Chelsea Piers in NYC should cancel event with Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis, say local LGBTQ pols

Pride Month in the heart of Chelsea, a birthplace of the modern LGBTQ movement, is no time for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to come to the Big Apple, says a group of local lawmakers.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman and two fellow LGBTQ Democrats are calling on Chelsea Piers to cancel an event at one of its venues set to feature the conservative firebrand next Sunday.

They say his backing of the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law — which restricts discussion of sexual identity and gender at Florida schools — makes him unworthy to speak in Chelsea during Pride.

Chelsea Piers in Manhattan is pictured on Sunday, June 5, 2022. (Gardiner Anderson/)

“It’s outrageous that Chelsea Piers would host an anti-LGBTQ politician like DeSantis in the middle of Pride Month, in the middle of the heart of Chelsea,” Hoylman, who represents the neighborhood, told the Daily News.

“To host a homophobic and transphobic public official in this neighborhood in the middle of Pride is insulting and hurtful to our community,” the Democrat added.

He noted that Pier Sixty, the West Side waterfront venue that plans to host the Jewish Leadership Conference where DeSantis is scheduled to speak, is just a few blocks from the historic Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village — the gay bar where a police raid more than 50 years ago sparked rioting that eventually inspired a generation of LGBTQ activists.

DeSantis is set to discuss “the Florida model and why it’s good for religious Americans” at the conference hosted by the Tikvah Fund, a conservative Jewish group, according to its website. Other scheduled speakers include former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and commenter Bari Weiss.

Pier Sixty’s homepage currently features a message stating “Celebrate PRIDE! All Month” and photos of same-sex couples holding wedding parties at the venue.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and N.Y. State Senator Brad Hoylman.

Last month, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Battery Park halted plans to host the Tikvah Fund’s conference when it learned DeSantis had been invited to speak, The New York Times reported. The museum explained to the fund’s executive director, Eric Cohen, that the “Don’t Say Gay” bill doesn’t align with its values, he told the paper.

DeSantis, a possible contender for the next Republican presidential nomination, has come under fire from LGBTQ groups and many Democrats since signing the law banning instruction about gender identity and sexual orientation from kindergarten through third grade — “or in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards” — in March.

DeSantis’ office referred a request for comment to his campaign, which did not answer a Daily News inquiry.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signs the Parental Rights in Education bill on March 28, 2022. (Douglas R. Clifford/)

Assemblywoman Deborah Glick and Councilman Erik Bottcher, whose districts include Chelsea, also called on Chelsea Piers to cancel the event.

“The work of people like Ron DeSantis kills our young people,” stated Bottcher. “Homophobia doesn’t just exist in Florida, however, and it must be fought wherever it rears its bigoted head, including here in Chelsea.”

The lawmakers focused their criticism on Chelsea Piers, with Hoylman saying, “They should take responsibility. They’re the landlord.”

Chelsea Piers and Pier Sixty provided statements voicing support for LGBTQ people but declined to comment on the request to cancel the event.

“Chelsea Piers is proud of our longstanding relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. We are also proud of our diverse community of members, customers and employees and for being an intentionally inclusive and welcoming place for all,” Chelsea Piers said through a spokesman.

“Our accepting a booking in no ways implies that we endorse the respective organization or its speakers,” Pier Sixty noted.

Chelsea Piers in Manhattan. (Gardiner Anderson/)

Elliott Abrams, a Republican former national security official and chairman of the Tikvah Fund’s board, was unavailable to comment, a spokesman said. The fund did not answer a request for comment emailed over the weekend.

“Having someone like Ron DeSantis in Chelsea during Pride Month is enraging and insulting to the LGBTQ community and all New Yorkers committed to diversity and safe spaces for all,” stated Glick, the first openly LGBTQ member of the state Legislature.