No YOU want to decriminalize prostitution!

It’s apparently “Prostitution Week” at the Andrew Cuomo mayoral campaign – but the former governor didn’t recall a landmark 2021 law he signed to prevent cops from arresting people for “loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.”

Cuomo has blasted his Democratic rival Zohran Mamdani for previously pushing to decriminalize sex work, and Mayor Eric Adams piled on Monday, criticizing prostitution on religious grounds. Mamdani hasn’t emphasized the issue on the campaign trail, and he’s vaguely said he wouldn’t prioritize it as mayor. But he has co-sponsored legislation in the Assembly to decriminalize sex work, which Cuomo has said would endanger women and increase crime. 

On Monday morning, Cuomo visited businesses along the Roosevelt Avenue corridor in Jackson Heights, Queens, which has become a hotspot for sex workers. On Monday afternoon, Cuomo held a press conference to describe how he would encourage law enforcement to go after gangs and traffickers as mayor.

But Cuomo has previously supported legislation to walk back aspects of anti-prostitution enforcement. NBC 4 reporter Melissa Russo pressed Cuomo on the bill he signed in 2021 repealing the so-called “walking while trans” law. “The loitering bill, I’d have to check, I don’t remember that bill frankly,” Cuomo said.

Spent the morning meeting with small business owners and community members along Roosevelt Avenue in Queens talking about quality of life and the future of the City pic.twitter.com/vKADbv7bjQ

— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) August 18, 2025

On paper, the legislation repealed an anti-prostitution law which previously prohibited “loitering for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.” But in recent years, LGBTQ+ activists charged that police more often used the statute to harass or arrest visibly trans women, particularly trans women of color, under the guise of combatting prostitution.

After Democrats regained control of the state Senate for the 2019 legislative session and passed long-stalled legislation to codify “gender identity” and “gender expression” as protected classes, repealing the “walking while trans” law became the next high-profile fight for LGBTQ+ activists. In February 2021, both chambers passed the measure and Cuomo immediately signed it the next day. 

“Repealing the archaic 'walking while trans' ban is a critical step toward reforming our policing system and reducing the harassment and criminalization transgender people face simply for being themselves,” the former governor said in a statement at the time.

A Cuomo campaign spokesperson noted that the former governor fought sex work decriminalization bills while in office, though he signed the “walking while trans” repeal. Cuomo may be forgiven for not remembering every law he has ever signed, but the repeal of the “walking while trans” ban came after years of public advocacy and received widespread coverage, even in some national outlets. And Cuomo historically has never been shy about touting the ways in which he has helped the LGBTQ+ community, starting with the legalization of same-sex marriage he oversaw his first year as governor. Cuomo has spoken about his 2015 executive order updating the state’s Human Rights Law to cover trans people before legislators passed a bill to codify it four years later. And he has often referred to his support for the elimination of the so-called “gay panic” defense in assaults of LGBTQ+ people.

“The idea that Andrew Cuomo cares about women’s safety is laughable – as he fully demonstrated today,” said Mamdani spokesperson Dora Pekec. “Cuomo did not provide a single coherent policy or answer to any question because his focus is on scoring political points, not governing.”