contracts totaling $8.9 million to provide sex-rejecting procedures to patients under 18.
The city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene identified two vendors: Callen-Lorde and the Nonprofit Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives. The contracts run from 2027 through 2029.
A Department of Health public notice states: "This includes the prescription and administration of puberty-blockers and hormone replacement therapy to all minor patients for whom such services are medically necessary based on the prevailing standards of care." It also states: "Services will be performed by qualified medical providers with current New York State licensure, and will be provided consistent with state laws governing parental consent."
The U.S. Department of Justice has challenged puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for minors as medically dangerous and illegal. The Post reported that critics say the city is trying to circumvent the federal ban.
The Department of Health confirmed the contracts were a response to "escalating federal attacks" from the Trump administration.
New York University Langone and Mount Sinai agreed to end their pediatric programs for minors under Department of Justice scrutiny. The Justice Department calls these interventions "sex-rejecting" procedures. The hospitals faced losing federal research grants and Medicaid and Medicare funding.
New York State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar, as reported by the New York Post, said: "They're making an ideological decision instead of a medical decision." He also said: "They're trying to pull a fast one. New York City thinks it is its own national government. It further isolates us from the rest of the country." The Post reported that Kassar believes such treatment should not be administered without parental consent.
The Kaiser Family Foundation, as cited by the New York Post, reports that 27 states have passed laws banning or limiting gender-related surgeries for minors. Colorado voters will decide in November on a ballot measure on whether to become the 28th state to outlaw such surgeries for people under 18.
In a February statement, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons recommended "that surgeons delay gender-related breast/chest, genital, and facial surgery until a patient is at least 19 years old." ASPS said "the natural course of pediatric gender dysphoria remains poorly understood."
Sources
- New York Post — Carl Campanile, Oct. 6, 2026 ("Mamdani admin signs $8.9M contracts for 'gender-affirming' care for minors")
- New York Post on X, Oct. 6, 2026