Taxpayers footing bill for 'drag story hour' children's events in NYC, records show

NEW YORK CITY (TND) — An organization in New York City that puts together controversial "drag queen story hour" events for kids has received over $200,000 in taxpayer dollars to do so, records and reports show.

Drag Story Hour NYC (formerly Drag Queen Story Hour NYC) received $207,000 in taxpayer fundssince 2018 from both city and state entities, according to The New York Post.

For the current fiscal year, the New York City Council set aside $80,000 for the group, tripling what it allocated last year, according to The Post.

Just last month, Drag Story Hour NYC, which holds events for children as young as 3 years old, earned over $46,000 in government contracts, city data shows.

City data also shows the group has received money from the New York City Council’s discretionary spending budget, as well as from the city’s Departments of Education, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Community Development and Transportation. Drag Story Hour NYC also received $50,000 from the state’s Council on the Arts, The Post reported.

So far this year, Drag Story Hour NYC has put on 49 “Drag Story Hour programs for 34 individual public schools and special needs schools in English, Spanish and Cantonese,” according to the group’s website.

“Last year, we received $3900 from the NYC Department of Education to subsidize our free and low-cost programs in public schools,” the website also notes. However, this year, the group has not received the same funding from the department, the website adds.

The National Desk (TND) reached out to the New York City Department of Education for comment, and to inquire about the total sum of taxpayer dollars it has given to the group, but did not hear back.

“I am considering pulling funding to any school in my district that is implementing Drag Queen Story Hour,” said City Council member Vickie Paladino (R-Queens), according to The Post. “We are taking hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the pockets of hardworking New York taxpayers to fund a program teaching little children about their gender fluidity? Not. On. My. Watch.”

Drag Queen-themed events for kids, including the popular story time activities, have been heavily criticized by many parents.

“I can’t believe this. I am shocked,” Helen Qiu, whose 11-year-old son attends a Manhattan middle school, told The Post. “I would be furious if he was exposed without my consent. This is not part of the curriculum.”

A group of parents in Pennsylvania are suing their school district, its leaders, its school board, and a first-grade teacher for violating their civil and constitutional rights after their children were allegedly taught about gender identity without parental consent.

Read more:“Parents allege school taught first graders about gender dysphoria without their consent”

Drag Queen events for kids also caused an uproar when protesters showed up at a Dallas-area gay bar’s “family-friendly drag show” that offered opportunities for “young performers to take the stage solo."

Read more:“Texas lawmaker introducing bill banning drag shows where minors are present”

TND reached out to the New York City Council for comment, but did not hear back.