Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers: ***NEWS RELEASE***: CITY OF YONKERS ATTAINS PERFECT SCORE FOR SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON MUNICIPAL EQUALITY INDEX.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CITY OF YONKERS ATTAINS PERFECT SCORE FOR SEVENTH CONSECUTIVE YEAR ON MUNICIPAL EQUALITY INDEX.

Yonkers Rated as One of the Top U.S. Cities Exhibiting LGBTQ Inclusion in Municipal Law & Policy.

YONKERS, NY – December 7, 2021 – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, in partnership with the Equality Federation Institute, released its tenth annual Municipal Equality Index (MEI) report (https://bit.ly/3IszRV1), the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law and policy, scoring the City of Yonkers with a perfect 100 for the seventh consecutive year. Yonkers was one of 11 cities in New York to receive a perfect score and one of 110 nationally out of 506 surveyed.

“Our administration continually works toward full equality amongst our residents and employees,” said Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano. “We are extremely proud to be part of the growing list of communities with a perfect score on the Municipal Equality Index. Our rating reflects diversity as Yonkers’ greatest strength and the respect we have for one another, regardless of who you love.”

Yonkers was specifically recognized for the following categories on its 2021 MEI Scorecard (https://bit.ly/3rHrf76):

Ø  Non-discrimination Laws

Ø  Municipality as Employer

Ø  Municipal Services

Ø  Law Enforcement

Ø  Leadership on LGBTQ Equality

Anthony Nicodemo Chair of Mayor Spano’s LGBTQ Advisory Board stated, “Yonkers has truly embraced the spirit of inclusion. From Gay Straight Alliances in high schools to socials for members of the LGBTQ community, the City has done a remarkable job using its diversity as its strongest asset. It is a wonderful place for members of the LGBTQ community to live, work and play.”

Michael Sabatino, Yonkers Director of Constituent Services/Former City Council Majority Leader stated, “I am proud to know that Yonkers was one of 110 cities nationwide to score a perfect score on the Municipal Equality Index.  We can attribute this to the hard work of Mayor Spano’s administration and the Mayor’s LGBTQ advisory board.   Yonkers is truly a diverse city where our residents are respected and embraced regardless of their ethnicity, religion or their sexual orientation.  We promote a safe environment that allows everyone to co-exist and creates an atmosphere that allows all to contribute to the betterment of the City of Yonkers. Congratulations to all.”

The 2021 MEI reveals that cities across the nation are not waiting for their states to extend vital protections to the LGBTQ community, nor are they intimidated by some state elected officials threatening to deny cities the ability to extend fully inclusive protections to their residents and workers. This year, 110 cities earned perfect scores for advancing fully inclusive policies and practices -- at a time when the nation has been seeing a record number of anti-LGBTQ measures proposed by state elected officials bent on promoting discrimination.